League of Saint George | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founder | Keith Thompson Mike Griffin |
| Founded | 1974 |
| Split from | Action Party |
| Newspaper | The League Review The League Sentinel |
| Membership(1970s) | 50–100 |
| Ideology | British fascism Europe a Nation |
| Political position | Far-right |
TheLeague of St George is aneo-fascist organisation based in theUnited Kingdom. It has defined itself as a "non-party, non-sectarian political club" and, whilst forging alliances with different groups, has eschewed close links with other extremist political parties.[1]
The League was formed around 1974 as a political club byKeith Thompson and Mike Griffin as a breakaway from theAction Party, founded by BritishfascistOswald Mosley. The League sought to continue what it saw as a purer form of the ideas of Mosley than those offered by then leaderJeffrey Hamm.[2] In the 1970s the League became a political home for the more intellectual adherents of "Neo-Nazi" ideology, particularly those who wanted a united Europe with a European-derived population, a continuation of Mosley'sEurope a Nation policy. Alongside this the League also followed Mosley's lead in endorsingIrish republicanism, something of a change from their contemporaries in the British far right who reserved their support forUlster loyalism.[3] The League was never intended to be a political party, but more of a social, intellectual, and cultural organization, albeit with the ultimate political aim of promoting European people and their culture. Intended as an exclusive club for what were seen as the leading minds on the British far right, its membership tended to be restricted to around 50–100 members.[4] Indeed, membership of the League was restricted to those invited to join only.[5]
The group often had a torrid relationship with thefar right parties, and indeed theNational Front barred its members from joining the League in 1977.[6] Around this timeSpearhead even included articles claiming that the League was in fact acult dominated by clandestine leaders, secret oaths and profane initiation ceremonies.[7] Nonetheless, individual members maintained ties to both organisations, with some contributing to bothSpearhead andThe League Review.[8] Similarly theBritish Movement, which had originally co-operated with the League, eventually severed its ties over the Northern Irish issue.[9]The Enemy Within is an account of the League of St George written by a former member, the cartoonist Robert Edwards, who founded the pro-MosleyEuropean Action UK pressure group in 2005.[10]
Adopting the emblem of theArrow Cross, the League sought to forge links with like-minded groups inEurope, and took part in internationalneo-Nazi rallies atDiksmuide inBelgium, where it forged links with theVlaamse Militanten Orde and theNational States' Rights Party.[11] Eschewing the route of electoral politics, the League instead sought to set itself up as an umbrella group forNational Socialists of any affiliation, although the League did work closely with first theBritish Movement and then theBritish National Party when it was founded (with Thompson andJohn Graeme Wood attending the party's inaugural meeting while claiming to speak for the League).[12]
Steve Brady, a former activist in the short-livedNational Party (and who retained close links to theUlster Defence Association despite the League's avowed support for Irish republicanism), was appointed International Liaison Officer in 1978 and helped to oversee the development of links with groups internationally such as theFaisceaux Nationalistes Européens ofFrance, founded byMark Fredriksen, andItaly'sNuclei Armati Rivoluzionari (NAR).[13] Brady also wrote a column inLeague Review, under the nom-de-plumeHeimdall. The group also gained support inSouth Africa amongst some leading supporters of theHerstigte Nasionale Party who were responsible for funding the League during the early 1980s.[14]
The League went into hiatus in the early 1980s after an episode ofITV current affairs showWorld in Action exposed its attempts to set up safe houses for suspectedItalian terrorists,[15] based on information given byRay Hill, who had been active in the League.
Following these revelations the group became less active, but did not close down altogether. Its magazine,The National Review, received some attention in far-right circles in 1986 whenColin Jordan published an article calling for the development of an underground struggle.[16] This article was credited with attempts to revive theBritish Movement and to set up other groups to carry out Jordan's ideas.[17]
In 1996 it was alleged inSearchlight that members of the League had recruitedmercenaries for a mission inSouth Africa organised byConstand Viljoen with the aim of assassinating the country's leaders and damaging its infrastructure. Ultimately the plan was foiled by the South African secret service and by a change in strategy by Viljoen, who abandoned hisAfrikaner Volksfront in order to lead theFreedom Front.[18]
It continues to exist under other leadership to this day. Previously publishing a regular monthly magazine,The League Review, which had a comparatively wide European readership, it now publishes a quarterly journal,The League Sentinel.[19]
The group was featured inBill Buford'sAmong the Thugs where the author commented to a member that his ideas of leaving urban life and returning to the soil recalled those of thePol Pot and theKhmer Rouge.[20]
Leading members of the League have includedDagenham-based John Harrison, millionaire Robin Rushton, former Mosley'sUnion Movement member, speaker and election candidateKeith Thompson, Mike Griffin, and Roger Clare, who has also been active inSouth Africa andNew Zealand.[21] Ian Souter Clarence, the former head ofColumn 88, was a member,[22] while both publisherAnthony Hancock andNational Front and National Party veteranDenis Pirie were also closely associated with the group.[23]
An article by Ian Cobain inThe Guardian dated 24 November 2016 reported that the League of St George of today is mainly active in publishing and distributing fascist books.[24] The League's publishing arm is Steven Books.[25]
In 2013, a theatrical production and musical calledLeague of St George based on "the fascist brotherhood of the League of St George" toured the UK including theEdinburgh Festival Fringe, the Corbett Theatre inLoughton,Essex and the Hope Theatre inLondon.[26][27]
