Who is Britain First leader Paul Golding?

PAUL Golding is the leader of far-right group Britain First.

He was most recently spotted taking part in the demonstrations in central London which saw protesters clash with riot police in the ongoing row over some of the country's statues.

Who is Paul Golding?

Paul Golding, 38, is a former British National Party member who leads Britain First, a far-right group.

Golding, from Penge, South East London, was elected as a BNP councillor for Swanley in the Sevenoaks District Council, Kent, in 2009.

Two years later, he stepped down after moving out of the area after being accused of "doing nothing" for his constituents.

Soon after, he helped set up right-wing group Britain First but suffered a heavy defeat when he ran as the party's candidate in the 2016 London mayoral election — coming in eighth.

What is Britain First?

Britain First is a far-right and British nationalist political party formed in 2011 by former leaders of the BNP.

Anti-abortion campaigner Jim Dowson and Golding launched the controversial party.

What has Paul Golding been convicted of?

Guilty of religiously-aggravated harassment

On March 7 2018, Jayda Fransen and and Paul Golding were found guilty of religiously-aggravated harassment for handing out leaflets relating to three Muslim men and a teenager on trial for raping a 16-year-old in the Canterbury and Thanet areas of Kent while the trial was ongoing.

On a video played in court, Fransen could be seen banging on the door and shouting: "Come out and face me you disgusting rapist, come on."

Fransen denied using the phrase "Muslim b******s", or saying that all Muslims are rapists.

Golding told the court that he was only acting as Fransen's cameraman, and that it was her campaign.

He was sentenced to 18 weeks' imprisonment at Folkestone Magistrates' Court while Fransen was caged for nine months.

Guilty of terror offence

Golding was found guilty of a terror offence on May 20, 2020.

Golding, 38, was stopped at Heathrow Airport on October 23 last year on his way back from Moscow by officers from the Metropolitan Police.

He refused to give the pin codes for an iPhone and Apple computer and was later charged with wilfully refusing to comply with a duty under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act.

Golding, the leader of the far-right political group, denied the charge but was found guilty of the offence following a trial at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London.

Chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot ruled there was "no doubt" that Golding had failed to comply with requests for information, despite his obligations being explained to him and being warned "over and over" that if he did not he risked arrest.

She handed Golding a conditional discharge for nine months and ordered him to pay a £21 surcharge and £750 in costs.

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