Leaders of the English Defence League have said they will not be making a return visit to Bristol.
Mickey Bayliss, South West organiser for the EDL, said the league was happy with Saturday’s demonstration, but was not planning a return visit to the city in the near future.
Mr Bayliss, 48, said he was disappointed with the numbers which turned out for the demonstration, saying more supporters were expected.
He claimed that members from the Bristol group, along with other supporters across the country, had received death threats ahead of the demonstration taking place which he believes limited the number of people at the rally.
Mr Bayliss said: “The main point is we came to Bristol and people have heard us and we have put our point across. We felt the day went well but we will not be coming back to Bristol in the near future.”
Others in the EDL had a more mundane explanation for the low turnout at the Bristol protest.
Is this the sort of attitude we expect from the brave patriots of the counter-jihad movement – “I can’t be bothered resisting the Islamification of Bristol because it’s cold and wet and it’s a bit of a trek to get there”? With this level of commitment it can only be a matter of time before Christian civilisation succumbs to the Muslim hordes.
Cf. “Coalition of anti-fascists outnumber EDL in show of feeling”,Bristol Post, 16 July 2012
Update: You might also wonder why, given the urgent need to prevent a Muslim takeover of the West Country, EDL leader Tommy Robinson was a no-show at the demo. According to EDL News, he did arrive in Bristol but was so off his head he had to be put in the back of a car to sleep it off.
You may recall that Saturday’s protest was supposed to be a “dry event” and members were instructed not to turn up drunk. EDL organiser Tony Curtis sternly lectured the troops that “there are people who think that demo day is just a big piss up and who continue to drag decent EDL supporters through the gutter with their pissed up actions”.
How true, how true.