Fascist groups now seen as behind Northern Ireland flag clashes -- Gerry Adams claims fascist group have leadership role in flag rallies

Violence in Belfast over union flag continues (Photo: Broadsheet)

Right wing fascist groups and mafia-type intimidators now appear to be at the heart of the flag protests in Northern Ireland.

Britain First, a fascist group based in Britain, has claimed to be at the forefront of leading  what it describes as peaceful flag protests. 29 police officers were injured over the weekend in clashes that threaten to restore the bad old days in Northern Ireland.

The clashes began last month after Belfast City Council ruled on December 3 that the Union Jack would no longer fly over City Hall every day but only on 15 select days and have continued unabated since.

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott have both pointed out that outside agitation is forming a large part of the protest core.

Adams stated over the weekend that, “The vast majority of the protests taking place around the flag issue are illegal. Most are being organized by the BNP, (British National Party which is composed of fascists) the UVF and criminal elements, some of whom are well known drug pushers.”

Read more news from Ireland

On their website the British First group proclaims, “As protests continue across Ulster at the disgraceful decision to remove our flag from Belfast City Hall, Britain First has once again been at the forefront of peaceful demonstrations.

“Instead of going away, as those who would attack our flag and Ulster’s British identity had hoped, the protests are only getting stronger.

“We see protests in Ulster, we see them on the mainland – no surrender, we will never submit to this attack on our flag.

Read More: Loyalist flag riots leave 29 police injured in Belfast as violence escalates

“Many thousands have turned out to take a stand against this disgusting attack, many thousands more are on the way.”

PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott said social media is playing a role and youngsters as young as 10 are involved.

We’ve had an 11-year-old in custody but I believe some of [the rioters] are as young as 10,” Baggott said.

“The flag has become a rallying point. If you ask them what they are doing, [some] wouldn’t be able to tell you. It’s easy for them to be manipulated. They are not mature enough to see the consequences for their own life opportunities or the bigger picture.”

He said the riots “gathered a momentum of their own, quickly, through modern communications, which is a new phenomenon.”

Baggott said there was an urgent need for the Parades Commission to tackle the protests. “There has been a vagueness about the need for protests to be properly authorized and regulated through existing mechanisms, which at the moment is the Parades Commission. There has been an ambiguity around this for some time,” he said.

Read More: Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams says “vast majority” of the Belfast protests are illegal

The deeper issue is that the unionists can feel the power flow away from them. The recent census show a nationalist majority is in the offing in Northern Ireland with the Catholic numbers one birth cycle away from a majority.

Does that mean a united Ireland?

No, not necessarily, but it means parity of esteem issues like flags will become even more important.

Jimmy Savile, a monstrous pedophile hiding in plain sight -- Massive cover up ensured BBC star escaped arrest when alive

Jimmy Savile receives his knighthood from the Queen for entertainment and services

When I was living in Ireland, during the 1970s, Jimmy Savile was a big deal. The platinum haired DJ was host of “Top of the Pops” the most popular program by a mile on BBC television, featuring the top twenty songs in the charts that week. For a teenage generation, just feeling the first stirrings of the pop revolution, Jimmy Savile defined cool.

Savile was a welcome dash of color on a grey landscape and was universally loved.

By the time I emigrated Savile had moved on to his show “Jim’ll Fix It’ where he essentially made dreams come true for sick children.

Over the years he raised tens of millions for children’s charities and he perfected the role of aging eccentric rock star beloved by the masses.

Read more: Irish interview with Jimmy Savile, suspected mass pedophile, surfaces

He was revered from coast to coast and in Ireland, where he was a frequent visitor, he was mobbed. He was knighted by the Queen and he went to his grave last year as one of the most respected and beloved leaders of his generation.

Yet hiding in plain sight all the time was the fact that he was a vicious pedophile.

British police now say he may have abused by up to 300 young victims including, sickeningly, some of the ill children he helped.

How could he have gotten away with it for so long?

The answer now seems clear. He was so powerful that even those who knew his dirty secret stayed quiet about it.

That apparently included senior figures in the BBC who cast a blind eye on his activities because he was such a valuable commodity to them. A major investigation on him was shelved  after pressure from unknown quarters.

When he was alive several tabloids sniffed around the story and Savile went public on many occasions brushing the allegations aside.

It was incredibly brazen. To highlight the allegations against himself and dismiss them and it showed the depth of his arrogance and belief he could get away with it.

And of course he did.

He died a hero leaving hundreds of victims behind.

It is a powerful lesson in how plausible he was and how gullible people are to a smooth-talking utterly assured pervert who dropped names of powerful people when any questions arose.

Jimmy Savile’s game is finally up but those who protected him through the years must carry their own guilt now for not facing down the serial pedophile.

And his victims must surely question an establishment that refused to listen to them and listened to a pervert instead.