British Movement
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British Movement
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|---|---|
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| Leader |
Colin Jordan (1968-1975) Michael McLaughlin (1975-1983) |
| Founder | Colin Jordan |
| Founded | 1968 |
| Dissolved | 1983 as a political party |
| Preceded by | National Socialist Movement |
| Succeeded by | British National Socialist Movement |
| Headquarters | Coventry |
| Newspaper | The Phoenix, British Patriot |
| Youth wing | National Youth Movement |
| Ideology |
Ultranationalism White nationalism Neo-Nazism |
| Political position | Far-right |
| International affiliation | World Union of National Socialists |
| Party flag | |
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The British Movement (BM), later called the British National Socialist Movement (BNSM), is a British Neo-Nazi organisation founded by Colin Jordan in 1968. It grew out of the National Socialist Movement (NSM), which was founded in 1962. Frequently on the margins of even the British far-right, the BM nonetheless has had a long and chequered history and became well known for its association with violence and extremism. It was founded as a political party but abandoned this strategy. It has had spells of dormancy.
The NSM had come to an end sometime after Colin Jordan was imprisoned in early 1967 for distributing a racist leaflet The Coloured Invasion and following his release Jordan had met John Tyndall in Denis Pirie's house about the possibility of joining the National Front. These talks came to nothing however and with the Race Relations Act 1968 passed the notion of openly parading Nazi credentials in a party name had to be abandoned, leading to Jordan forming a new group to known as the British Movement. Whilst the new party intended to continue the old group's role of being Nazi apologists and endorsing anti-Semitism it aimed to do so within the restrictions brought in by the newly enacted law.
Not long after its formation the BM gained coverage in Leicester, where a growing Midlands branch was being organised by Ray Hill, when local members attacked students who were supporting an Anti-Apartheid Movement protest against a South African trade delegation visiting the city. Direct action activities such as this, which usually ended in violence, became the stock in trade of the BM during its early days. An underground cell, the National Socialist Group, was also established in Blackheath by David Courtney and this undertook paramilitary training exercises in Scotland whilst also seeking to build links between the BM and like-minded groups in Europe. The group vanished suddenly in 1969 when Special Branch began to investigate them, with Courtney in particular dropping out of the far-right scene for some time afterwards.
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