Islamophobia Watch alerts us to a new development in the far right British Freedom Party – it has appointed a English Defence League activist as its South West regional coordinator.

From IW:

“Earlier this week the English Defence League's political wing, the British Freedom party, announced the appointment of their new South West regional organiser. She's an EDL activist from Bristol named Chelsea Anne White.

“White's explanation of her decision to join British Freedom features the usual anti-Muslim rhetoric – "mosques, we don't want them and we don't want burka-clad women on our beaches.... We don't want animals sent for halal slaughter".

“However, in a statement on her Facebook page outlining what motivates her longstanding support for the EDL, White makes it clear that her Islamophobia is part of a wider philosophy that differs little from the traditional skin-colour racism of the far right:

"WE LIVE IN A COUNTRY....OUR COUNTRY.. WHERE IF YOUR WHITE AND ENGLISH YOU DON'T COUNT FOR MUCH BECAUSE THE VOTE IS IN THE AREAS THEY HAVE FLOODED WITH IMMIGRANTS."

The appointment of White should come as no surprise. Earlier this year, it was announced that the EDL and BFP were to enter into a political alliance, and despite insistence from both groups that they are only opposed to ‘extremist’ Islam, the leadership of both have expressed views that belie their claims. In April of this year, Stephen Lennon, leader of the EDL was forced to deny support for the Norwegian terrorist, Anders Behring Breivik, and IW points to a blog piece written by the BFP leader, Paul Weston, in which he scaremongers about the ‘ethnic cleansing’ of the ‘indigenous’ British population.