Is the EDL robbing sick soldiers, again?

Back in November 2010, the rather sprightly hate gang known as the English Defence League (EDL) took its riotous behaviour to Preston, in the North West of England. It was a particularly rowdy affair and the gang were on their worst and most drunken behaviour. There was something like 2,000 people at the demonstration.

One of the things that stuck out about the demonstration was the large number of colourful buckets that people were throwing money into. The buckets were part of, it was claimed, a collection for the charity Help For Heroes (H4H), which looks after injured soldiers. On the day, the EDL proudly announced they had raised over £3000 for the charity. None of that money ever made its way to the charity. It was in fact, to give them credit, EDL members themselves that “kicked off” about the non-payment of thousands of pounds to the charity. The buckets were put away for a while.

It was also an EDL member/supporter who tipped us off about the fake charity chop being run by EDL supporters in Sunderland. We broke the story in 2013 about how a shop was pretending to be a Help for Heroes shop selling official merchandise and raising money for the charity- but it was doing no such thing. No money or reparations were ever made to the charity by those EDL members involved in the scam and they simply hid from sight for a while.

The far-right’s obsession with posing as some kind of front for the charity does not end with the EDL, however. Let’s not forget the shame of Britain First leader Paul Golding who was accused of conning shoppers in Southend, Essex, into thinking his group were a forces charity and not just a violent bunch of racists.

Earlier this month, another bunch of nazis- this time in Cambridge, held a hate concert and told the police it was actually a fundraiser for H4H. It’s no great surprise to hear that despite selling-on cans of lager purchased for a few pence at a supermarket for £2 each, not one penny has since been passed on to H4H.

And now, not to be outdone (?) another leading light in the EDL has stepped up to the plate to announce he is also raising cash for the charity. That person is none other than Davey Russell a work-shy gob-shite from Kent who was recently begging monies off EDL members because he had been thrown out of his rental property by his landlord getting bored with his antics- and the police raids that came with them.

What remains of the once mighty EDL membership sent him lots of cash, despite the fact he was still driving around in his car, operating his “radio” show on his expensive equipment and quaffing plenty of booze while doing so. Gullible, aren’t they? Our solicitor tells us that we probably shouldn’t repeat the allegations made against “DJ Batshit” as his detractors call him. But it won’t take Einstein to work out what I mean when I write “the usual.”

Always chasing the pound, Russell has just announced that he is holding a fundraiser for Help For Heroes himself, down in Southend of all places. Again. It will probably involve more of this sort of behaviour [be warned, it is very unpleasant language] which is what his “radio” shows are normally all like and about. For £10 per head or £15 for a couple, people can go to O’Neills pub and listen to workshy DJ Batshit shout nonsense about blacks, Jews, Muslims and “lefties” etc, etc. Maybe he could actually introduce some anti-Irish racism to O’Neills while he is at it.

It even has a buffet. But hey, it’s all for charity, right? Maybe that’s how O’Neills got sucked into hosting a raving, racist ranter and his friends so close to Christmas?

Well, it says it is for charity (Help For Heroes) and the flyer also has the Help For Heroes logo on it. Official like, innit? Except, according to the charity themselves and despite the use of their corporate logo, the event has nothing to do with H4H. They have never heard of it.

It is not registered with them or their registrations team that covers Southend. In fact, H4H have been surprising clear that they do not and would not allow anyone who attempts to politicise their cause to fundraise for them.

How very mysterious.