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Daily’s far-right march exposé wins parliamentary praise

A regional daily’s undercover exposé of a far-right campaign group’s march has seen it win parliamentary praise.

MPs have welcomed the special report by the Express & Star, Wolverhampton, after three reporters infiltrated an English Defence League rally on its patch.

Around 200 EDL supporters marched through Walsall last month, where the Express & Star’s journalists uncovered drug taking, racism and plans to attack a local mosque.

The undercover reporters saw the group’s supporters taking drugs in a pub toilet and were also able to film a man who approached them about a plan to attack the mosque.

ES EDL

A fourth video journalist, filming the event without subterfuge, was threatened by EDL members and had to be protected by police.

During the march, the group’s supporters wore pig masks in an attempt to agitate the town’s local Muslim population.

While previous EDL gatherings in the Black Country had turned violent but the event in Walsall passed off relatively quietly with only a handful of arrests and minor skirmishes.

As a result of the journalists’ findings, the paper ran a two-page spread in the Weekend section of its 22 August edition, pictured above.

Praising the report, Dudley MP Ian Austin said: “It’s great work by the Express & Star team, in the finest tradition of the newspaper.

“This is an important expose of a snarling bunch of bigots.”

Walsall North MP David Winnick also welcomed the reporting and told the paper: “The EDL is not welcome in Walsall and never will be.”

Editor Keith Harrison said: “The EDL laughably claims to be a non-racist and non-violent organisation.

“It didn’t take much to confirm what most people already knew; they are an ignorant bunch of low-lives and they are certainly not welcome in the Black Country.

“They had even claimed that Walsall has Muslim ‘no-go’ areas, which is laughable.”

The EDL responded with a statement on its website saying the Express & Star had “ditched its honourable past in a tabloid race to the bottom”.

7 comments

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  • September 3, 2015 at 7:54 am
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    While I do genuinely think this is outstanding and brave journalism, I don’t know why designers and subs always feel they have to over egg the pudding. It wasn’t really ‘inside the EDL’ as such was it? More inside an EDL rally, which in itself is outstanding work – as needless to say these are not pleasant people.

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  • September 3, 2015 at 8:14 am
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    “This is an important expose of a snarling bunch of bigots”

    Yes, because before we all thought they were peace-loving hippies who wanted to spread brotherly love.

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  • September 3, 2015 at 8:42 am
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    Kendo, I think right minded people know that but not everyone. They get a lot of vocal support. I presume you’re not on Facebook?

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  • September 3, 2015 at 9:18 am
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    The EDL guy pictured wearing the skull mask needs to watch some Mitchell & Webb. This misguided individual obviously doesn’t understand that skull-related insignia usually represents “the bad guys”.

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  • September 3, 2015 at 10:10 am
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    How to save the newspaper industry? More of this proper journalism, please.

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  • September 3, 2015 at 4:01 pm
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    Striking cover, great work all round. Good to see the E&S still doing hard-hitting stuff like this.

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  • September 7, 2015 at 8:19 am
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    Credit where it’s due, this looks and sounds terrific, exactly what a regional newspaper should be doing. Sadly very few are. Well done Express & Star.

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