EDL to Return to North Staffs

As if it wasn't enough that the racist knuckleheads of the English Defence League have run amok in Hanley once this year, they are planning on making a comeback to the environs of North Staffordshire. According to our local paper, The Sentinel:

Members of the English Defence League (EDL) are believed to be organising a gathering in Newcastle town centre via social networking website Facebook.

The event will be held on April 24 and 25, the weekend after St George's Day.

It is understood the gathering would not be an official demonstration, like the rally held in Hanley on January 23, but a social event.

Police say they are aware of the plans and have been speaking to landlords about the event.

The full article can be read here.

The EDL might like to pretend this is an unofficial gathering, but everyone knows it will be the same thugs out causing trouble as last time. Clearly their previous outing in The Potteries has given them the confidence to launch another provocation more or less at the site of their last disgrace.

You can bet your bottom dollar it will be as heavily policed as last time, if not more so. But it is imperative we - the labour movement and anti-fascist movement - pull out all the stops to make sure the counter-demonstration is as big as possible.