More EDL members sentenced to prison

It has been a bad week for the English Defence League as members from the far-right group were given jail sentences.

In a week where members of the EDL and British National Party have hijacked the case of a woman accused of hurling racist abuse at tram passenger, the court appearances and sentencing of members of both far-right groups continues to show the nasty elements which exist in both groups.

Two men, ex-soldier Simon Beech and Garreth Foster, were sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of deliberately setting fire to a mosque in Stoke-on-Trent in December 2010. The pair had denied committing arson with intent to endanger life but the court heard the attack was in revenge for Muslim extremists burning poppies on Armistice Day.

Beech told the court during the four-day trial that he had been a member of the English Defence League as well as the British National Party but claimed he was not a racist and did not believe his views to be extreme.

Earlier this month, several members of the EDL were given prison sentences for their attack at private members' club the Irish Centre in Newcastle.

Around 20 members of the group, some wearing EDL hoodies pushed their way into the centre and caused havoc. Prosecutor Jonathan Devlin told the court staff inside were punched and kicked while a fire extinguisher was set off. The EDL members had hoped to storm a meeting by the Socialist Workers Party, which was cancelled as staff had rightly feared there would be trouble from EDL members who had gathered at a pub nearby.

Peter Duffy was given 10 months in prison after admitting public order offences while Barry Keddy and Michael Garrock were given eight months. The English Defence League’s North East regional organiser Alan Spence, who also stood as a parliamentary candidate for the BNP at the general election, was given seven months for his role in the attack.

These incidents continue to show the nasty side of the EDL, whether it's their attempts to blow up a place of worship or attempting to attack a meeting by the socialist party and when they couldn't find them, they just attacked staff at a members' club.

Image: Simon Beech and Alan Spence