Thirteen members of its team have promoted far-right views and conspiracy theories online
The Great British Political Action Committee (PAC) is “packed with extremists”, according to anti-extremism group Hope Not Hate.
Formed in September last year, the Great British PAC is inspired by similar right-wing groups in the US that donate large amounts of money to fund candidates and campaigns.
Analysis by Hope not Hate has revealed that the involvement of peers, former MPs and councillors “might give GB PAC a veneer of respectability”, several members have promoted far-right views and conspiracy theories online.
The GB PAC’s East Midlands Director, Edward Oakenfull, was dropped as a Reform candidate a week before the 2024 general election, after posting anti-Muslim and racist comments about the IQ of people from ethnic minorities.
He said on X: “The gene pool decline is another interesting area. By importing loads of sub Saharan Africans plus Muslims that inter breed the IQ is in severe decline.”
Others, such as the group’s Northamptonshire Director Antony Antoniou, who was also dropped as a Reform parliamentary candidate last year, shared posts on X defending Adolf Hitler and spreading anti-semitic conspiracy theories.
West Midlands Director of GB PAC, Donna Edmunds, was the first Reform councillor to be suspended after the local elections for saying she would defect to whatever party Ben Habib and Rupert Lowe formed.
In the past, she said that businesses should be able to refuse services to women and gay people. She is also a fan of Stephen Yaxley Lennon (Tommy Robinson), and said he is “a national hero”.
This is despite him stoking the Southport riots with misinformation last July and serving a seven-month prison sentence for repeating false and defamatory allegations about a Syrian refugee.
When contacted by HOPE not hate for comment last week, the pressure group’s chair Ben Habib responded: “We don’t care what our members have said in the past – they haven’t broken any laws.”
He then added: “We will stand by our people without hesitation.”
Members of the pressure group include arch Brexiteer and Tory peer Lord Dan Hannan, who is on its advisory board, as is fellow Conservative Lord Stephen Greenhalgh.
Two ex Tory MPs – Brendan Clarke-Smith and David Jones, who now supports Reform, are also on the board. Jim Allister, a sitting MP, who founded the Traditional Unionist Voice, is also a board member and the group’s Northern Ireland envoy.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
Left Foot Forward doesn’t have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.
