Signs of Hate is part of the Operation Wedge project.
Signs of Hate is a weighty handbook published by Searchlight and its Operation Wedge project. The aims of Operation Wedge are laudable “to drive a wedge between disadvantaged and alienated youth and the race hate groups that prey on them”. The problems start however with line two of Operation Wedge’s mission statement “It is substantially funded by the Association of London Government and supported by many organisations within the criminal justice system”. Indeed the logos of some of these organisations appear at the front of Signs of Hate – the Crown Prosecution Service, HM Prison Service and the National Probation Service.
That racist organisations look to exploit the feelings of angry young people cannot be disputed. However Operation Wedge appears ignorant of the fact that to many young people the criminal justice system is one of the main problems they face in life – it is not part of the solution. As for the Association of London Government, Class War has only one point to make – how many people (young, middle aged or old) are satisfied with the performance of their local authority? Rather than getting involved in paper projects like this, they really would be better sweeping the streets.
To be fair, Collins and Gable actually know their target audience intimately. Signs of Hate is not aimed at young people themselves but those who boss them about - probation officers, prison and police officers, teachers, Crown Prosecution Service employees and magistrates. The handbook aims to better enable such professionals to recognise everything from “extremist tattoos” to “coded hate messages”. In this Signs of Hate is not original – the American Anti-Defamation League has been producing a similar guide for law enforcement professionals for some years, as well as providing information on groups they define as “racist, pinko or Arab”. Signs of Hate, and indeed Searchlight themselves, can easily be defined as merely a British version of the ADL project.
So what do you get for your £15? There are sections on fascist symbols, insignia, tattoos, jewellery and clothing. There are also chapters on some of the coded language fascists use, and their computer games. Much of this is quite general, but put together in one place is informative. As with anything else however, the devil is in the detail. Some extremely curious assertions are made, and some symbols listed that have nothing to do with fascism at all. It must be news to ageing skinheads with spiders web tattoos on their elbows that
“the spider’s web was a code sign for those who had committed rape on both men and women”.
Some errors are standard
Searchlight exaggeration (the claim of a 600 strong KKK group in South Wales in
the 1990s for example) as is the typical attempt to merge left and right by
linking the slogan “ACAB” – All Coppers Are Bastards (popular with lots of
people, including here at Class War!) with the fascist band Skrewdriver.
However, given that this handbook is a tool for those involved in prosecuting juvenile offenders other mistakes are more serious – they could cost someone their liberty. Pagan and Celtic motifs are routinely identified as fascist by Signs of Hate, something that would come as a bit of a shock to people who buy jewellery in Ireland or parts of northern Europe, or who like designs from those parts of the world.
The popular image amongst
skinheads (both anti-racist, non-political and racist) of a crucified skinhead
on a cross is, we are informed;
“designed to insult and provoke trouble, this anti-Christian item goes beyond attacking the usual targets of blacks and Jews. It insults Churchgoers in the crudest way, reflecting the pagan beliefs of many young Nazis.”
That is, putting it politely, a paragraph of poppycock. The crucified skinhead reflects the way many skinheads feel they are actually treated by society, and in particular the media. Instead of recognising this, Signs of Hate repeats the original offence. That such nonsense is being put in the minds of magistrates and probation officers by so-called experts is profoundly worrying.
Matthew Collins, Gerry Gable and Searchlight have all stated in the past that they work with the security services and the police. This alone places them on opposite sides to independent anti-fascist activists like ourselves. Signs of Hate is a reminder that not only do such state compromised “anti-fascists” have considerable influence over sections of the criminal justice system, but quite often they do not know what they are talking about either!
I have never stated that I work for the state.
Secondly, I don't know who you got your Signs of Hate from, but they are not £16.
Posted by: Matthew Collins | June 22, 2009 at 11:28 PM
Hello Matthew.
Click on this link to order Signs of Hate on-line, and it is £16.
http://www.opwedge.org.uk/SOHad.php
Dear at half the price!
Its surely a bit hard for you to deny working for the state - after all who relocated you to Australia for all those years?
Posted by: Paul Stott | June 23, 2009 at 09:02 AM
Apologies,If you buy it from Searchligh it's cheaper.
You said I have stated that I have worked for the state...
I went to Australia on a one year work visa and married my girl friend who I had met while she was working in the UK. Even the Nutzis can confirm that.
Something like 3,000 Brits per year go to Australia on one year visas and fall in love/apply to stay.
Still, don't let that get in the way of a good smear story.
Posted by: Matthew Collins | June 23, 2009 at 09:29 AM
Are you, or are you not, the Matthew Collins described as informing on C18's activities "to the anti-fascist Searchlight organisation and the security services for three years" in the article 'Informer warns of attacks by other C18 cells' on page 3 of The Observer, 2 May 1999? You might want to refresh your memory - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/1999/may/02/yvonneridley.theobserver
Posted by: Ed | June 23, 2009 at 01:51 PM
And as I have told the Guardian since they put this on their website, I have ever done an interview with Yvonne Ridley.
Funny how she turned out, isn't it.
Posted by: Matthew Collins | June 23, 2009 at 05:10 PM
Nor would I have descrbed myself as an infiltrator.
Other than that, your observations about Signs of Hate have been noted.
Posted by: Matthew Collins | June 23, 2009 at 05:14 PM
i'll take that as confirmation you are that matthew collins then.
Posted by: Ed | June 23, 2009 at 06:54 PM
According to one Matthew Collins, interviewed by Rebecca Taylor in the Time Out of March 27, 2008, which I suppose is you, Special Branch provided you a visa to go to Australia. Do Special Branch commonly do this for people?
Posted by: Ed | June 23, 2009 at 07:12 PM
Under certain circumstances, yes.
The visa was provided by the Australian High commission.
Special Branch accompanied me to the Commission because they were duty bound having informed me that was my life was in danger from one of their grasses, to ensure I had a safe passage.
As for the dippy Rebecca Taylor, although I did do that interview, she quite clearly struggles with paying attention. Most people are more shocked that I gave an interview supposedly promoting the LMHR gig at Victoria Park, which quite oviously HnH did not support.
I'm shocked that you would put so much faith in the writings of one completely flawed journalist and one dippy schoolgirl who thought write up unil the day before publication that I was Weyman Benette.
Still, I'm pleased to be able to clear this up.
Posted by: Matthew Collins | June 23, 2009 at 07:54 PM
(apologies for spelling and grammar)
Posted by: Matthew Collins | June 23, 2009 at 07:56 PM
It must be such a disappointment that you seem to continually run up against utterly incompetent journalists. I'd have thought that, to set the record straight, you'd have managed to get your book - The Men Behind the Flags - out by now, eleven years after it was mentioned in another, presumably equally inaccurate, Guardian article.
Given the amount of time Searchlight spend working with the media, how curious that one of Searchlight's key officials should be so poorly treated by what is usually - at least as far as Gable & his minions are concerned - a totally supine and unquestioning press.
Posted by: Ed | June 23, 2009 at 08:29 PM
I have no complaint with that article (Bob Pryce.)
What is a surprise is how you choose to (not unsurprisingly) and unquestioningly repeat the lies/mistakes from two articles out of how ever many hundreds of interviews I have done, with a "totally supine" press.
And why would I say I was working for the state in the first place?
If I was to get a retraction from the Guardian would you give that such prominence?
As for -The Men Behind The Flags- I'm surprised you have not heard that the rights were bought about three months after that interview.
Now no doubt, you will say I am a Loyalist gunrunner blah, blah, blah or whatever other rubbish Griffin's tubby errand boy spreads.
Posted by: Matthew Collins | June 23, 2009 at 08:52 PM
Right. A search of Nexis UK, the newspaper database, reveals 38 articles from a search of "Matthew Collins" and "BNP". So I don't know where you get the idea that hundreds of interviews with you have been published. As for your reasons for saying you were working for the state, I don't know them, you presumably do.
Given Searchlight's declared relationship with the police and MI5, which has been in existence since the 1960s when Gable was caught breaking into Irving's house, apparently to get documents for Special Branch, and Searchlight's first editor - Maurice Ludmer - who collapsed & died of a heart attack while talking to his Special Branch contact, it would be considerable surprise if you hadn't been working directly for the state.
Ten years after you claim the rights to your book were sold, it has still not appeared. Perhaps Gable has learned his lesson from having to "revise" TIm Hepple's pitiful effort when even the remixed version had as many holes as a Swiss cheese. Is it the case that your book has not appeared simply because you've not been permitted to write it - either by your former paymasters or your current employer?
Posted by: Ed | June 23, 2009 at 09:24 PM
38 articles published on the internet.
I have no former "paymasters" but I guess you believe what you're told by your masters.
The rights were sold the buyers have done with it as they have pleased. I don't care if it comes out or not.
Posted by: Matthew Collins | June 23, 2009 at 09:48 PM
No, not 38 articles published on the internet, 38 articles published in the wide range of media covered by Nexis - not just Times, Guardian etc, but also local papers and foreign media.
I've no "masters", I've just followed your career with interest. If you have no "former" paymasters, I suppose you're still with the same ones as before.
How curious that someone would buy the rights to a book, yet not put it out.
Posted by: Ed | June 23, 2009 at 10:18 PM
Why on earth you would follow my "career" with interest and yet at no time take the opportunity to actually contact me, is beyond me.
I could certainly have debunked some of the strange notions you have obviously picked up. I sold film, TV and publishing rights, but I am not going to go into further detail here.
I have no "masters" never have had a "master" either.
Some "career" you have been following.
Posted by: Matthew Collins | June 23, 2009 at 11:12 PM
So, we have here Collins
1) attempting pathetically to deny Special Branch organised his visa, and then having to admit they did
2) Admitting in an Observer interview his work for the security services, and now claiming this was inaccurate. Yet he never pointed this out at the time
3) Not answering at all why his book has never been published--aside from the fact it may have been too farcical even for Searchlight
4) Not knowing the difference between 38 articles and "hundreds" of interviews
...In short, Collins is exactly the type of creature you would expect to work for an MI5 front like Searchlight.
Posted by: Larry O'Hara | June 24, 2009 at 04:53 PM
Mr O'Hara,
Errand boy for Joe Owens and Nick Griffin;
Posted by: Sean S | July 06, 2009 at 04:12 PM
What a curious post Sean.
I could understand people saying Searchlight inspired programming and prosecutions such as 'The Secret Agent' had backfired, and ultimately helped the BNP, but even I would not go as far as to say such programmes make Gable et al errand boys for the BNP.
How then can a life long anti-fascist such as Larry O'Hara be an 'errand boy' for fascists such as Owens and Griffin?
Posted by: Paul Stott | July 07, 2009 at 12:42 PM