Disgraced former Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf has called on the British government to ban, or proscribe, the English Defence League (EDL), an anti-grooming gang activist group that has been defunct for years. Yousaf published a letter on X (formerly Twitter) stating that membership in the EDL must be made a criminal offense under the 2000 Terrorism Act, alleging the group adheres to “far-right,” “Islamophobic,” and “racist” ideologies.
The letter was presented in response to disorder in Southport, England, which saw locals riot in reaction to a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class by a 17-year-old male born in Wales to Rwandan migrant parents. Three girls aged six, seven, and nine were killed, and several others remain in critical condition.
A major issue with Yousaf’s call to proscribe the EDL as a terrorist organization is that the group has been on a rapid decline since 2013, and as of 2023, even the left-wing Guardian newspaper said the group was “defunct.”
Prior to the violence, Britain’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was heckled by locals when laying flowers in front of press photographers near the site of the killings, with some asking him, “How many more children, Prime Minister?”
Violence targeting police officers, the public, and mosques, all to drive forward the far-right's hateful ideology.
Rhetoric is not enough.
We need to take action against the far-right. I have asked the Home Secretary to use her powers to proscribe the English Defence League. pic.twitter.com/9orWrKUiop
— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) July 31, 2024