Reuters reports:

Police in Oslo say they want to interview Alan Lake, whom they believe is a key figure in Britain’s anti-Islamist English Defence League EDL, to find out if he may have been an ideological source of inspiration to Breivik.

“Alan Lake is an obvious person we would like to speak to,” Oslo police prosecutor Paal-Fredrik Hjort Kraby told Reuters. He added: “At this point in the investigation there is no indication that anyone knew about his (Breivik’s) plans.”

The English Defence League said in an email to Reuters that Lake had “absolutely nothing to do with the EDL”. Lake could not be reached for comment but has previously denied being a senior member of the EDL.

The claim that Lake has “absolutely nothing to do with the EDL” is disingenuous to say the least. The EDL leaders only dissociated themselves from Lake in the aftermath of the Oslo killings when his earlier rantings about executing political opponents became public knowledge. But even then they had to admit that Lake played “a role in the EDL during its early formation”.

Paul Ray, who was himself interviewed by the Norwegian police, has suggested that Lake was Breivik’s mentor, but without offering anything other than circumstantial evidence.