A trans direct action group, Bash Back, has produced a guide urging activists to buy hammers and target MPs, leading a former government adviser to call for the group to be proscribed before someone is killed.
The guide lists examples of "good targets" for action, including "offices of transphobic MPs" and the property of "transphobic public intellectuals". It adds: "Ensure your target can be hit repeatedly until they desist from their activities."
Online material also advises that equipment such as backpacks and hammers should be "acquired with as few direct links to the actionists as possible" and to "purchase in cash, or acquire by other untraceable means".
Merchandise and Social Media Posts
Merchandise bearing the words Bash Back, including T-shirts and caps featuring rifles, is sold on sites such as Etsy. Recent posts on the group's X account claimed former Health Secretary Wes Streeting "killed trans kids" during his time in charge of the NHS, and called Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood a "transphobe, racist and authoritarian".
Group Denies Condoning Physical Harm
Despite singling out ministers, including the "transphobic, racist bully" PM Andy Burnham, the group said: "We do not condone causing physical harm to any human being."
Calls for Proscription
A source with knowledge of Bash Back's tactics said: "They think they are the Real IRA or something. It's a disaster waiting to happen. They should be proscribed before someone gets seriously hurt. They are a terrorist group. It's bonkers."
Lord Walney, the government's former adviser on political violence, likened Bash Back to proscribed Palestinian Action. He said: "The language and imagery used by Bash Back clearly and deliberately puts women in danger of being violently assaulted in the name of trans rights - the Home Secretary should proscribe the group before someone gets killed."
The Home Office said protesters crossing the line into intimidation, unlawful or violent behaviour will face the full force of the law. A spokeswoman added: "While the right to protest is fundamental to our democracy, this cannot cross the line into intimidation, unlawful or violent behaviour."
