Martin Webster
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Martin Guy Alan Webster (born May 1943) is a former leading figure on the far-right in British politics.
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[edit] Early political activism
An early member of the National Labour Party and the League of Empire Loyalists, Webster was John Tyndall's closest ally and followed him in joining the British National Party, the National Socialist Movement and the Greater Britain Movement.[1] Webster also spent time in prison for knocking former Mau Mau leader Jomo Kenyatta to the ground outside the London Hilton hotel, for helping to organise Spearhead, and was convicted under the 1936 Public Order Act.[2] He attracted further notoriety in 1972 when he was recorded as saying: "We are busy setting up a well-oiled Nazi machine in this country."[3] Later he would claim, "I revere the days of the British Empire when our forebears waded up to their knees in wogs' blood".
[edit] With Tyndall in the NF
Webster continued to be an able lieutenant to Tyndall and followed him into the National Front. Webster proved an early success in the NF, being appointed National Activities Organiser in 1969.[4] and, in this position, jointly held the leadership of the party with Tyndall until 1974. Webster clashed with Tyndall's replacement John Kingsley Read and the clash set in motion Read's downfall, allowing Tyndall to return to the leadership.[4] However Webster would go on to break with Tyndall and became the leading figure in the NF during Andrew Brons' leadership.[5]
At a time of high activism by the Anti-Nazi League Webster attmepted to damage that group by suing Peter Hain, then one of the leading members, for libel in 1982, although the initiative came to nothing.[6]
[edit] Later NF activity and expulsion
Rumours of Webster's homosexuality led to him becoming vilified in far-right circles and he also fell foul of the Political Soldier wing of the NF. In 1983 they ensured that he lost his position as National Activities Organiser, then deprived him of his place on the National Directorate, before expelling him from the party altogether.[7] Many activists also reproached Webster for being too friendly with the police. He briefly attempted to lead his own group, One Nation, although this proved unsuccessful despite the financial support he received from Françoise Dior and the organisational involvement of Denis Pirie.[8]
[edit] BNP and current activity
No longer involved in active politics (although he was associated with Lady Jane Birdwood for a while leading up to her death[9] ) Webster re-emerged in 1999 to claim that he had been involved in a gay relationship with Nick Griffin during the 1970s, apparently an intervention in Griffin's attempts to wrest leadership of the British National Party from Tyndall.[10] He formed a closer, personal friendship with MI5 agent Peter Marriner (who is also gay[11]), who was later exposed on a TV documentary. It has been claimed in far right web forums that both Webster and Marriner, alleged to be a couple, benefited from the will of Lady Birdwood.[12] Webster's efforts against Griffin proved unsuccessful and he has yet to return to the political scene, although he claims to write as a freelance, producing an e-bulletin 'Electronic Loose Cannon'.[13]
[edit] Elections contested
| Date of election | Constituency | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 1973 | West Bromwich | NF | 4789 | 16.0 |
| February 1974 | West Bromwich East | NF | 2907 | 7.0 |
| 1979 | Bethnal Green and Bow | NF | 1740 | 6.1 |
| October 28, 1982 | Peckham | NF | 874 | 3.9 |
[edit] References
- ^ Copsey, Nigel (2004). Contemporary British Fascism: The British National Party and the Quest for Legitimacy. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 8-9. ISBN 1403902143.
- ^ Copsey, pp. 13-4
- ^ "The Listener", BBC, Dec 1972.
- ^ a b Copsey, p. 16.
- ^ Copsey, pp. 23-4.
- ^ 'Eastenders: have they knocked out the Nazis?'
- ^ Copsey, p. 34.
- ^ G. Gable, 'The Far Right in the United Kingdom', L. Cheles, R. Ferguson & M. Vaughan (eds.), Neo-Fascism in Europe, London: Longman, 1991, p. 252
- ^ Nick Lowles, 'A very English extremist', Searchlight
- ^ Copsey, p. 111.
- ^ 'Homo-Fascism After Hitler'
- ^ Forum of Vanguard News Network
- ^ Martin Webster has another go at the BNP's Nick Griffin
