Kevin Wilshaw, 58,
spent his entire adult life promoting white supremacism and was a high-profile figure in the National Front (NF) in the 1980s. He was still speaking at extremist events as recently as this year and was arrested for spewing race hate online in March.
Speaking to Channel 4 News, he admitted to acts of violence and racism including smashing a chair over someone’s head in Leeds and vandalizing a mosque in Aylesbury. He said he joined “because he didn’t have many friends at school,” and was looking for “comradeship” and to be “a member of a group of people that had an aim.”
“Even though you end up being a group of people that through their own extreme views are cut off from society, you do have a sense of comradeship in that you’re a member of a group that’s being attacked by other people,” he added.
Wilshaw joined the British National Party (BNP) at the age of 18 after a stint with the NF, and also dabbled with violent fringe groups such as the Racial Volunteer Force. According to Hope Not Hate, a charity that “campaigns to counter racism and fascism,” Wilshaw had belonged to the far right since 1974.
He disclosed that he has Jewish heritage, despite advocating an antisemitic agenda, saying his mother was part-Jewish.
He told Channel 4 News: “Her maiden name was Benjamin – we have Jewish blood on that side
Mr Wilshaw was arrested for vandalising a mosque in Aylesbury in the early 1990s, and in March this year he was arrested for online race hate offences.
He joined the British National Party after being part of the NF, and also flirted with fringe groups such as the Racial Volunteer Force.