Britain First's Facebook Page Banned For 'Hate Speech'... Then Put Back Just An Hour Later

Britain First Is Confusing Facebook
|
Open Image Modal
Hope Not Hate

Facebook thinks the far-right, pseudo-militia group Britain First's posts are OK, apparently.

The group's page was removed from the social media site for hate speech on Friday – only to be restored again an hour later.

The Facebook page has almost half a million likes, with up to two million people a day engaging with their "patriotic" pictures of soldiers, Union Jacks and... puppies. Many do not realise they are interacting with the extreme right.

A screenshot posted by anti-fascist campaigners Hope Not Hate appeared to show Facebook had banned Britain First in response to a complaint.

The Huffington Post UK has spoken to Facebook representatives who said they could not give any comment.

The Independent reported that Facebook claim the removal of the page was a "mistake."

Britain First’s page has almost 500,000 “likes” - making it more popular than the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats, and arguably making it the UK's biggest political Facebook site.

Files released by the Hope Not Hate suggest that as many as 2 million people could be interacting with Britain First content online each day.

However, behind the social media facade lies a small but dangerous group of religious fundamentalists intent on starting a "Holy war" on the streets of Britain, according to a recent report.

Hope Not Hate claim the group has links to far-right protestant extremism and Northern Irish terrorism.

Britain First is the most active far-right group to emerge from the collapse of the BNP and EDL over the last year.

Driving military LandRovers, wearing uniforms, recruiting former soldiers and training for combat, this is a far-right party with dangerous intentions.

Their leader on the streets, Paul Golding, is a former BNP councillor and their political guru, Jim Dowson - a hardline evangelical anti-abortion activist - was previously in charge of BNP finances.

In a recent interview with Channel Four News, Dowson admitted to pursuing a "holy war" on the streets of Britain:

"One thing I agree with Mr Choudry on, there is such a concept as a just war, a holy war. He calls it Jihad. We call it a crusade," he told Paraic O'Brien.

"Without any shadow of a doubt, this is a holy war."

The Far Right In Europe
Front National (France)(01 of10)
Open Image Modal
Marine Le Pen has had to work hard to de-toxify her fair right party, including censoring her own father and the party's founder. Jean Marie Le Pen suggested only last month that "Monseigneur Ebola" could sort out Europe's immigration issue "in three months". He has regularly been convicted under France's race hate laws, and has called the Nazi gas chambers a “small detail”The party took a quarter of the vote in France, with its popular anti-immigration platform. (credit:Getty Images)
National Democratic Party (Germany)(02 of10)
Open Image Modal
The neo-Nazi NPD has been campaigning on a platform of stopping immigration and been called racist and anti-semitic.They have fought under the banner of slogans like "Money for granny instead of Sinti and Roma" and "the boat is full", given interviews insisting Europe is "a continent of white people" and have marched with banners proclaiming the Nazi ideology of "National Socialism". (credit:Getty Images)
Golden Dawn (Greece)(03 of10)
Open Image Modal
The Greek ultra nationalist party Golden Dawn has swapped its jackboots for suits in the run-up to the elections and been rewarded with its first seats in the European Parliament. Its main spokesman has a swastika tattoo, and a good number of the party's members are in prison for being part of a criminal organisation. Its slogans have been daubed on mosques, synagogues and cemeteries. In May 2012, Golden Dawn ran in Greek elections under the slogan "So we can rid this land of filth", set up 'Greek-only' food banks, and its spokesman has quoted from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion in parliament,But the party insists it is neither criminal nor neo-Nazi. It is now the country's third most popular party. (credit:Getty Images)
Finns (Finland)(04 of10)
Open Image Modal
Finland's anti-euro populist party has done less well than predicted, but still picked up two MEPs. Previously known as the 'True Finns' . Its MP James Hirvisaari was fined in 2011 for comments he made on his blog about Muslims, another declined an invite to the Independence Day ball because he did not want to see same-sex couples, but the party has repeatedly rejected accusations of racism and homophobia. (credit:Getty Images)
Danish People's Party (Denmark)(05 of10)
Open Image Modal
The Danish People's party won nearly 27% of the vote and has doubled its number of MEPs. The party's founder Pia Kjærsgaard holds the view that Denmark is not a country where immigration is natural or welcome. In response to criticise from Swden, she retorted: "If they want to turn Stockholm, Gothenburg or Malmö into a Scandinavian Beirut, with clan wars, honour killings and gang rapes, let them do it. We can always put a barrier on the Øresund Bridge." (credit:AP)
Party for Freedom (The Netherlands)(06 of10)
Open Image Modal
Dutch far-right 'Party for Freedom' leader Geert Wilders will be disappointed with the results, as pro-EU parties topped the Dutch poll. His party has been dogged with controversy. Known for his vociferous criticism of Islam, Wilders is known for saying "I don't hate Muslims, I hate Islam".He campaigns to end all Muslim immigration to the Netherlands and repatriate Muslims currently living there. "Islam is the Trojan Horse in Europe. If we do not stop Islamification now, Eurabia and Netherabia will just be a matter of time," Wilders once told the Dutch parliament. This week, there was no difference in the rhetoric. "Do you want more or less Moroccans in this city and this country?" he shouted to a rally, to chants of "Less! Less!" "We'll arrange that," he said.The party retains four seats in the EU parliament. (credit:Getty Images)
Jobbik (Hungary)(07 of10)
Open Image Modal
The right-wing nationalist party Jobbik, one of the most obviously neo-Nazi parties in the European parliament, matched its 2009 EU election results, garnering 14.7% of the vote and three MEPs. Members have called for the country's Jewish inhabitants to sign a special register. "I think such a conflict makes it timely to tally up people of Jewish ancestry who live here, especially in the Hungarian Parliament and the Hungarian government, who, indeed, pose a national security risk to Hungary," the party's deputy parliamentary leader, Márton Gyöngyösi said. (credit:Getty Images)
Austrian Freedom (Austria)(08 of10)
Open Image Modal
There were huge gains for the far-right Freedom Party, which gained around a fifth of the vote for its anti-immigration platform. It doubled the number of MEPs, from two to four and says it hopes to form an alliance with the Front National. “If there are immigrants, from Turkey, who complain there is a cross hanging in the classroom at school, then I say to them: ‘go back home’," was the slogan from leader Heinz-Christian Strache this week. The party is fiercely anti-Muslim immigration, and believes Austria should not accept any more migrants. Strache says he himself is not a racist because he "eats kebabs." (credit:Getty Images)
Lega Nord (Italy)(09 of10)
Open Image Modal
The far-right party gained 6% of the vote in Italy. "Africa hasn't produced great geniuses as anyone can see from a Mickey Mouse encyclopaedia," one of its ex MEPs said, (credit:Getty Images)
But one bit of good news in Britain(10 of10)
Open Image Modal
Leader of the BNP Nick Griffin lost his seat in the European parliament, the far-right party's only MEP after Andrew Brons quit the party. Out of breath and breathing heavily, Griffin said his reception at the town hall was "fairly typical". He appeared to concede defeat saying his party had "no chance" tonight, before adding: "We will be back."The BNP were the real "racist" party, he said, and those who had voted for Ukip had been mistaken. (credit:PA)