It all kicked off in Manchester on the 18th, in more ways than one. Antifascists were met with an even more expensive deployment of police after their successes in February, with consistent brutality and a particularly liberal deployment of PAVA spray. For more information on the events of the day, see coverage by local antifascists Resist Britain First.
This article will take a slightly different turn however, away from the police lines. Following speeches, delivered from the world’s most compact and transportable stage, Britain First leader Paul Golding decided to pick a fight with… some of the most committed (former) Britain First organisers in the country, based in Altrincham.
According to Nina Berry, Paul has soured significantly since splitting up with Ashlea, and took issue with some of the Altrincham organisers filming at the back. He decided to send in Britain First Defence to deal with the trouble makers. What followed was shocking, with Golding calling formerly loyal organisers “slags” and Donald Southworth, once an election candidate for the party, being thrown out of the rally. Afterwards, Paul and his security team attempted to confront the trouble makers in a pub, although we hear this was much more embarassing than intimidating.
We have been keeping an eye on BFD for quite a while, since hearing reports that the party had become to rely almost exclusively on outsourced security rather than the sheer bravery and physical mastery of their aging membership. We can confirm, after hearing from those involved, that the Britain First Defence member who pushed a woman to the ground, is Bob Hooks, of Doncaster.
Bob Hooks has been seen at Britain First events up and down the country, including working security for their conference in Sutton Coldfield, and providing close protection for the leadership on demonstrations in Nuneaton, as well as all three demonstrations in Manchester. We understand that he is involved in recruiting for these jobs as well. It makes sense that Bob Hooks would have no problems being violent towards women, given that Paul Golding, the man he is paid £200 a day to protect, has a well-documented history of violence towards women.
However, Hooks’ security work does not end at Britain First Defence. He is also part of the inner circle that provide security for fash mega-celebrity Tommy Robinson, and his rebellious understudy Danny Tommo.
Hooks has travelled down to London to provide close protection on many occasions, dating back to at least 2024’s summer demonstrations. He provides Robinson and the Urban Scoop network with access to a fresh pool of Doncaster-based meatheads and doormen, with many of them having attended the same bodybuilding gym, World Fitness.
He often works closely with Natalie Barry, a Hackney-based operations manager and executive protections agent for Rat Pack Worldwide Security, founded in Tampa, Florida. The pair were seen running the operation at Britain First’s conference last year, and Barry was spotted sheepishly putting flags into the battlebus while Hooks got stuck in on the Altrincham organisers on the 18th April Manchester demo.
Whilst Paul Golding is famously unpopular, and known as a violent man, the same violent men who run his security can be found throughout the wider far-right. It comes as no surprise that after the fallout on the 18th that prominent Manchester-based Britain First organisers are leaving, such as Nick Voss/ Make Albion Great Again, and former National Action associate Louise Holbrooks (both of whom spoke at party conference). However, when men like Bob Hooks are being paid a healthy sum to run security at events as large as Unite The Kingdom (we assume he will be called up again on May 16th), leaving one far-right organisation for another doesn’t exactly seem like a solution.