Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Lanarkshire Live

Lanarkshire MSP calls for police to investigate Neo-Nazi 'racist' pamphleting

An MSP has called for police to investigate after a far-right group shoved "racist" leaflets through letter boxes in a Scots town.

Christina McKelvie hit out after sickening propaganda was dropped on door mats in Larkhall, South Lanarkshire.

The vile leaflets were produced by Patriotic Alternative - a shadowy neo-Nazi mob which wants to remove all non-white people from the UK. The group is known to be active in the west of Scotland and is using the leaflets to openly recruit for members.

McKelvie, the SNP MSP for Larkhall, has urged Police Scotland to investigate if a hate crime has been committed after several of her constituents received unsolicited leaflets.

The tacky pamphlets - seen by the Record - claim the "rapid expansion" of migration "not only brings white Britons ever closer to becoming a minority, but it also has a number of negative effects on all our lives".

The rambling text then proceeds to blame migration to the UK for everything from traffic jams to the rising cost of renting homes.

McKelvie said: “It is horrifying that such racist poison is being distributed across my constituency. People holding differing views is expected in a healthy democracy but vile extremism like this is wholly unacceptable.

"It is the worst type of extreme right-wing propaganda, riddled with lies and deeply offensive.

"I have contacted the police to ask them to investigate if the distribution of this material constitutes a hate crime.

"Meanwhile, my advice to any constituent unfortunate enough to have fascist disinformation like this stuffed through their letterbox is to transfer it straight to the bin."

Patriotic Alternative was founded in 2019 by former BNP press officer Mark Collett - an antisemitic conspiracy theorist who was banned from Twitter the following year.

The Record revealed last year how the group was organising outdoor gatherings in the Scottish countryside.

Fascists gathered in February 2021 to hike through woods in defiance of lockdown rules and then bragged about it on social media.

Hope Not Hate, an anti-racist charity that monitors far-right activity in the UK, has warned that Patriotic Alternative is now the largest fascist organisation operating in the country.

In a report produced last year, it said: "The group adopts a multi-pronged approach to activism, combining provocative and headline-grabbing stunts with a superficial 'family friendly' image of bake sales and community-building activities.

"The group has successfully united formerly disparate elements from across the fractured British far right. However, PA’s public output is carefully confected to conceal the true history and beliefs of the group’s leadership.

"A number of key activists were involved with the now-banned Nazi terror group National Action at different stages, while other members cut their teeth in violent hooligan gangs like the Scottish Defence League."

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We received a report of a leaflet in circulation in the Larkhall area that was considered offensive.

“Enquiries are ongoing.”

And did you know Lanarkshire Live is on Facebook? Why not head to our page and give us a like and share.

*Don't miss t he latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here .

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.