Around 100 balaclava-clad men gathered outside Hoghton Tower in Lancashire to deliver an anti-migrant message to Andy Burnham. The group, calling themselves the Patriot Platform North, stood side-by-side while their leader read a statement from his phone as they marched towards the camera.
The leader said: “This movement will not disappear. It will grow. This is just the beginning of the Patriot platform. Stage one, recruit. Stage two, begins now. Over the next 18 months, our objective is simple: to become the most informed, organised, and active political movement in Britain.”
Police called to the scene
The group claimed they will carry out “research” and that their movement has “doubled in numbers” following the arrest of Daniel Thomas, known as “Danny Tommo”. The men were seen applauding and walking towards the camera.
A Lancashire Police spokesperson said: “We were called at shortly before 6pm on Sunday (Oct 4th) to a report that a group of around 100 people had gathered in Hoghton. Officers attended and the group dispersed shortly afterwards. No offences were reported.”
Hoghton Tower statement
Hoghton Tower, one of the country’s oldest family estates, told the Lancashire Post it had no prior knowledge of the gathering and that it was not organised or approved by the venue. They said: “This was not organised by or cleared with us, but rather took place without prior knowledge. We understand that the police attended the scene and brought the protest to an end without incident.”
The video echoes scenes in Basingstoke, where a similar statement was read out by masked men, but was mostly drowned out by a car engine. Daniel Thomas is currently remanded in custody on charges related to the slashing of a dinghy in the English Channel.
Andy Burnham’s response
Andy Burnham has spoken out about the masked men dressed in black, calling them “unacceptable” and “creating fear and intimidation on British streets”. He added: “This is not something we’ve seen in this country before. It’s not something we want to see. There are real worries about immigration in all parts of the country.”
Asked if he thinks Thomas is racist, Mr Burnham told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “Well, it’s hard to conclude that he’s anything other than someone who has racist views.” Danny Tommo appeared in court charged with entering a restricted zone at a migrant processing centre on Friday.
District Judge William Nelson sent his case for a further case management hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on November 4. According to court documents, he pleaded guilty to going into a restricted zone at Western Jet Foil in Dover, Kent on March 31 at a previous court appearance on August 27. He denied further charges of using threatening words or behaviour in Dover on April 1, and obstructing a person engaged in a lawful activity on April 6.
