Anti-Jewish march splits loyalists

Matthew Collins - 19 02 15
London UDA boss Frank Portinari

London UDA boss Frank Portinari

Loyalists in London have split after the UDA sanctioned members for organising an anti-Jewish march next month.

The UDA inner-council in Belfast has ordered its London members – most of who are also members of various far-right groups – to stay away from the controversial parade which is planned to march through one of Europe’s largest Jewish communities in five weeks’ time.

The Sunday World has learnt loyalists linked to the London UDA – a group which

continues to fundraise and send money back to Belfast – has made it clear that any of them attending the ‘Liberate Stamford Hill’ march will be expelled.

London UDA boss Frank Portinari – who did five years during the Troubles for gun running for the UDA – has had meetings with senior Ulster loyalists about the potentially embarrassing march.

He publicly turned on one former loyalist pal, Eddie Stampton, when he posted on Facebook that he was no longer welcome at loyalist fundraising events.

Stampton is believed to be one of the main organisers of the March 22 parade.

Many loyalists in England hail from far right groups like the English Defence League (EDL), Combat-18 and the National Front and thus retain strong anti-Semitic views.

Meanwhile loyalists in Ulster have aligned themselves with Israel. An increasing number of Israeli flags have appeared on flag posts in loyalist areas over the last five years after republicans started putting up flags supporting Palestine in their areas.

Group

Organisers claim to be fighting against what they call the “Jewification” of the UK, and a civilian security group run by volunteers from the Hasidic Jewish community in London.

With anti-fascist groups warning they will try to stop the march it’s feared that wide scale violence could take place on the streets of the English capital.

Last night a UDA source in Belfast confirmed that the bad feeling in London had turned quite nasty.

“This is a potentially very damaging situation for the UDA,” said the source.

“They are in a bit of a mess because of the support loyalists are giving the Israelis backing here while in England they tend to despise Jews.

“Senior UDA leaders have met with Frank Portinari and told him in no uncertain terms to make sure none of his men are associated with this march.

“The UDA’s inner council are genuinely concerned that photos of known members attending an anti-Jewish parade will give ammunition to their enemies back home.”

Over the years the Sunday World has highlighted the support English far right supporters have given to loyalist paramilitary groups in Ulster.

Some have even joined loyalist flute bands while others have joined Orange Order lodges.

Two of those, Andy Frain and John ‘Snowy’ Shaw are known anti-Semites and are expected at the London march.

Chelsea Headhunter, and far right fanatic, Andy ‘The Nightmare’ Frain is an ‘honorary’ member of the Tullycarnet Flute Band in east Belfast.

The 50-year-old, who was famously exposed by investigative reporter supreme, Donal MacIntyre during an undercover BBC film, took part in a loyalist march in London last September.

While former EDL leading member John ‘Snowy’ Shaw, from Yorkshire, is a rabid anti- Semite who is a member of the Orange Order and regu- larly attends loyalist parades in Derry and Belfast.

Last night Duncan Cahill from anti-fascist campaign group Hope Not Hate said the march posed a real problem for loyalists in London.

“London UDA has always been a haven for Nazis, hooligans and loons,” said Cahill. “Portinari himself was previously in the BNP also. Now with the far-right shrinking, what is left of them are back to their old ways of Jew hating and looking for violence.

“This has put Portinari in a bit of a pickle. Half of his gang are also hard-line Nazis and support this idea of upsetting and intimidating the Jewish community. He’s getting grief from Belfast as they do not want the sort of person they send up to meet British MPs also hanging around with Jew haters.

“It’s splitting the group and he is getting it in the neck from his long time Nazi friends.”

Far right organisers are rallying against the Shomrim security group, named after the Hebrew term for ‘guards’.

The event has been organised by right-wing activist Joshua Bonehill-Paine, the self-styled “future of nationalism”.

In a post on his website entitled “An Urgent Appeal: The Jewification of Great Britain”, he writes: “It’s utter disbelief that the Jews of Stamford Hill have set up their own police force which enforces their own Talmudic law on the streets of a White British city.”

Andy Frain, center, known anti-Semite is expected at the London march.

Andy Frain, center, known anti-Semite is expected at the London march.

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