Far-right group holds meeting in city pub
ANTI-RACISM campaigners are planning to leaflet the city's football ground in the new season after it emerged that a division of the far-right English Defence League has been set up in Exeter.
The Echo has learnt a meeting of up to 20 people recently took place at a founding event put on by the local organiser in a city pub.
A Facebook page has also been set up for members from Exeter.
The webpage describes the group as "peacefully protesting against militant Islam".
It claims: "This group will protest and support the English Defence League in protests across England towards any acts of Islamic extremism directed at English people."
It claims the group is not racist and has members who are white, black, Indian and Chinese.
But the English Defence League has been linked to football hooliganism and violence. The meeting took place at the city's Mill on the Exe pub — without the pub managers being aware of it.
Kate Beck, manager of the pub, in Bonhay Road, said: "I was only made aware of who they were after they left.
"One of our regular customers said to me 'do you realise who they are in the garden?'.
"The group name did not mean anything to me, but my husband had heard of it.
"We had no idea they were in the pub garden. They certainly did not mention anything."
She added: "I was gutted when I found out. I am totally anti that sort of thing.
"I would not welcome them in the pub in the future if I knew about it.
"If we became aware of a meeting going on we would ask them to leave.
"We welcome people from all countries here, we have a lot of customers who are Chinese and foreign students."
A briefing for members of the Labour Party in the city states: "We leafleted St James's Park in the run-up to the General Election and received a good response.
"We will be looking to leaflet the ground sometime in the new season to undercut any support for the EDL."
The Echo recently revealed anti-BNP graffiti was daubed on the road near the Twisted Oak near Ide after it allowed the party to hold meetings.
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by Pyrus (EDL), Exeter
Wednesday, July 21 2010, 11:12PM
“Foreign policy mistakes (if that's what they are) do not justify some of the atrocities committed in the name of Islam
More importantly for building an understanding of the issues, they also do not explain the sheer fanaticism of these people.”
by Rufus, Exeter
Monday, July 19 2010, 11:28AM
“Why on earth could the Muslim community be upset with us!? Surely it can't be the continued wholesale slaughter of innocent civilians which we write off as collateral when we make martyrs out of our dead!”
by Pyrus (EDL), Exeter
Friday, July 16 2010, 11:25AM
“I see your point Will - I guess it depends whose side you consider yourself to be on
I didn't mean to suggest that the killing of innocent people in Iraq and Afghanistan isn't itself a tragedy
Of course at no point do we want to start accusing 'all Muslims' - but I don't have the confidence to claim that the Islamic Community in Britain (in general) is really 'on our side'.
Of course, many honour the sacrifice that our soldiers make. But in the context of Islam-inspired terrorism and Islam-inspired totalitarianism around the world, I think we're justified in asking 'where do your loyalties lie'?
Why does the Islamic Community continue to invite hate preachers to the UK, why do we continue to foster homegrown terrorists, and why does the Islamic Community appear (at least) to be more upset about people publishing cartoons of their prophet than it is about people using their religion as a excuse to commit atrocities and wage war against Western ideals?
Islam needs to get its house in order, but instead it seems to be more interested in criticising 'us' than it does facing up to its own failings.”
by Will, Mid Devon
Friday, July 16 2010, 11:01AM
“More than 3000 people signed up to a Facebook page praising the bully boy, murdering nutter Raoul Moat as a hero and legend. Does this mean all Britons approve of bullying, murdering nutters? Or even all Facebook users? No, of course not! No more than does the tiny minority of radical Muslim activists in this country represent Muslims in general.
Tarring everyone in a particular ethnic or racial group with the same brush is pure prejudice, and parties and organizations that do this for their own ends are, in the view of most decent people, highly undesirable - and not representative of what most people like to think of as decent British values (whether English, Scots, Welsh or whatever - decent human values in fact).
I think there are a lot of people in the EDL, BNP and UKIP etc who really need to grow up - and the rest need to find out what their activists co-members really represent before deciding to support them.”
by Will, Mid Devon
Friday, July 16 2010, 10:37AM
“Pyrus - If I disapprove of our invasions in the Middle East and "feel particularly upset" by them, and - by virtue of the numbers - am upset more by the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis and Afghans than by the deaths of our soldiers (although I am greatly saddened by those as well), does that mean I am siding with the enemy? Or only if I am a Muslim?”