EDL march on Peterborough

EDL marches have become synonymous with racist violence, often propagated by football hooligans.

The last time the EDL marched through Luton, 250 of them went on the ­rampage in an Asian area of the town. Shop windows were smashed, cars overturned and a number of people were attacked.

Last weekend in Peterborough, an EDL protest ended in a string of arrests for alleged public order offences, affray and possession of offensive weapons. In October, it was Leicester. Previous marches have included Blackburn, Dudley in the West Midlands, Bolton, Stoke and Nottingham.

The EDL has proven to be far more dangerous than the BNP as they do not have a formal membership structure and do not claim to be political. Many EDL members are disgruntled BNP supporters.

Anti racist campaigners successfully removed the BNP’s political base in Barking and Dagenham at the last general election.