Britain First launch "anti-halal operation" in Dartford

Kent Online reports that members of the far-right party, Britain First, have been accused of targeting restaurant owners in Dartford over the use of halal meat.

Britain First leader, Paul Golding, was filmed in Dartford’s town centre last Friday saying that the organisation has started a nation-wide “anti-halal operation.”

The 10-minute video, which deliberately uses harrowing images of animal slaughter, features on Britain First’s official website and a Dartford community Facebook page.

Golding says on video that those who eat at restaurants selling halal meat are unintentionally funding terrorism. He argues that a 2.5% payment is given on all halal products, which Golding insists is largely “funnelled out to jihadi groups, terrorist groups and maybe even ISIS.”

Kent Online writes that critics have described Britain First’s campaign as simply “an attempt to stir up tension.”

Golding launches an attack on “halal certified products,” even listing bread as a food that can be halal and unknowingly consumed by non-Muslims.

The leader of the far-right organisation explains that he plans to threaten restaurant owners by demanding they “switch from halal produce to British produce” or the group will do “a full 6 hour shift on a Friday and Saturday night” outside their business causing them to lose customers.

Leaflets distributed by British First activists warn people not to eat at several local Asian restaurants they believe sell halal meat. Establishments such Eden Palace and Kent Curry, in Hythe Street, were targeted by the group and feature in the far right group’s video. The leaflets read: “THINK TWICE BEFORE EATING AT THIS RESTAURANT!”

Kent Online reports that the MP for Dartford, Gareth Johnson, has confirmed he is to contact the police after restaurant owners were allegedly threatened by Paul Golding and deputy leader Jayda Fransen on film.

Mr Johnson said: “Dartford has really good race relations and we want to keep it that way. I would like to see the back of this group in Dartford.”

“I am contacting Kent Police to seek reassurance that Britain First will not be able to harass or target local businesses in Dartford for their own political aims.”

Dartford’s Labour leader, Jonathon Hawkes, supported Johnson, adding: “The community in Dartford will be very clear that Britain First are not welcome in our town. Dartford is a great place to live and we can be proud of how our community lives and works together, regardless of faith, nationality, or political belief.”

“We build communities in Dartford – groups like Britain First, with their divisive ideas, just want to damage them.”

“They are not welcome here and we’ll do all we can to ensure that they don’t use our town to spread their divisive message,” said Hawkes.

Britain First are well-known for their intimidation tactics. The group have staged anti-Muslim protests, “mosque invasions” and “Christian patrols” across the UK, with a large demonstration planned for this coming weekend in Luton – an area described by Fransen as an ”Islamic ghetto”.

Golding himself appeared in court on harassment charges and was found guilty. He harassed a Muslim woman in her home because he allegedly believed it was the house of “an Al Qaeda terrorist.”

Last month, Golding threatened to “bury a pig” on the construction site where a mosque is to be built in Dudley. “If they throw me in prison I will sit there in my cell for a year or two with a smile on my face because I’ll know that big mosque never went up,” Golding told a crowd of supporters at the fifth protest organised by the group against the Dudley mosque.

The far right group’s branching out from “mosque invasions” to targeting restaurants for their suspected use of halal ingredients is a disturbing development. Britain First are not the first far right group to engage in posturing on the subject of halal slaughter. The English Defence League and the British National Party have both engaged in anti-halal protests in recent years. One can only wonder at the role played in their agitations by media bias against Muslims on the subject of religious slaughter.