11 September 2023 , 22:18
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A social club run by the Catholic Church was "duped" into hosting the annual meeting of a group known for its "racial nationalist" views.
St. Anthony's Social Centre in Preston, Lancashire, was unaware Heritage and Destiny commemorate British fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley and late "White power" musician Ian Stuart Donaldson. The group celebrated the duo at this year's event this weekend at an undisclosed venue in the city.
It has now come to light that the 2022 Heritage and Destiny assembly was booked at St. Anthony's Social Centre. The group cunningly concealed the true nature of the event by booking it as a "memorial".
Karen Harle, the club's steward, told Lancs Live the organisation tried to book the facility again for this weekend's meeting under the guise of it being for armed forces veterans. However, having learned about the real purpose of last year's event only weeks after it had occurred, Harle grew suspicious and cancelled the booking, which had been tentatively made by a colleague.
An unnamed member of a group accused Karen of falling for "fake news and lies". This accusation came after Karen cancelled a booking for the group's 2022 gathering, following bizarre claims that hundreds of armed police were ready to intervene if any laws were breached.
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Karen shared her experience with the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), saying: "Last year, they [said it was] a memorial and we do have stuff like that. I took [the booking] in good faith. But they asked [for] the bar staff to serve in the lounge so as not to 'disturb the meeting'."
She found this request odd but complied nonetheless. However, she now wonders if it was a ploy to prevent her from overhearing their discussions.
This year, during her night off, her assistant made a provisional booking for an 'ex-veterans meeting'. Sensing something amiss, Karen immediately messaged them and wrote 'no chance' across it in her diary, vowing not to be deceived again.
Karen firmly stated, "St Anthony's does not and will never support [anything like] this. We've just taken a booking for Diwali for later this year everybody's welcome here. As a Catholic club we don't hold any political or spiritual meetings or anything that goes against the Catholic ethos."
Following the cancellation of this year's provisional booking, Karen received a text from the group saying: "I apologise you have fallen for fake news and lies. We are not and never will be right-wing extremists."
In a fiery rebuttal, the group vehemently denied being members of the far-right National Front, saying: "We are not members of the National Front a) it is illegal [and] b) we hate [their] rules and outlook and views. It's not what we are about."
The group accused their critics of acting as "judge, jury and executioner without any evidence," pointing out that despite undercover police attending their meeting last year, no legal action was taken. "There was over 250 armed police ready to swoop down on the club...please ask yourself why did that not happen[?] No prosecutions were made. The meeting was posted on YouTube and no government officials have issued warrants, warnings or cautions to anyone that attended the meeting."
They further claimed that their critics had been "provided with lies and deception." Heritage and Destiny remained silent when questioned by the LDRS about how they managed to secure the use of St. Anthony's Social Centre last year.
However, in response to cross-party condemnation from Preston city councillors regarding the group's plans to meet in Preston again this year, the editor of its magazine defended their right to express their views. He stated that the politicians had a right to their opinions "just as we are entitled to our views".
He clarified his stance on Oswald Mosley, saying he does not "personally support all that Oswald Mosley stood for but it can't be denied he was a first class politician". Mr Cotterill proudly identified himself as "an English nationalist", adding: "I would not describe myself as 'fascist' in any way at all."
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Dr Evan Lawrence, a security expert and senior lecturer in international relations at the University of Central Lancashire, suggests that a growing mistrust and lack of understanding of politics could be driving an increase in the number of people attracted to far-right groups in recent years.
Dr Lawrence told the LDRS that the quintessentially British attitude of "keep calm and carry on" often leads to important issues being swept under the rug. He said, "We just kind of get on with it we don't complain about things. [That] has really bred this group [which is] very disassociated with politics [and] thinks that [politicians] are all corrupt."
He further explained that this widespread distrust in politics discourages open discussions about it, leading to a general ignorance about how our government functions. He pointed out, "Look at the [most popular] search after Brexit: [it was] 'What is Brexit?'"
Dr Lawrence believes this lack of political education leaves people vulnerable to manipulation by extreme right groups. He said, "It's because people aren't taught what politics is or how politics works, or even what their rights are really. So when we start looking at the way that extreme right recruits...they really play to that idea of, 'We're the poor white guys who, because the government doesn't listen to us [etc.]... they are letting all of these immigrants come in that kind of sentiment."
He also highlighted the role of social media in amplifying these sentiments. He added: "And...they understand the way that social media plays you start looking at one thing or you agree with one meme and it spirals into this echo chamber."
* This article was crafted with the help of an AI tool, which speeds up The Mirror's editorial research. An editor reviewed this content before it was published. You can report any errors to [email protected]