BNP election agent has AR past
Anti | 26.06.2009 10:43 | Animal Liberation | Anti-racism
A British National Party candidate in a Croydon, south London, by-election this month was an animal rights activist who served a prison sentence for a campaign of terror against an animal research laboratory.
Charlotte Lewis,is backing British National Party (BNP) candidate Peter North in the by-election for a Sutton Council seat on July 4, was jailed for six months in 2001 after being found guilty of four charges of harassment as part of a concerted campaign against the staff of Huntingdon Life Sciences, whom she called “animal abusing scum”.
Lewis, who was a member of Stop Animal Rights Cruelty, wrote a series of anonymous threatening letters to people working at the Cambridgeshire laboratory. One warned the recipient: “If you don’t quit HLS then your life will not be worth living. You will always have to be looking over your shoulder.” Another threatened: “This is a warning. Your life is in grave danger if you don’t stop working at HLS. You will find yourself having a gun aimed at your stupid ugly head.”
Peterborough Crown Court heard that Lewis, who today is the London BNP regional treasurer, had “a history of psychological problems and suffers depression”. She was arrested after forensic scientists matched her saliva with DNA found on the back of the stamps used to post the letters.
Lewis, who was a member of Stop Animal Rights Cruelty, wrote a series of anonymous threatening letters to people working at the Cambridgeshire laboratory. One warned the recipient: “If you don’t quit HLS then your life will not be worth living. You will always have to be looking over your shoulder.” Another threatened: “This is a warning. Your life is in grave danger if you don’t stop working at HLS. You will find yourself having a gun aimed at your stupid ugly head.”
Peterborough Crown Court heard that Lewis, who today is the London BNP regional treasurer, had “a history of psychological problems and suffers depression”. She was arrested after forensic scientists matched her saliva with DNA found on the back of the stamps used to post the letters.
Anti
Additions
She's an idiot
26.06.2009 11:23
Croydon Council looks to take action over BNP member's sick boast
Croydon Council is looking to see whether it can take a BNP member to court after she boasted about mounting a hate campaign against a family of immigrants living in the flat above her.
Charlotte Lewis, who earlier this year stood as a candidate in the Waddon by-election, told a meeting of British National Party members she played loud music late into the night - which may have contributed to the Afghan family moving out. The comments were made at a meeting in east London to celebrate the party's showing in the recent European elections.
Addressing party members at a pub in Dagenham, she said: "I don't think they could take any more of my penchant for playing heavy metal at 1am."
More about this moron here
http://lancasteruaf.blogspot.com/2009/06/croydon-council-looks-to-take-action.html
Croydon Council is looking to see whether it can take a BNP member to court after she boasted about mounting a hate campaign against a family of immigrants living in the flat above her.
Charlotte Lewis, who earlier this year stood as a candidate in the Waddon by-election, told a meeting of British National Party members she played loud music late into the night - which may have contributed to the Afghan family moving out. The comments were made at a meeting in east London to celebrate the party's showing in the recent European elections.
Addressing party members at a pub in Dagenham, she said: "I don't think they could take any more of my penchant for playing heavy metal at 1am."
More about this moron here
http://lancasteruaf.blogspot.com/2009/06/croydon-council-looks-to-take-action.html
PG
this is old news, and has been reported here before
26.06.2009 11:59
i would also like to raise the question of why this is important news?
as both an anti-fascist and an animal rights activists, i wonder what possitive effect can be had by focusing on this.
the people involved with the BNP wouldn't dare attend and animal rights meetings/demos/ect.
animal rights has always been a strongly anti fascist movement, and more recently has been dominated by veganarchists (vegan anarchists whom consider animal and human rights as parallel) and antispeciesists (antispeciesism being a term coined by roots of compassion, adapting the antifa symbol as a flag.)
yes their are fascist animal rights activists, their is also animal abusing anti-fascists.
we need to avoid playing into the hands of the state and dividing.
we need to work together to destroy all forms of oppression, because it is all linked.
as both an anti-fascist and an animal rights activists, i wonder what possitive effect can be had by focusing on this.
the people involved with the BNP wouldn't dare attend and animal rights meetings/demos/ect.
animal rights has always been a strongly anti fascist movement, and more recently has been dominated by veganarchists (vegan anarchists whom consider animal and human rights as parallel) and antispeciesists (antispeciesism being a term coined by roots of compassion, adapting the antifa symbol as a flag.)
yes their are fascist animal rights activists, their is also animal abusing anti-fascists.
we need to avoid playing into the hands of the state and dividing.
we need to work together to destroy all forms of oppression, because it is all linked.
old news
Comments
Hide the following 25 comments
Ikeado
26.06.2009 11:41
someone who knew her
SHAC
26.06.2009 12:05
It's a shame the ex-shac campaigner has gone fascist.
AR
idea
26.06.2009 12:40
Furthermore no one in this country has ever been asked whether we, as a nation, want them here.
Perhaps she is more caring that you like to admit.
Perhaps no more slapping labels on people so that they conform to your preconceived world views would help.
mike
It's about an election in July
26.06.2009 13:01
So not OLD news.
Not old
hey mike
26.06.2009 13:25
i for one do not
antifa
Ninja
26.06.2009 13:36
you people carry on talking if nothing more important is here to do.
Ratamahatta
Hitler was a veggie who loved his dog
26.06.2009 15:03
If Mike can't see why the London BNP regional treasurer is labelled a fascist then would he care to explain the racist membership policy, the fascistic and racist manifesto, and the often recorded pro-Nazi, pro-SS love affair of the BNP? Maybe Mike thinks of Hitler simply as someone who had concerns about his country and the way immigration was likely to change it immeasurably over the next couple of decades? There is another label used by historians that Mike be aware of, 'an apologist for fascism'.
Danny
AR is a totally anti-fascist movement
26.06.2009 17:07
Prominent animal rights philosophy specifically rejects discrimination based upon race; age, sex, sexuality, disability, species membership or any other irrelevant characteristic.
People in the AR movement are sometimes criticised for being single issue and not showing solidarity with other movements. The opposite is actually the case, AR people are active in many different movements. On the other hand many people in other movements will often refuse to act in solidarity with AR activists.
This “news” was posted on anti-AR extremist blog SHACwatch and they added it to Indy, says it all really.
AR
jahahal
26.06.2009 18:18
I agree with the sentimnets of the post "AR is a totally anti-fascist movement." I would say as someone involved in London AR activism, rascist and fascist are not tolerated and would not be welcome at demos or meetings. Last year there was an issue with a misguided chap and he was eventually shown the door. For the person whose posting this bullshit, here's something to get you googling - there was someone who attended SHAC demos who eventually got done for shop lifting and child pornography. Perhaps we'll see his name on your blog, but when you do, as you're so interested in "the truth", can you make it clear he hasn't been welcome or involved in demos since his convictions.
someone in the know
Irony
26.06.2009 18:48
Now whilst this one individual turns out to be a fascist and therefore would not be welcome on any SHAC action, how many times have the police been linked to far right groups including the BNP? Not ex-police officers, but serving ones. And I've never seen SHAC activists forming protective barriers around the BNP or National Front...
Steve Discombe
Fascists use people
26.06.2009 19:01
animal wrongist
Ironic
26.06.2009 19:02
Any group that adopts an abolitionist stance is ultimately fascist - BNP openly and SHAC in its actions.
Matt Clowes
Shocked
26.06.2009 19:06
However, over recent months I have seen shockingly vehement, biased and conniving posts on Indymedia, and they all seem to be directed at animal rights campaigns (specifically SHAC).
I decided to look closer at these issues and their apparent sources. This lead me to both SHACwatch - and indeed it seems hard to refute that whoever is behind that website is leading the smear campaigns and diatribe on IM - and the NETCU website itself. Now whilst I don't know if the claims that NETCU and SHACwatch are linked have any truth, or are an apparently justified conspiracy theory, it is clear that NETCU are shockingly biased and almost fanatical in their pursuit of animal rights campaigners. Their website seems to consist of little else, despite claiming to cover all political issues.
I have also looked more into SHAC and have seen not only their effectiveness, but also their very reasoned arguments (the science section on their website is incredibly comprehensive).
Anyway, to cut a long story short, as a result of these posts I have just contacted SHAC to see how i can get involved in their campaigning and will be encouraging all of my friends and contemporaries to do the same. I like to think I have enough contacts to be able to help fight the pathetic people behind these smears and help SHAC.
So in a very strange way, thank you to SHACwatch and whoever else for getting me interested in these issues, and for helping me get involved in this struggle - better late than never!
Steve Roberts
prisons and the AR movement
26.06.2009 19:40
i support the concept of animal rights, as long as they include human animals. a prisons a prison, whether it is full of caged rabbits or caged humans and it will never be the answer to behaviour we dislike, whether that behaviour is robbery, murder, rape, or non-human animal abuse.
further, i have many times written to AR prisoners, only to be told that they are already receiving more mail than they can possibly reply to (a fact which increases the overall respect i do have for the AR movement) yet only ONE out of an approximate 60-80 of these AR prisoners has thought to introduce me to other prisoners inside with them who do need support.
mostly AR prisoners show no solidarity for any other prisoner (unless also AR) and most have a tendency to tell me how ok it is in prison (even cushy) without any demonstration of the understanding that they are privileged by their class, sentence, race, etc.
very depressing, from a movement i should have much in common with...
abolitionist
Equality. Solidarity.
26.06.2009 19:43
“Any group that adopts an abolitionist stance is ultimately fascist”
You do understand that the anti-slavery, the anti-apartheid, anti-sweatshop labour movements were and are abolitionists, right?
@ animal wrongist
“All the hand wringing of Animal Rights activists will not change that.”
Actually if they are openly fascist they can be removed. AR is an equality movement. We reject all discrimination.
@ Steve Roberts
It's great to see that these postings from the especially extreme minority of the police force known as NETCU have led you to look in to AR issues. While it can't be proven that SHACwatch is run by the police it has contained personal information about activists that would suggest some police involvement. The extremist blog was banned from wordpress (probably for posting personal details of activists, redwatch style) before moving to blogspot and being more careful.
You can learn more about the scientific argument against using animal data in the production of human drugs at the Safer Medicines Campaign website:
AR
Sue
26.06.2009 20:07
And thanks AR for the extra info.
Steve
@ abolitionist
26.06.2009 20:30
It is wrong to assume that AR prisoners are privileged by class or sentence, animal activists come from all classes and there are many many working class AR activists. The AR movement seems to have a greater proportion of working class activists than some movements actually working for the interests of the working class! As for sentence many have long sentences and Mel, for example, is a Cat. A prisoner.
I would like to support prisoners from other movements and have written to an a EDO prisoner however often there is not many listings for other movements. I know you may feel all prisoners are political prisoner but as my time is limited I would prefer to focus on prisoners from movements I agree with.
AR
Comment
26.06.2009 21:09
Word up!
Charlotte's address was on the leaked BNP membership list.
26.06.2009 21:55
I think the few racists in animal rights tend to come from the misanthropist animal welfare side - they probably read papers like the Express and the Daily Mail that bang on about "foreigners" abusing animals in other countries whilst ignoring the (often much worse) animal abuse that goes on in this country.
Animal rights as a philosophy is an extension of human rights, so it stands to reason that it isn't really compatible with things like racism, sexism or homophobia.
For animal rights and anti-fascism!
Anti-fascist vegan
An accurate quote helps.
27.06.2009 01:52
@ AR - Quoting @ animal wrongist makes the following point:
“All the hand wringing of Animal Rights activists will not change that.”
Actually if they are openly fascist they can be removed. AR is an equality movement. We reject all discrimination.
The original statement was:
The BNP try to infiltrate any "cause" in order to dupe people into their repugnant, vicious and alien creed. Its not suprising that some people join Animal Rights groups and are fascists.
All the hand wringing of Animal Rights activists will not change that.
The truth is, Fascists have threatened people as a matter of course for decades. By getting Animal Rights activists to do it, they create the conditions for actually promoting fascism."
animal wrongist
In context, this says something very different to the point AR addresses. AR is handwringing. Antifascism does not need handwringing apologism. Unless the Animal Rights Movement is openly and actively involved in preventing Fascist infiltration then "we reject all discrimination," is fairly vapid.
The Key sentence is "The BNP try to infiltrate any 'cause' in order to dupe people into their repugnant, vicious and alien creed." By the claim that openly fascist people "can" be removed without including the key sentence about infilitration, all that is done is to make the BNP feel more comfortably able to spread their vicious and alien creed. Congratulations.
Animal Rights might well be a fine and noble cause, but subjecting "me" to fascism because "you" are too incapable of understanding the world outside that debate is not acceptable.
Animal Wrongist
@ Animal Wrongist
27.06.2009 11:58
Although I am beginning to doubt you are a genuine anti-fascist campaigner (no offence if you are), what you have said is an example of how some people from other movements have higher standards for AR then there own movements, while AR tries to work in solidarity with other movements, since when has anti-fascist groups had a way of actively removing animal abusers as you suggest we should with fascists?
What evidence do you have that fascists have got AR people to “threaten” people for them? Non-biased sources, please.
AR
You should read things closely
27.06.2009 18:46
Ghettos promote fascism. Just consider the reason for the Warsaw Uprising.
You take the stance that I claim Fascists have got Animal Rights Activists to "threaten" people. I did not. I simply pointed out that Fascists encourage confrontational and threatening culture because it advances the cause of Fascism. Sadie Black (Sadie Graham) was not exactly involved in passive protesting and went on to portray a very militaristic image.
It is good that you doubt that I am a genuine Antifascist. It is even better that you air that opinion. Part of my point was that Animal Rights is one of the many causes perceived as single issue that the BNP has colonised and used. Fathers 4 Justice, Jerry Springer the Opera, Anti-Racism (the racism cuts both ways scam) and so on are all example of how the BNP has come to operate. Under the fascism of the BNP there would be no room to air such dissenting opinions. I might not be a genuine Antifascist, you might not be a genuine Animal Rights campaigner - this is, after all, the internet. That is not something that will ever be resolved by simply shouting about it.
The point is that the BNP does not need to actively participate in Animal Rights Groups to use the Movement as a recruiting ground or to create an atmosphere of confrontation. It is all very well quoting the ideas of Peter Singer and expecting it to be automatically a socialist, anarchist or even traditionally liberal left or fabian argument. They are not. They can be used by Fascists just as much as Socialists. The BNP see all social movements as fair game. Nice though it might be to trundle along addressing our own personal motivating issue to the exclusion of others, there is diminishing room for that luxury. Unless Animal Rights Groups adopt Antifascism as a defence strategy, there may be no more Animal Rights Groups ever.
It is not a lifestyle choice. It is a matter of survival for all social movements.
Fascism is real. Fascism is here. Fascism uses Animal Rights. Get over it. Do something about it.
Animal Wrongist
the "Animal Rights Movement" is not a homogeneous entity
28.06.2009 22:42
I don't think it is correct to describe the "Animals Rights Movement" as an alienating ghetto. It is part of a massively wide spectrum of people, from little old ladies who write letters to MPs, to militant anarchists who burn things down.
What you are thinking of is the militant part of the animal rights movement that is prepared to break the law and carry out direct action. By its very nature, such activities have to be what you might call "alienating". You can't very well expect people to advertise in the local paper for people to raid factory farms with them!
Charlotte Lewis was, as far as I know, never part of that militant subculture within the animal rights movement. She was in the more mainstream side of people who sometimes get carried away when writing protest letters because they are so emotionally affected by hearing about some aspect of animal abuse. Those people are often totally independent of each other so others probably don't even know if they have fascist ideologies or not.
The grass roots "animal rights movement" don't have any central committees; it is pretty well decentralised with people doing their own thing in different parts of the country. In general I would say the general feeling is very much against racism and fascism, but you can't stop a few fascist oddballs doing things for animals rights on their own. They tend to be ostracised by most others in the movement and it is made clear they are not welcome. There is nowhere that I have seen where they have gained a stronghold in any part of the movement.
My experience of other movements such as the environmental movement is that the same applies. The vast majority are OK but you get a tiny minority of fascists that cling to the periphery and know they aren't welcome. In fact, whenever I have attended anti-fascist events it always seemed that most of the people there were hunt sabs or people from other areas of animal rights!
So in summary I would say that the animal rights response to Charlotte Lewis has been as good as anyone might expect.
vegan
@ Animal Wrongist
29.06.2009 14:06
Please give real, modern examples of fascists “getting” animal activists to threaten people. Or is this just something you think they might do? Is this your imagination?
You are clearly holding animal rights to higher standards, animal rights people are working hard in many movements for social change and to be totally honest I'm pretty pissed off with some people in other movements consistently saying animal rights activists need to do more and never returning solidarity. We are all fighting for a better world, give over yourselfs. The “anti-science, anti-technology, anti-progress” label is mainstream media crap, there is no excuse for radicals to not know better.
AR actually has a lot of popular support out there, normal people are often all for the AR radicals. AR also seems to have more actual working class activists then “working class” movements (socialists, etc) seem to.
AR
Re Ironic
03.07.2009 17:07
Matt Clowes