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When Combat 18 nazis plotted to murder a journalist investigating them – the inside story
A few weeks ago I wrote about the 1993 investigation by Searchlight and ITV’s World In Action, into the neo-nazi terror group, Combat 18. We exposed C18’s responsibility for death threats, beatings, letter bombs and arson attacks. On camera, C18 leader Charlie Sargent threatened me that I would get “a bullet in your head… that’s… Continue reading
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Oswald Mosley’s Dirty Secret
British fascism’s dirty secret – how BUF and Union Movement leader Oswald Mosley enabled child sex abuse at the highest level of his organisation. Continue reading
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When nazis planned to bomb the Notting Hill carnival – the inside story
In May 1981, Searchlight broke one of the most important stories it has ever investigated. British nazis were planning to bomb the Notting Hill carnival. They were thwarted by Searchlight’s mole, Ray Hill, who had infiltrated the plot. Here’s the inside story Continue reading
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Chasing nazis across the sea to Ireland…
It’s not often you get to play a part in the total destruction of a far right group. But that’s what happened after the broadcast, 42 years ago this week, of a TV investigation into Nazi gun running in the UK. Continue reading
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The killing of an anti-fascist -Red Lion Square, June 1974
On 15 June 1974, anti-fascist Kevin Gately was killed, almost certainly by police, on an anti-National Front march in London. I was there, and this is a very short personal recollection of the day. Continue reading
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Frene Ginwala (1932-2023): ANC legend and friend of Searchlight
My Searchlight obituary of veteran ANC activist, Frene Ginwala who worked closely with Searchlight in the 1980s Continue reading
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Oxford 1975: A lesson in anti-fascist unity
In May 1975, a huge-anti-National Front demonstration in Oxford tried to stop the Front meeting in the Town Hall. It was an event which even now holds important lessons for anti-fascists. Continue reading
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Maurice Ludmer: giant of the post war anti-fascist movement
Maurice Ludmer – a giant of the post war anti-racist, anti-fascist movement in postwar Britain, and the first editor of Searchlight magazine Continue reading
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Ray Hill: Britain’s most celebrated anti-fascist mole
Obituary of anti-fascist mole, Ray Hill, who worked undercover inside the British Nazi groups leaving a trail of destruction. Continue reading
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Confronting the Combat 18 terror squad
How we exposed the activities of a violent neo-nazi terror group in Britain. Continue reading
About Me
I’ve been an active anti-fascist since 1974, working for Searchlight magazine from 1975 till 1989. From 1983 till 1989 I was its editor and co-wrote ‘The Other Face of Terror’, with Ray Hill, the celebrated Searchlight infiltrator into the European neo-Nazi movement. After that, and for the next 20 years, I worked as an investigative journalist with ITV’s World in Action and the BBC’s Panorama. I blog about the history and practice of anti-fascism, especially in the UK.
Recent Posts
- The lying snowflake that is Tommy Robinson
- Belarus posthumously prosecutes nazi war crimes fugitive we investigated forty years ago
- Theatre review: Here There Are Blueberries, by Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich
- Obituary: Gerry Gable (1937-2026), architect of modern British anti-fascism
- Peter Marriner: undercover hero of the anti-fascist movement
andy bell 