There is a lively debate in comments on my posting on neo-con bloggers pretending they are libertarians. Prominent among them, of course, is Paul Staines who blogs as Guido Fawkes. Paul has commented thus:
I have not ever flirted with racism. I have always been anti-racist. Nutter.
I would argue that proposing any kind of arrangement with the BNP is to flirt with racism. This is from The Guardian of 31 May 1986.
Tory student leader in ‘ racist ‘ party link / Paul Delarie-Staines of FCS attempts to form pact with British National Party in Hull
By David Rose
A leader of the Federation of Conservative Students wrote to an organiser of the British National Party proposing joint ‘direct action’ to disrupt the meetings of leftwing students. Secrecy, he emphasised, was essential: ‘The Reds would simply go wild if they got to hear of a BNP-FCS link. I would personally be in danger of being expelled from the Conservative Party.’
The author of the letter is Mr Paul Delarie-Staines, the chairman of the federation’s 50-strong branch at the Humberside college of Higher Education. Mr Delarie-Staines, who is in his first year of a degree course in business information studies, wrote on May 22 to Mr Ian Walker, a BNP organiser in Hull.
He was, he said, against several of the aims of the BNP, which campaigns for the repatriation of black citizens. Several of its members have been convicted of offences under the Race Relations Act, and others for crimes of violence against ethnic minorities. Its leader, Mr John Tyndall, is a former chairman of the National Front.
Mr Delarie-Staines said he did not share the BNP view on immigration: as a member of the ‘libertarian’ faction of the FCS he advocated the free movement of labour, albeit with the caveat that ‘you come here to work – or starve. ‘
He went on: ‘I share a lot of your objectives.’ These included a return to leadership and statesmanship, the abolition of the welfare state, and ‘the elimination of Communism in Britain – the mass media, the trade unions, and the schoolroom. ‘
Mr Delaire-Staines continued: ‘Nevertheless, even though we have our differences, I know a lot of BNP people at college do support the FCS (some are members of the FCS). I can certainly envisage some degree of cooperation.
‘For instance, we are moving away from just the normal political debate and towards more direct action – anti-Communist slogans on bridges, disrupting the leftist meetings by posing as leftists and then causing trouble, and also convincing individual leftists of the error of their ways.
‘Perhaps members of the BNP would care to join us in our anti-leftist activities. We can arrange a meeting to discuss possible joint future activities. ‘
Other examples of Mr Delaire-Staines work reached the Guardian, including a number of songs. One, entitled FCS Bootboys, reads: ‘Gas them all, gas them all, the Tribune group trendies and all. Crush Wedgwood Benn and make glue from his bones, Burn the broad left in their middle class homes.
‘Yes we’re saying goodbye to the Left, as safe in their graveyards they rest. ‘Cos they’ll get no further, we’ll stop with murder, the bootboys of FCS. ‘
In a letter to a friend, Mr Delaire-Staines said that he had been on a ‘community arts course – well. not exactly community arts, more spraypainting a bridge at 3am. Quite good fun really, ducking out of sight of passing police cars’
Mr Delaire-Staines told the Guardian that he had not meant violence by direct action at leftist meetings, only ‘causing as much noise as possible’. He said that he had tried to forge links with the BNP because ‘we share their anti-Communist view’.
He added: ‘They’re not far-right. They’re just racists, they believe in one colour. ‘
Mr John Barrow, the national chairman of FCS and a Lambeth councillor, said that Mr Delaire-Staines was ‘a bit silly. I wouldn’t hold it against him. I’m sure he’ll grow out of it.’ After hearing extracts from the letter to the BNP he added. ‘He’s absolutely right that he’s in danger of being thrown out of the Conservative Party.’
Mr James Goodsman, the Conservative Central Office official responsible for the FCS, said: ‘If the evidence comes my way I will certainly look into it.
Readers may make up their own mind whether Paul Staines or I appears to be the nutter.
I was myself a student in the 1980’s and I rmember the FCS in their full glory. I remember watching almost the entire National leadership of FCS in St Andrews one day standing on chairs and singing “Tomorrow belongs to me” while giving Nazi salutes. I can certainly confirm that jokes about gas chambers were common in FCS circles, in exaclty the kind of vein referred to in the song quoted in The Guardian article, whether or not it is correctly attributed to Paul Staines.
The Federation of Conservative Students in the mid 1980s was not the sort of organisation which would be immediately attractive to an anti-racist activist. The Conservative Party eventually moved against it because of its embarassing excesses.
Paul Staines may be telling the truth, that he has never been a racist. But anybody who proposes an alliance with the BNP is certainly “Flirting with racism”.
As to his claim to have always been an anti-racist, that is to claim more than simply to claim not to be racist. To suggest any alliance with the BNP is certainly a rather eccentric thing for an anti-racist to do.
I would cllaim I have always been an anti-racist. In the early 1980s, for example, I was a member of the Anti Apartheid Movement and the Anti Nazi League. I have plenty of witnesses to that, and most reasonable people would take that as evidence tending to show I am an anti-racist. What evidence does Paul Staines have to offer us of his anti-racist activism?
You know when you’ve been Tango’ed
Craig,
When I got my first proper job, I worked hard and got promoted very quickly.
I was only 23 – and one of the things I had to deal with was my staff.
One of them was a member of the Socialist Workers Party.
One of them was a member of the National Front (he actually stood for election)
At the weekends they would both go on the local riots in Manchester and Salford and throw rocks at each other – whilst I would go and see Black Sabbath or Hawkwind or the Groundhogs or Whatever Band was Playing
Yet during the week they both did their jobs really professionally – and actually talked to each other as required to do their jobs.
I wasn’t a hard boss. Providing everyone in my team worked their balls off – I couldn’t give a fuck what their politics were – or what they did in their free time.
But the question I have for you – which you may well have already answered is Personal.
I want to know about your Wife? and Child?
I do understand that you may have already answered my question by sending me an email – but I don’t read emails.
I think everything should be in the open.
My daughter Katy will be featuring in an advert on Prime Time National TV sometime within the next few months.
It’s to do with Orange Rockcorps or something – she went along last year – like loads of other kids and painted decaying schools and cleaned up crap and stuff – and entered the competition – and got the job. At first I thought she was doing the camera work, sound, design or production.
She is a brilliant photographer – and took the most amazing pictures at the G20 Protests.
Tony
Craig, you are an idiot and if you did any checking whasoever you would know that (a) the journalist concerned apologised for the article (b)that I was acting as agent provocateur for the best of reasons.
That is accepted by David Rose who wrote the original article and by all who have investigated this – apart from people who deliberately choose to believe otherwise. No journalist who has subsequently looked into this, and many have, disputes the explanation.
Now since you are, as we all know, an attention seeking nutter you will no doubt choose to dispute this based on your extensive research e.g. Googling, but those are the facts.
She’s just told me – it was today – and She didn’t turn up.
I said why?
Opportunities like that – just don’t happen – and when they happen – you have simply got to go for it.
She said I had been working continuously to finish off my Photographic project – that is why I desperately asked you to get me some more photographic paper this morning (true)
I handed in my final completed project on the final deadline at 5pm tonight
What do you want – for me to get the Grades to get into University – or appear in a Prime Time National TV Advert.
I Guess She Doesn’t Want To Be a Performing Monkey
Or Bottled it
Tony
Guido,
Yes, I did google it. Strangely I didn’t find any apology from David Rose, or any article by another journalist contradicting this article.
Perhaps you could publish David Rose’s apology? That might be instructive.
I take it from what you say, that your defence is, that you did actually write the letter to the BNP while you were the leader of the FCS at Hull, but you did so from some anti-BNP motive?
Were you only in the FCS for some cunning agent-provocateur motive too?
You are a nasty member of the ultra-right, Paul. You can call me what you wish, it doesn’t alter the facts.
Popcorn!
:))
guido,
I’m not the sharpest pencil in the box, so bear with me, but in the context of craigs post and your involvement with the bnp what is the difference between an agent provocateur and someone who incites racial hatred?
“I was acting as agent provocateur for the best of reasons”
Like what? An agent provocateur towards what?
And I’ll bet guido was just following instructions. Whose instructions? Or was he just a freelancing agent provocateur? And what was his reward for inciting racial hatred? Craig you may have hit a rich vein here.
Only a loony right-winger could consider being an agent provocateur as a defense to anything.
“agent provocateur”, sounds painfully contrived, as in;”dog ate my home work”, “my hard disk crashed”, and, or “it was not me Gov. Honest!”
However, prey tell who had commissioned the “agent” to go about provocateuring a bunch supremacist monkeys, to achieve, what? (of course it would be appreciated if the answer does not invoke yet another contrived story of; I was an SAS undercover operative, and it is all top secret shit!)
Paul Staines, the BNP and MI5 – plausible deniability
“agent-provocateur” – PMSL!
Truly pathetic response there. Glad you pointed this out Craig; shows very clearly who is who.
This has been brought up again and again.
Guido’s side of the story appears to hold.
I disagree with him on many issues, bit this does not seem to be the place to attack him (he does offer many other opportunities)
I’m enjoying this.
Tristan,
Sorry, where do I find Guido’s side of the story?
The issue here, though, is how much of this is constructive, and how much of this becomes like two people in a schoolyard shouting at each other.
Craig – just calm down the intrablog sniping. Your blog is beginning to lose its charm…
Paul Staines, carrying David Hare’s bags in 80s South Africa…FOR FREEDOM! We never did nail down, by the way, just who “the liberals” you were working with were. The chap (Gavin Evans) who did organise contacts between the ANC and white liberals had never heard of you.
Alex
There is no doubt that Paul Staines was not on the side of good in Southern Africa. He actively supported UNITA and produced pro-UNITA T-Shirts from his company. He admits – indeed boasts – to being involved in promoting a number of other CIA sponsored organisations in the developing World at ths time, including Iran/Contra.
Y’know, back when this came out last year, Staines said it had been apologised for.
But when I checked with the Guardian library, there were no attachments about corrections.
Please Paul, post the “apology” by the reporter and we’ll say no more about it.
Craig
The journalist who wrote the 1986 piece about Staines – David Rose – wrote a retraction to PS.
This letter can be seen at http://www.thestirrer.co.uk/Images/DavidRoseretraction.pdf .
Hope the html tags work.
Craig, you are just a nasty anti-libertarian. It was all within the rules.
Leave alone Guido Fawkes and others who stand up against communism.