Dean Everitt’s anti-immigration Boston Protest Group has voted not to hold a march against immigration. This is the second time the Lincolnshire group has cancelled a protest and on both occasions fears that it would be “hijacked” by fascists have motivated the decision. Indeed, the far right used Facebook to encourage people from outside town to attend the meeting and vote for the march but their attempt to influence the meeting seems to have failed.
Everitt, who was clearly disappointed with the result, has said that the march has been “postponed not cancelled” and is using the march as a threat against Boston Borough Council. The Council are in the process of writing a report into the effects of immigration and if they do not come up with a conclusion that Everitt is happy with the march will be back on. Everitt is quoted as saying he wants to be “heavily involved” in the writing of the report, although it is not clear what his qualifications for doing so would be.
Everitt tried to organise a similar march in October last year saying that “We are not racist… but we are saying this place is now full and we should not have any more” and “they need to shut the floodgates.” Unsurprisingly, the BNP and EDL soon picked up on the alarmist language and fears about immigration and Everitt cancelled claiming that his event was being hijacked.