A children’s sports coach who heads a far right group in Scotland has been condemned after describing his organisation as “racial nationalist”. Kenny Smith is a former British National Party (BNP) member and election candidate who now acts as the national organiser for Patriotic Alternative (PA) Scotland. PA has been accused of being “openly fascist” and The Ferret revealed in February that some of its supporters in Scotland posted racist and anti-Semitic messages along with disturbing neo-nazi images in a private group on messaging app Telegram. The Campaign Against Antisemitism said PA had a “deeply worrying fixation with recruiting impressionable young people to its far-right ideology” and urged those caring for young people to be vigilant of the group. Recent infighting within PA has seen documents, messages and audio from leading figures leaked by disillusioned former members who claim the group’s followers are being led to “a ruinous end”. By analysing these materials, The Ferret has been able to confirm Smith’s identity.
On 10 August, Smith featured on a far right podcast which has reportedly described itself as “Britain’s most racist podcast”. During the recording, Smith said he is originally from the Western Isles and will be 49 this year. He told the podcast host he had been involved in “racial nationalism” since 1991, which is when he went to his first BNP meeting in Glasgow. He recalled listening to “skinhead music” including neo-nazi bands Skrewdriver and Brutal Attack, and handing out BNP leaflets at an anti-abortion rally held by the late Northern Irish DUP politician, Ian Paisley, in Stornoway in 1998. Smith called PA a “racial nationalist organisation” which would not be active if “our country was an ethnostate”. The far-right organiser advised PA members to keep a low profile online, avoid using “racial slurs” and do things “by the book” in order not to attract the attention of security services. “We want our youngsters to keep their head down, finish their education and get a good job,” he said. Smith also discussed his group’s recent trip to Ben Nevis where they displayed a “White Lives Matter” banner at the summit, a stunt that was condemned by local MP Ian Blackford and the The John Muir Trust. He also plans to launch overseas branches of PA. We understand that Smith previously ran holiday accommodation on the Isle of Skye, as revealed by the Anti Fascist Research Collective. Smith linked to the accommodation’s website, which we are not naming, in his social media profiles. The accommodation’s Facebook page has also been taken down in recent weeks.
via theferret: Far right leader condemned for ‘racial nationalist’ comment