Islam versus Europe

The Daily Telegraph has brought in a new leftie blogger to replace John McTernan, now leaving to become Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's communications chief. It is Dan Hodges, Searchlight spokesman, fresh from being kicked out of the New Statesman, probably by the Muslim cattle-driver Mehdi Hasan.

Since the Telegraph is virtually the only place left in the British online newspaper landscape that offers anything approximating free speech on the topic of Islam, Hodges' background is interesting.

A couple of years ago, when the BNP won a couple of seats in the European Parliament, he called for a "multi-pronged campaign" against them.

Dan Hodges, a spokesperson for Searchlight, believes confronting the BNP now that it has seats in Brussels will take a mutli-pronged campaign from all sectors of British society. "Ultimately we need to be tough on fascism, tough on the causes of fascism," he said. In other words, it will take more than a few broken eggs.

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He has called the EDL "extremist" and called for the police to redirect Prevent resources (originally intended to target Islamic extremism) to counter the EDL instead.

Dan Hodges, from anti-fascism charity Searchlight, said the charity had been privately telling police more resources needed to be devoted to countering the threat of far right violence: "It's staggering given the EDL's record of violence, intimidation and the outspoken support of many of its members for far right wing politicians and politics."

He said police should classify the EDL as extremist and linked to violence and spend more time and effort trying to thwart their plans: "It's difficult to see what further evidence one would want to see them as extremist.

"Every EDL demo ends in disorder and physical violence."

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Only two days ago Hodges, described as a Hope Not Hate campaigner, was complaining about the amount of money spent policing EDL marches, but apparently had nothing to say about the cost of policing the Notting Hill "carnival":

Hope Not Hate campaigner Dan Hodges said: “It’s scandalous that so much is squandered in protecting the public from the EDL. Protest is legitimate, intimidation is not.”

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It's just possible that the experience of having been bitchslapped by the Muslim extremist (posing as a mainstream journalist) Mehdi Hasan has caused Hodges to review his welcoming attitude towards our Muslim friends; or that having all his past blogs deleted at the New Statesman has caused him to develop a new appreciation for free speech. But I doubt it.