Anti-refugee protestors who organised marches in Skegness and camped outside the RAF Scampton branded ‘extremist’ by the Government

A group of anti-refugee protestors who organised marches in Skegness and camped outside the RAF Scampton base in the last year have been labelled as an “extremist” group by the Government.

Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, announced on Thursday that a new definition for the term extremism had been devised.

Certain groups, five of which were name-checked by Mr Gove, will be blocked from access to meetings with officials and government funding.

The new definition will apply to groups that promote an ideology based on either violence, hatred or intolerance.

The groups listed also include the Muslim Association of Britain and the British National Socialist Movement.

The new extremism definition is “the promotion or advancement of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance, that aims to negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of others; or undermine, overturn or replace the UK’s system of liberal parliamentary democracy and democratic rights; or intentionally create a permissive environment for others to achieve the results in one or two.”

It follows Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s address to the nation earlier this month, when he claimed there were “forces here at home trying to tear us apart,” pointing to pro-Palestine protests across the country as the war in Gaza continues to intensify.

One of the groups to be named by Michael Gove in the House of Commons was Patriotic Alternative, whose presence was felt across Lincolnshire in the last year.

The group fronted an anti-refugee “enough is enough” protest in Skegness last year, opposing the housing of asylum seekers in local hotels.

They also spent time over at the RAF Scampton, one of the sites earmarked for housing up to 2,000 male asylum seekers by the Home Office.

It is understood that Patriotic Alternative members are no longer at RAF Scampton, with local residents now taking over the main camp for protests.

West Lindsey District Council is in the process of launching a second Judicial Review against the Home Office for this proposal, saying the £300 million of private investment proposals from Scampton Holdings Ltd would be scuppered by the site becoming a refugee camp.

Scampton Holdings planned to use the base as an aviation, education and historical site that celebrates the rich heritage of the former home of the legendary Dambusters squadron.

Roger Patterson, Conservative West Lindsey District Councillor for Scampton ward, welcomed the government’s new definition, and said genuine concerns around RAF Scampton had been clouded by “out and out racism” from groups like the Patriotic Alternative.

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“For most people, Skegness was about the drop in availability for hotels, thus the effect it has on the tourist economy, and at Scampton our concern is the future and the £300 million regeneration project,” he said.

“But they (Patriotic Alternative) fed into people’s fears and made it a race issue.

“It’s good news that Michael Gove announced this. There’s a fine line between criticising countries and groups of people, but when race or religion is involved, it is out and out racism.”

Coun Patterson went on to say that protests of this sort have “run their course” and encouraged groups from outside the Scampton area to “leave us alone and let the local residents deal with it.”

Rachael Green, a resident at RAF Scampton who has regularly held protests outside the base area that she calls home, isn’t so sure, however.

She said: “It seems to me that the law as it stands should be adequate, anyone promoting targeted violence against other sections of society should be dealt with under laws that already exist.

“Many of the problems in this area seem to stem from an unwillingness to actually apply the law evenly and without fear or favour.

“When one sees extremists with ISIS flags on the streets crying for ‘death to infidels,’ it would seem several laws are breached but are not dealt with.

“Similarly, Patriotic Alternative calls for the removal of ALL immigrants from the country; that is hateful and should be dealt with too if this message spills onto the streets.”

Rachael went on to say the public should be trusted to make these decisions themselves, and government intervention should only happen “when actual laws are broken.”

Referencing her own experience at RAF Scampton, Rachael added: “Patriotic Alternative have sniffed around the protests at Scampton. I didn’t like them being there, I didn’t join them, but I had to accept their right to be there, they weren’t breaking any laws.

“However, when some of their group returned and carried out violent attacks against several people at gate 8, that is extremist behaviour. That is the point at which the law should have stepped in.

“But from what I understand, no arrests have been made, even though several of the individuals have been identified by those who were attacked!”

Gainsborough MP Sir Edward Leigh, a vocal campaigner against the housing of asylum seekers at the former RAF Scampton base in his constituency, had concerns over the government’s announcement on Thursday.

He felt that “people have the right to criticise religious people or particular religions,” and suggested this was a free speech issue, when debating the topic in the Commons.

As well as a redefinition of the term extremism, there will also be a new Counter-Extremism Centre of Excellence set up to gather intelligence and identify potential extremist groups.

Any groups labelled as extremist have the right to seek reassessment and submit evidence for a review into their status.

The Patriotic Alternative has been contacted for comment.