Root out the hate
THE vast majority of Scots are tolerant, open-minded people who are welcoming of all cultures, races and religions.
But – as is the case in every country – a very small minority continue to hold hateful and extremist views.
Now, a major report has revealed violent fascists are on the rise across the UK.
Scotland is not immune from this troubling trend, as the high profile cases of Peter Morgan and Mark Meechan have demonstrated.
There is simply no room for complacency when it comes to the far right.
The presidency of Donald Trump is nightmarish proof that even mature democracies can be captured by odious ideologies if you’re not careful.
Back in Britain, part of the problem is mainstream politicians often give oxygen to racist views with ill-advised rhetoric on immigration and refugees.
That has to stop and all of society must remain vigilant to keep home-grown hatemongers at bay.
BY ANNIE BROWN THE UK is facing a violent far-right resurgence fuelled by young neo-Nazis, a report has warned.
Anti-extremist group Hope Not Hate found teenagers as young as 13 are being recruited by alt-right groups on the internet.
Its annual State of Hate report said: “The trend towards younger, more violent neo-Nazis is a real concern and needs to be monitored closely.”
A Hope Not Hate poll found four in 10 respondents had watched or heard one of alt-right thug Tommy Robinson’s videos on social media, which proves that the internet is a dangerously effective tool for neoNazi movements.
The report also identified an increasing threat from lone-wolf terrorists, including white supremacists, “who get radicalised on the internet”.
In August last year, right-wing extremist Peter Morgan was jailed after he was caught with a bombmaking kit in his Edinburgh flat.
The organisation’s researchers found Brexit had left two-thirds of people in Britain distrustful of politicians, allowing the far right to exploit the disillusioned.
The report warned: “A narrative of ‘Brexit betrayal’ will be heavily used by the far right.”
Bigotry against immigrants is softening slightly but is being supplanted by increased Islamophobia.
Social media is increasingly being used to target youngsters and one researcher described fascism as a “cult” drawing in disaffected youth. Duncan Cahill added: “They want to be noticed, to be feared, to be respected. A lot of them will grow out of it but some of them won’t.” Neo-Nazi group National Action, founded by two students in 2013, became notorious for targeting universities with racist propaganda. It has since been banned. Europe-wide Generation Identity, which opposes Islam, immigration and multiculturalism, is growing in popularity, with a membership of teenagers and those in their twenties. InDecember, police were called in after the neo-Nazi group’s wing in Scotland put
»»Far-right groups recruit teenagers as young as 13 as Islamophobia grows »»Youngsters use fascism to be ‘noticed respected and feared’ on social media BOMB-MAKING KIT Peter Morgan
up posters at the University of Glasgow and Glasgow Caledonian University.
The decline of far-right political parties the National Front and the British National Party has caused older neo-Nazis to be replaced by younger, social-media driven extremists, the report said.
Duncan added: “For the new generation of Nazis, Hitler isn’t enough. The ideology is now harder, darker and more committed than ever before, because they just don’t see a way out of race war.”
But the report also found youngsters attracted to fascism were still in a tiny minority, with 76 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds feeling that diversity is integral to British culture.
Fewer than half of those aged 65 and over share this view.
The study did show an increase in Islamophobia – 35 per cent of people thought Islam was generally a threat to the British way of life,
while 30 per cent thought it was generally compatible. In a poll of 5000 people by Hope Not Hate in August last year, 30 per cent said they would support a campaign set up by local residents to stop proposals to build a mosque near where they live. In 2017, a Scottish Defence League demonstration was held against a mosque being built in Perth. But hundreds of people lined the streets in a counter-protest. Hope Not Hate chief executive Nick Lowles said: “Our latest polling reveals a disturbing level of anti-Muslim prejudice and discourse running through society.” The study also looked at how football is being exploited by extremists.
Last year, a viral video showed fans gathered in front of a McCrae’s Battalion Hearts banner wearing Tommy Robinson masks and chanting the activist’s name. But his attempts to attend a Hearts game were flouted after a campaign by other supporters to keep him out.
Among the influential figures picked out by the report is Mark Meechan, who was fined last year at Airdrie Sheriff Court after posting a video of his girlfriend’s pet pug making a Nazi salute.
Meechan, who uses the online alias Count Dankula, is now active in UKIP and has more than 400,000 YouTube subscribers. Hope Not Hate warns the alt-right will capitalise on his notoriety this year, when he is likely to appear in court after vowing to be jailed rather than pay his fine.
The report said: “The nature of the far right is changing and we need to understand that.”