On Saturday 20th February 2010 Members of the leadership team of the English Defence League were arrested as they traveled to Scotland to support the Scottish Defence League demonstration.

While in custody the team members homes and families homes were raided by police armed with automatic machine guns which terrified the leaderships family which included small children and other older family members. Computer equipment was seized during the 3 hour raid.

Leadership team members were banned from attending any meeting with more than 3 edl members then bailed to return to a police station in Sheffield in the near future. STATEMENT ENDS

The so-called ‘leadership team’ has now called off their Bradford demo on May 20th and since conditions of their bail prevent them attending any meetings of more than three EDL members they are basically fucked in terms of street demos. If othes call them then the EDL Leadership team will be able to exert even less control over the ragbag nazi nutters who turn up than they do now and whoever organises them can expect similar bail conditions in future. Apart from whinging it’s difficult to see where the EDL goes from here and the hasty abandonment of the Bradford demo by the leadership ‘as a concession’ doesn’t exactly say these leaders are made of very stern stuff.

Increasingly of late the police have been seizing mobile phones and computers and enforcing strict and restrictive bail conditions which makes continued political operation of those arrested impossible. Bail is extended to often over a year before any charges are brought. Just because it’s currently the EDL who are copping it tonight doesn’t mean we won’t be next.Protestors arrested at the Radcliff power station school raid were similarly banned from contacting each other.It’s an insidious development brought in by the poice with connivance of the Home Secretary and proving extremely effective at disabling political movements from effective action on the streets.