THINK of the English Defence League and the stereotype is white skinhead
bruisers at an anti-Muslim rally, fists clenched and faces twisted with
hate.
But young women, often in their teens and twenties, are now the group’s
fastest-growing demographic, and they call themselves EDL Angels.
There are still only around 200 of these Angels, in a group which claims to
have 35,000 active members — but they are making their presence felt.
And their leader is Gail Speight, who was the first woman to join, back in
October 2009 — the same time she coined the Angels tag.
A mother to three boys, she is seen as a rising star and some are even
muttering that the unthink- able could happen one day — the
testosterone-fuelled EDL could have a woman at the helm.
Along with several other young Angels, Gail is the focal point of a BBC3
documentary called EDL Girls: Don’t Call Me Racist, to be screened on March
10 at 9pm.
And I am the only journalist allowed to visit Gail at her well-kept house on a
council estate in West Yorks, tucked away behind a barrier of tall conifers.
A flat-screen TV dominates the newly decorated front room, a pair of magnetic
golliwogs adorn the fridge, while a Union Jack bin and laptop case create a
patriotic feel.
Out back, several St George crosses and Union flags are tied to the fence,
as if to deter any burglar brave enough to try their luck on this English
woman’s castle.
Single Gail, 42, is currently regional organiser of EDL Yorkshire. She is
blonde, pretty, heavily made-up, eloquent, softly spoken and extremely
friendly — the very opposite of the EDL’s typical public image.
Gail, who is currently unemployed, poses for pictures with her EDL flag, then
we begin an unflinchingly honest, three-hour talk.
She says: “What attracted me to the EDL was the passion for country. It drew
me in immediately. I’d lived in Leeds for 20 years and seen a massive
change.
“Christianity has been pushed aside. Islam is forced on our kids.
“We are getting pushed out and it is causing anger. It is creeping Sharia
law.
“It gets me angry that this country — and especially Yorkshire — are getting
driven down. People call Bradford ‘Bradistan’ now.
“There should be a total stop on immigration. The EDL will be coming out soon
with that message. We should help immigrants if they have a bona fide
reason, like losing their lives if they get sent home.
“But if they turn up on the back of lorries? They are sponging. Britain needs
a backbone again.”
Gail accepts the group has at times suffered from a bad image — notably last
October when its high-profile founder Tommy Robinson departed over concerns
that it had been infiltrated by “far-Right extremists”.
There have also been many arrests and clashes with police at marches, like the
one in east London in September.
But the group still declares itself a rising force, lifted up by growing
anti-Islamic sentiment in the wake of the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby.
And Gail thinks girl power can only help.
She recalls: “There were no women involved when I joined.
“So I got on Facebook and decided to rally for more women. I called myself
Gail Angel and got a tremendous response.
“Women’s issues need to be talked about more. I have the balls to do it in
a very male-dominated world.
“Mothers want to fight for our kids’ future. A lot of men just go for a drink,
but there is a pure, patriotic passion in the EDL. There is no malice.”
And Gail is proud to claim that she has drawn more women by challenging their
ideas of what female activists look like.
She explains: “They expect big, butch lesbian-looking types. A hell of a lot
of other women have come forward since seeing my Facebook page or YouTube
clips of me.
Chain-smoking and sipping tea as two burly dogs scratch and whine next door,
she continues: “Women bring out the softer side of the EDL. The motivating
forces are higher.”
Gail claims her unusual perspective as an EDL member and mother allows her
to tackle the issues facing many Muslim women, most notably Pakistani sex
grooming gangs and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
She explains: “An issue that breaks my heart are the Muslim grooming gangs.
When I say Muslim, you could be black, brown, white — I don’t care about the
colour of your skin. I do care about what you’re doing to our children.
“I know there are white paedophiles, too, but if you read some of the Koran,
it says it is OK to marry a child. It’s child abuse.
“Women understand more. I read about a 12-year-old girl who’d been groomed. It
devastated me. The gangs like to get them when they’re vulnerable. These men
prey on these girls and destroy their lives.
“Because I’ve been outspoken about the issue, I’ve had so many girls
approaching me. And a lot of mothers have said that had happened to their
daughters.
“One woman approached me at a rally and said her daughter had been raped 20
times by a grooming gang. She wanted to speak at the rally but the police
wouldn’t let her.”
Gail continues: “With FGM they are mutilating these girls so they have no
pleasure, so they are ‘clean’ — it is horrendous.
“They are doing it in the summer holidays by going abroad, but they are also
doing it here in the UK. That is just child abuse to me.
“I have spoken to four Muslim girls who have approached me via Facebook. They
come forward because they know we are going to listen and not judge them. It
is not safe to talk to their parents — and certainly no man.”
In the BBC3 documentary, the crew follow Gail during a recent court case where
she claimed she was attacked by a Muslim with an iron bar, then had her jaw
broken by two Muslim men in a separate altercation in May.
In November, the jury found the men not guilty, but Gail feels it was the EDL,
not her alleged assailants, who were on trial.
She says: “The police said I was trying to provoke a riot. I’d been attacked
but never treated like a victim. To me the case should have been about me
getting attacked, but it was the EDL on trial.”
Gail is resolute that neither she or the EDL is racist. She says: “Racist is
the most overused, pathetic word.
“Most of the EDL people I know don’t care about colour. We just want to fight
the issues.
“There is no political party that speaks for our people. UKIP says it will
stop immigration for two years but it isn’t enough.
“We are out to win the hearts and minds of those who don’t feel they are
being listened to.”
Set up by football hooligan
FOOTBALL supporters founded the EDL nearly five years ago to fight what they
consider to be a spread of Islam, Sharia law and Islamic extremism in the
UK.
The protest group sprang up in Luton as a collective of local soccer “firms”
in June 2009 who put aside their club differences in protest at an extremist
Islamic organisation.
Al-Muhajiroun had outraged them by staging an anti-war demonstration during a
march by local troops just home from Afghanistan.
Leader Tommy Robinson repeatedly insisted that the EDL was only “against the
rise of radical Islam”. But the group is is condemned by the Unite Against
Fascism organisation as wholly anti-Muslim.
Last October, Robinson and fellow co-founder Kevin Carroll left the group,
citing concerns over the “dangers of far-Right extremism”.
New leader Tim Ablitt then expelled up to 50 members who he called
“Hitler-loving Nazi boot-lickers.” He has called for more Muslim members.