Anti-Nazi League (ANL)

The Anti-Nazi League (ANL) launched in November 1977 in response to the growing electoral success of the National Front (NF) National Front (NF) The National Front (NF) was a far-right, openly racist organisation formed as an alliance of several small, far-right groups operating on the fringes of British politics in the 1960s, including the British National Party and the League of Empire Loyalists. The NF rose to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s, organising marches and standing candidates at local and national elections. Never a focus for SDS monitoring, the NF concerned many anti-fascist groups that the SDS infiltrated and reported on. HN303 ‘Peter Collins’ was asked to infiltrate the NF – not by the Metropolitan Police but by the Workers Revolutionary Party, the group the SDS had sent Collins to monitor. Full page: National Front (NF)  and after successful opposition to two provocative demonstrations by the NF in multi-ethnic areas of London in 1977, in Wood Green in April and Lewisham in August.

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From January 1978 to February 1983, the ANL was spied on by a variety of SDS undercover officers including HN80 ‘Colin Clark’ HN80 'Colin Clark' 'Colin Clark' was the assumed name of an officer who joined the SDS in September 1976. From March 1977, he infiltrated several north London branches and the national office of the Socialist Workers Party, helping to organise the 1981 Right to Work march. He also infiltrated the Anti-Nazi League before his deployment ended in March 1982. His real name has been restricted. ,  HN296 ‘Geoff Wallace’ HN296 'Geoff Wallace' ‘Geoff Wallace’ joined the SDS in mid-1975. He infiltrated the Hammersmith branch of the International Socialists from January 1976 until late 1978. He was elected to several officer roles, including Treasurer and was on the organising committee of the April 1978 Anti-Nazi League carnival. ,  HN126 ‘Paul Gray’  HN126 ‘Paul Gray’ ‘Paul Gray’ was the fake name of an undercover who infiltrated north-west London branches of the Socialist Workers Party and Anti-Nazi League and spied on pickets at the Grunwick dispute. He joined the SDS in December 1977 and was active undercover until at least April 1982. , HN96 ‘Michael James’  HN96 'Michael James' 'Michael James' is the cover name used by a former Special Demonstration Squad undercover officer who, between late 1978 and Spring 1983, infiltrated the Socialist Workers Party in Hackney and the national leadership of the Troops Out Movement. He also spied on Red Action and the Irish Republican Socialist Party. His real name has been restricted. , HN354 Vincent Harvey (‘Vince Miller’) HN354 Vincent Harvey 'Vince Miller' Vincent James Harvey used the cover name ‘Vince Miller’ while infiltrating the Socialist Workers Party as an SDS undercover officer, from 1976 to 1979. He had four sexual relationships during his time undercover, including with Inquiry core participant ‘Madeleine’. He later became director of the UK Division at the National Criminal Intelligence Service from 1998 to 2003. Full page: HN354 Vincent Harvey 'Vince Miller' ,HN124/356 ‘Bill Biggs’ HN124/HN356 'Bill Biggs' ‘Bill Biggs’ was the cover name used by a former undercover officer with the Special Demonstration Squad who was deployed into South East London branches of the Socialist Workers Party between the end of 1977 and late 1981, and spied on the Anti-Nazi League and Bexley Campaign Against Racism and Fascism. He was undercover at the 24 April 1979 demonstration in Lewisham at which Blair Peach was killed by police. He is dead and his real name has been restricted.  and HN155 ‘Phil Cooper’. HN155 'Phil Cooper' 'Phil Cooper' is the fake name of an SDS undercover who joined the unit in Autumn 1979. He was deployed into the Socialist Workers Party via the Waltham Forest Anti Nuclear Campaign and worked in the national SWP headquarters. Inquiry Chair Mitting found as a matter of fact that he had several casual sexual relationships while undercover. His real name has been restricted.  

Most of these officers had already infiltrated SWP branches across London, which brought them into organisational contact with the ANL after its formation in 1977.  In the BBC documentary, True Spies, ‘Geoff’ claimed to be close to ANL spokesperson Peter Hain. BBC, True Spies - Ep2 - Transcript, Undercover Research Group, 2002.

The ANL was founded by leading Socialist Workers Party (SWP) International Socialists (IS) / Socialist Workers Party (SWP) The International Socialists (IS)/Socialist Worker Party (SWP) is a Trotskyist political party. It started life in 1950 as the Socialist Review Group, changing its name to the International Socialists in 1962 and then to the Socialist Workers Party in 1977. The IS/SWP was of significant interest to the policing and security apparatus, spied on by at least 35 undercover officers. This profile is a stub that will updated. Full page: International Socialists (IS) / Socialist Workers Party (SWP)  organisers who approached left-wing members of the Labour Party for support. This included the anti-apartheid activist Peter Hain First Witness Statement of Lord Peter Hain, given in the UCPI, Tranche 1, Phase 2, 3 Mar 2020.View Document , who became national press officer for the ANL. 

Prominent members of the ANL included Tariq Ali First Witness Statement of Tariq Ali, given in the UCPI, Tranche 1, Phase 1, 2 Mar 2020.View Document  of the International Marxist Group International Marxist Group (IMG) The International Marxist Group (IMG) was a Trotskyist group in Britain in 1968-1982. It was the British Section of the Fourth International and a vital part of the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign. At its peak, in the 1970s, the IMG had around 1,000 members and supporters. The IMG was spied on by HN336 'Dick Epps', HN340 'Andy Bailey' and HN353 'Gary Roberts' during the 1960s and 1970s; several other SDS officers reported on it. Full page: International Marxist Group (IMG) , Arthur Scargill of the National Union of Mineworkers' National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) The National Union of Mineworkers The Miners Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) formed in 1889 and it became the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in 1944 and is still a functioning organisation today. It is a core particpant in the Inquiry. The NUM was involved in many strikes in across the UK. This included the majot 1972 and 1984 strikes. Although the NUM was of great interest to the surveillance state (including MI5) no evidence of targeting by the Special Demonstration Squad has been disclosed by the Inquiry.  and Ernie Roberts of the engineers' union, who later became a Labour MP. Largely led by the SWP, the ANL attracted backing from 40 Labour MPs, other left-wing parties, trade unionists, anti-racist organisations, community activists, footballers, musicians and other celebrities.

The aim of the ANL was to confront and challenge the NF, the British Movement (BM) British Movement The British Movement Founded in 1968 by Colin Jordan, the British Movement (BM) initially viewed itself as a highly intelligent, ideological and drilled physical force - and an alternative to the National Front. The BM fomented racist violence. Although, diminished, it still exists today. It was not spied upon by the Special Demonstration Squad but mentions of the group are made in relation to those groups who opposed it.  and other racist and fascist groups if they attempted to enter the public domain. This involved preventing these groups organising or gaining a public platform through counter-leafletting, counter-protesting and in some cases public confrontations to stop them marching or rallying.

Over the period 1977-1979 the ANL organised, in conjunction with non-white communities, a series of protests and confrontations with the NF. These included marches in east London with Bengali youth in May and June 1978 after the racist murder of Altab Ali. 

The culmination came in April 1979 in Southall, west London, a largely south Asian district, when the ANL organised to stop NF supporters attending an election rally in the town hall. During a violent intervention by the Metropolitan Police Special Patrol Group (SPG) Blair Peach, a young school teacher who was a member of the ANL and the SWP, was killed. Southall Demo and the Killing of Blair Peach On 23 April 1979, a National Front election meeting was held at Southall Town Hall in west London. Southall was, and still is, known for having a relatively large number of migrants, particularly from India. The meeting was intended to be - and was seen as a provocation. There were large counter-demonstrations on the day but aggresive police tactics resulted in 345 arrests. Blair Peach was attacked by members of the Metropolitan Police's Special Patrol Group, and died as the result of head injuries from baton blows. His partner, Celia Stubbs, was key in the justice campaign that continued for decades afterwards - Friends of Blair Peach -which was spied upon by the SDS.  The following weekend 15,000 people marched in his honour. First Witness Statement of Celia Stubbs, given in the UCPI, Tranche 1, Phase 2, 16 Jan 2021.View Document

The ANL had a close and fruitful relationship with Rock Against Racism (RAR) ,which had been formed in 1976 and brought together anti-racist musicians and bands from various youth subcultures. The largest events organised by the ANL/RAR collaboration were essentially marches followed by open-air rock concerts. 

The first ‘carnival’ took place in April 1978 in Hackney and attracted at least 80,000 people. Tens of thousands attended similar ‘carnivals’ in Manchester, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Harwich, and Southampton. These were followed in September 1978 by a march to Brockwell Park in south London and a concert attended by an estimated 100,000 people.

The ANL’s popularity was reflected in the 250 local branches that sprang up from 1977-1979 and in its distribution of promotional material. It is estimated that at least nine million ANL leaflets were distributed and 750,000 badges sold. Fifty local Labour Parties affiliated to the ANL, along with numerous union branches and trades councils.

The April 1979 general election victory for Thatcher’s Conservatives masked a serious electoral defeat for the NF. This, combined with the continuing success of the ANL/RAR campaign, led to demoralisation and splits within the NF’s ranks and its street presence declined rapidly. The perceived retreat of this ‘fascist threat’ led to the ANL being wound down by the SWP in 1982.

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The resurgence and electoral success of the British National Party (BNP) in the early 1990s and a significant rise in racial attacks led to the ANL being relaunched by the SWP in 1992. In October 1993 the ANL organised a protest in Welling, southeast London, the location of a BNP bookshop which acted as their headquarters and close to the site of the murder of the black teenager Stephen Lawrence by a racist gang earlier that year. Tens of thousands attended to protest the BNP and racist violence. 

In May 1994 the ANL organised a march and outdoor concert in Brockwell Park, south London which it is claim attracted 100,000 people. This was followed in June by a national conference attended by 320 delegates from 200 groups. The ANL was spied upon from at least June 1994 to January 1995 by unnamed SDS officers.

In 2004, the ANL joined the National Assembly Against Racism to create a new anti-fascist organisation Unite Against Fascism.

Sources

Paul Holborow. The Anti Nazi League and its lessons for today. Paul Holborrow, The Anti Nazi League and its lessons for today, International Socialism Journal, 1 Jul 2019.

First Witness Statement of Lord Peter Hain. First Witness Statement of Lord Peter Hain, given in the UCPI, Tranche 1, Phase 2, 3 Mar 2020.View Document

Dave Renton. The Anti-Nazi League 1977-82. Dave Renton, Never Again: The Anti-Nazi League 1977-82, dkrenton.co.uk, 2005.

Guy Smallman. Looking back: 1994 carnival that celebrated the defeat of the BNP. Guy Smallman,  Looking back: 1994 carnival that celebrated the defeat of the BNP Stand Up to Racism (28 May 2020), Stand Up to Racism, 28 May 2020.