Anti-Islam influencer Valentina Gomez has been blocked from entering the UK by the Home Secretary.

She was due to speak at the Unite the Kingdom rally next month organised by Tommy Robinson, and had been given permission to enter via a UK electronic travel authorisation (ETA), according to her X account.

But after a backlash from MPs and campaign groups, the Government has intervened because her presence would not be conducive to the public good, it is understood.

Shabana Mahmood used the same justification for blocking rapper Kanye West from entering earlier this month.

The Gold Digger rapper, now known as Ye, has used Nazi imagery and faced accusations of antisemitism.

Ms Gomez was excluded from the UK on the grounds that the democratic right to expression does not extend to promoting hatred and extremism, it understood.

The Home Secretary has the power to cancel a person’s permission to enter or stay in the UK.

US-based Ms Gomez reportedly gained notoriety through a series of anti-Islam stunts including burning a copy of the Koran and vowing to rid Texas of the religion if she was in power.

Last week, Homelessness charity Centrepoint said it had cut ties with Sharon Osbourne after she expressed support for the Unite the Kingdom rally on May 16.

Its previous protest in September, which Ms Gomez is said to have spoken at, was attended by between 110,000 and 150,000 people.

Two Islamic State extremists who planned the murder of an imam referred to him as “Voldemort” who was engaging in “black magic”, a public inquiry heard.

Father-of-seven Jalal Uddin, 71, died in a “brutal and ferocious” attack with a hammer in a children’s play area in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, on February 18 2016, because his religious practices were deemed sacrilegious by his killers.

An inquiry examining whether intelligence failures contributed to Mr Uddin’s death by failing to spot and stop his extremist killers, sat in public for the first time today.

The hearing, at Liverpool Crown Court, first sat at the start of the month to hear evidence in “closed” sessions, not open to press or public.

Inquiry chairman Judge Thomas Teague KC ruled some evidence must not be made public and heard only in private sessions to prevent harm to the detection and prevention of terrorism and public safety.

Mohammed Kadir, then 24, is believed to have struck the fatal blows with a hammer and had planned the killing with former Manchester United steward Mohammed Syeedy, then 21, who drove Kadir to the scene and helped carry out surveillance on their target.

Kadir fled the UK three days after the killing and is thought to have headed to Syria, while Syeedy was in September 2016 convicted of murdering Mr Uddin and sentenced to life with a minimum term of 24 years.

Syeedy’s trial was told both men were sympathisers of the terrorist group calling itself Islamic State and consumed by hatred of Mr Uddin for his practise of Ruqyah, a form of exorcism, which the terror organisation considered “black magic”.

A third man, Mohammed Syadul Hussain, was convicted in April 2017 of helping Kadir leave the country and jailed for five years.

Opening the hearing, chairman Judge Teague said it was “deeply unfortunate” more than eight years had passed since Mr Uddin’s death and for “compelling legal reasons” it is impossible to hear all the evidence in public.

Jason Beer KC, counsel to the inquiry, said Mr Uddin, who first came to the UK from Bangladesh in 2002, was a scholar of the Koran and a very well-regarded member of the community in Rochdale and formerly an imam at the local Jalalia Mosque.

But his practice of Ruqyah, involving using amulets, made him a target for IS supporters, who believed Islam should be practised as in the seventh century.

Mr Beer said: “IS is said to have regarded this practise as black magic. The men who murdered Mr Uddin were supporters and followers of IS.

“The murder was motivated by their hatred of Mr Uddin as a practitioner of Ruquya.”

Mr Beer said in some mobile phone exchanges between the two that Mr Uddin was referred to as Voldemort, a reference to Lord Voldemort, a fictional character in the Harry Potter books.

A previous hearing heard from October 2015, Kadir was assessed and continued to be assessed as a person of high risk and significant concern, and latterly as someone who posed a risk of acting on his Islamist extremist aspirations.

And after police raided Syeedy’s home following the murder, phones and laptops revealed IS propaganda and material.

These included photos of both men doing the one finger IS salute, photos of IS flags draped over road signs in Rochdale and a photo of Syeedy with an IS flag on a street with a mosque.

In August 2015, Mr Uddin’s property including a book he used during Ruqyah was stolen from Jalalia Mosque and destroyed.

Kadir and Syeedy also planned to report him to the Border Force, as Mr Uddin was in the UK illegally.

But the inquiry heard in December 23, 2015, Mr Uddin was photographed with Simon Danczuk, the then-MP for Rochdale, at the door of Jalalia Mosque.

A phone exchange between the two plotters and others, stated: “Oh dear. Voldemort is never going to be busted by the immigration service now.”

Two months later, the two men launched the attack, leaving Mr Uddin dead.

Around 2,000 mourners attended his funeral, paid for by the local community.

The inquiry was adjourned until Tuesday morning.

Read More: Killing of Imam Jalal Uddin shows how extremism is morphing

Clashes have erupted in an immigrant neighbourhood in Sweden’s third largest city after an anti-Muslim protester set fire to the Koran, police have said.

Police in Malmo said they were pelted with rocks and dozens of cars were set on fire, including in an underground garage, describing the events that started on Sunday and lasted overnight as “a riot”.

The clashes started after an anti-Islam activist Salwan Momika burned a copy of the Koran and an angry mob tried to stop him while police, some of them in riot gear, detained at least three people.

Early on Monday, an angry crowd of mainly young people also set fire to tyres and debris, and some were seen throwing electric scooters, bicycles and barriers in Malmo’s Rosengard neighbourhood, which has seen similar clashes in the past. There were several banners relating to the Koran burning.

Senior police officer Petra Stenkula said: “I understand that a public gathering like this arouses strong emotions, but we cannot tolerate disturbances and violent expressions like those we saw on Sunday afternoon.

“It is extremely regrettable to once again see violence and vandalism at Rosengard.”

Speaking at a news conference, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said: “Regardless of the reason behind these riots, the car fires, the harassment, violence against police officers… regardless of the reason, I think that all Swedes find this completely unacceptable.”

In the past months, Mr Momika, a refugee from Iraq, has desecrated the Koran in a series of anti-Islam protests mostly in Stockholm that have caused anger in many Muslim countries. Swedish police have allowed his actions, citing freedom of speech.

The Koran burnings have sparked angry protests in Muslim countries, attacks on Swedish diplomatic missions and threats from Islamic extremists. Muslim leaders in Sweden have called on the government to find ways to stop the Koran burnings.

Sweden dropped its last blasphemy laws in the 1970s and the government has said it has no intention to reintroduce them.

However, the government has announced an inquiry into legal possibilities for enabling police to reject permits for demonstrations over national security concerns.

Read more: Koran burned again in Sweden as government considers ban

The elder brother of Salman Abedi will be arrested and brought to the Manchester Arena Inquiry to give evidence if he comes back to the UK, a judge has ruled.

Ismail Abedi, 28, had been ordered to attend the public inquiry into the May 2017 terror attack but boarded a flight to Istanbul from Manchester Airport at the end of August and has not returned.

Bereaved families of the 22 people killed in the explosion labelled him a “coward” for refusing to attend in October and give an account as to how Salman Abedi, 22, had become radicalised.

They said they were “shocked” how he was allowed to leave a day after he missed a flight when he was stopped and questioned by police and told them he was going on a three-week break.

On Friday, Mr Justice Sweeney sitting at Manchester Civil Justice Centre granted an application from inquiry chair Sir John Saunders to issue a bench warrant against Abedi.

Paul Greaney QC, for the applicant, argued Abedi had “important” evidence to give on his younger brother’s path to extremism.

He said the inquiry heard this week that their father, Ramadan Abedi, was associated with the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, a militia that had links with terror organisation al-Qaeda.

Another Abedi brother, Hashem, 24, was jailed for life last year for the 22 murders by assisting the bomb plot.

Mr Greaney said: “The question that the inquiry would like to pose is was Ramadan Abedi a violent Islamist extremist and if so did that rub off on his sons.”

He said the inquiry also wants to know if Salman and Hashem had received military training in Libya after photographs of the pair holding weapons were found on Ismail’s phone.

Another area to probe would be to ask Ismail if it was “just a coincidence” that Salman spent increased time with mutual friend Abdalraouf Abdallah, 28 – later jailed for terrorism offences – in 2015 and 2016 when he was said to have eschewed his previous partying lifestyle and become more religious, said Mr Greaney.

Finally, Abedi has potential relevant evidence to give, said Mr Greaney, on the preparation of the bomb given his DNA was found on a hammer in a car used to store the explosives.

Rebecca Filletti, appearing for Abedi under his new name of Ben Romdhan, said he was held in custody for two weeks after the attack in 2017 and he was detained again in August this year when his phone was examined, with neither investigation resulting in any criminal charges.

She also pointed out her client aired caution over the issue of forensics as the court would be aware DNA is transferable and the hammer was a moveable object.

Last month, lawyers for Abedi issued a statement in which they said he was unwilling to give evidence and the questions asked by the inquiry are “essentially the same as he was asked by the police”.

He added requiring him to attend before the inquiry would place him and his family at risk.

It is understood Abedi’s wife and child flew out separately to join him.

At the time of the bombing, Ramadan Abedi was in his homeland of Libya where he remains and has not co-operated with the inquiry. Police still want to question him as a suspect.

Friday’s hearing was told Ismail Abedi could face criminal prosecution if he does not attend the inquiry before it ends.

Extreme views like racism, homophobia and conspiracy theories are widespread in classrooms across England, a study suggests.

Schools lack the resources and training to teach pupils how to discuss or reject dangerous views, according to academics from the University College London (UCL) Institute of Education.

Their report, published days before the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States, suggests schools’ efforts to build resilience to extremism in young people are “highly varied” due to limited space in the curriculum – and in some cases their approach to the issue is “tokenistic”.

Researchers, who spoke to 96 teachers in English schools as part of the study commissioned by education charity Since 9/11, found that staff are concerned about the increase in pupils looking at hateful online content online.

The findings come after the boss of MI5 revealed that agents are investigating teenagers as young as 13 linked to extreme right-wing terrorism.

In July, director-general Ken McCallum said the presence of teenagers is a “rising trend in MI5’s counter-terrorist case work” and is becoming more so in extreme right-wing investigations.

The majority of teachers spoken to by the researchers said they have heard pupils express far-right extremist views in their classroom, as well as “extremist views about women” or Islamophobia.

Nearly nine in 10 teachers have heard conspiracy theories being discussed by students – including the theory that American business magnate Bill Gates “controls people via microchips in Covid vaccines”.

Teachers raised concerns about pupils’ exposure to extremist views online, often claiming that this has been “exacerbated by the pandemic and lockdowns” – and the report suggests that conspiracy theories and online disinformation “is an emerging area that needs consideration”.

The study also found that many teachers do not talk about issues related to extremism in the classroom out of fear that they will get it wrong, “especially on matters related to race”.

Researchers carried out in-depth interviews with English and Religious Education teachers and safeguarding leads in schools, as well as a survey of teachers, and assessed a literature review of research examining how schools build resilience to extremism in students in England as part of the study.

Almost all the teachers surveyed had encountered “hateful extremism” in the form of racist views in the classroom, according to the report.

Dr Becky Taylor, from the UCL Centre for Teachers and Teaching Research, said: “This report shows that some schools fail to move beyond surface-level explorations of violence, extremism and radicalisation; however, it is without doubt that schools can play an important role.”

She added: “Education policies must consider the fact that some schools may need more help than others to build on what they already have in place.

“Engaging well with their local communities and ensuring that schools and teachers are supported and appropriately resourced can help young people to problematise ‘hateful extremism’.”

The study calls for teachers to be given better training to lead open discussions in the classroom about extremism so they can teach pupils how to reject, and respond to, dangerous ideologies.

The report concludes: “Much anti-extremism work is well-meaning but is stymied by overcrowded curricula, a lack of resources, a desire to perform policy for Ofsted, and a mandate to detect and report vulnerability to radicalisation rather than necessarily stamp out its root causes.”

Kamal Hanif, a trustee of Since 9/11 and executive principal of Waverley Education Foundation in Birmingham, called the research “a wake-up call”.

He said: “We urgently need to equip schools with the tools to teach pupils how to reject extremist views. Dangerous ideologies must never be swept under the carpet.

Mr Hanif added: “The findings of this study are particularly pertinent as we approach the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Children in school today were not yet born when the attacks took place.

“Indeed, many of their teachers were themselves only children at the time. It’s vital that we all learn about the attacks themselves and their ongoing impact.”

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “Schools have an important role to play in educating young people about the false premises and dangers posed by extremist ideologies, but they cannot do this alone and more support is needed.

“The reality is that schools have to juggle multiple demands on their time in the context of packed timetables and severe funding constraints, all at a time when our society has undergone a digital revolution which allows people to spread hateful views at the click of a button.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “As this report shows, schools and teachers are generally confident teaching about issues related to extremism.

“The new Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum requires secondary age pupils to be aware of laws relating to terrorism and hate crime, and the Educate Against Hate website features over 150 free resources to help pupils, teachers and parents tackle radicalisation in all its forms.

“We continue to look at what further support we can provide to schools, and will shortly launch further resources specifically focused on harmful online content.”

A West Yorkshire teacher has been suspended after reportedly showing an “offensive” caricature of the Prophet Mohammed during a religious studies lesson, sparking a protest outside the school.

Protesters had gathered outside Batley Grammar School, near Bradford, on Thursday, following claims a member of staff had shown students a cartoon deemed offensive to the Islamic faith.

Pictures circulating on social media earlier in the day showed dozens of people stood outside the school gates, partially blocking the road.

The school has “unequivocally” apologised for showing “totally inappropriate” material to children and said a member of staff has been suspended pending an investigation.

Dr Abdul Shaikh, a local academic in Batley and Muslim activist, said he had heard about the incident on social media on Wednesday night.

Speaking to the PA news agency, he said: “I was shocked like many Muslims in the town that Muslim school children’s religious sensitivities were completely ignored by the school teacher who decided to show an offensive image that lampooned the noble Prophet Mohammed.

“Every Muslim around the world holds the Prophet in the highest esteem.

“I feel that the school should be allowed to complete their investigation in due course and find a fair and adequate solution that satisfies first and foremost Muslim pupils, their parents and the wider Muslim community in Batley.

“This situation should not be allowed to happen again for the sake of community cohesion in the area.”

West Yorkshire Police said they were called to the protest at around 7.30am on Thursday.

A police spokesman said the school road had been closed for a short time, no arrests were made and no fines were issued.

In a statement, Batley Grammar School head teacher Gary Kibble said: “The school unequivocally apologises for using a totally inappropriate resource in a recent religious studies lesson.

“The member of staff has also given their most sincere apologies.

“We have immediately withdrawn teaching on this part of the course and we are reviewing how we go forward with the support of all the communities represented in our school.

“It is important for children to learn about faiths and beliefs, but this must be done in a sensitive way.

“The member of staff has been suspended pending an independent formal investigation.”

In a letter addressed to Mr Kibble and shared online, founder of Batley-based charity Purpose Of Life, Mohammad Sajad Hussain, said he was “deeply hurt” by the “insulting caricatures of our beloved Prophet Mohammed”.

He said the charity is unwilling to work with or promote the school until the teacher is “permanently removed”.

However, the National Secular Society branded the protest as an “attempt to impose an Islamic blasphemy taboo on a school”.

Stephen Evans, chief executive of the National Secular Society, said: “Teachers must have a reasonable degree of freedom to explore sensitive subjects and enable students to think critically about them.

“And the school’s weak response will fuel a climate of censorship, which is brought on by attempts to force society as a whole to accommodate unreasonable and reactionary religious views.”

The head of an investigation into the Conservative Party’s handling of complaints of discrimination and prejudice, including Islamophobia, has issued a call for further evidence.

Professor Swaran Singh, a former commissioner of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said the investigation is nearing the end of its first phase of work.

It has examined all existing documentary evidence relating to formal complaints of unlawful discrimination made to the Tory Party complaints team.

But the investigation is now seeking further evidence relating to allegations which may have been raised in the past but not considered by the party’s complaints team.

Prof Singh said: “The independent investigation is reaching the end of its initial examination of the Conservative Party’s handling of past complaints of discrimination.

“We are now calling for further evidence that we may not already have seen to ensure that we are aware, as far as realistically possible, of all evidence relating to alleged discrimination within the party.

“We need to determine whether all important evidence of discrimination has been considered in the framework of the party’s existing complaints process.”

The deadline for submissions is 4pm on October 17.

The Tories announced in December that Prof Singh would head the party’s review into its handling of complaints of discrimination and prejudice, including Islamophobia.

Boris Johnson originally promised an independent inquiry into Islamophobia in the party when he was campaigning to be Tory leader last summer.

The commitment was later widened to cover all forms of discrimination and prejudice.

Concerns about the views of the leadership of a Polish community group has intensified after Husaria Manchester has procured the lease for a community centre inside of a former church in the Manchester area.

Karol Kamil Peruta, who appears as Husaria’s main contact on YouTube, following its founding in 2017, has posted a litany of anti-Muslim content on social media and follows several far-right Polish groups and individuals on his personal Twitter.

He appeared in a Facebook Live video on the official page of Husaria Manchester on February 6, stating that the group had obtained a lease to use a disused church as a community space.

In 2016, an anti-Muslim and Islamophobic meme appeared on Mr Peruta’s Twitter account, which depicted an individual in a niqab as a bearded man with explosives attached to their chest in the place of their breasts. The tweet has since been removed but remains archived.

Following the terror attacks in Manchester and London in 2017, Mr Peruta called for Islam to be ‘banned’ on his personal Facebook account.

A blog written in 2015 by Mr Peruta claimed that Muslims, “cheat and lie. They steal and break the law. They are lazy and filthy.” This is one of many examples seen by Faith Matters brought to our attention by concerned members of the Polish community.

Activists in the Polish community have shared a photograph Mr Peruta took with Paul Golding, leader of the far-right street defence movement Britain First. An interview with Mr Golding, recorded in 2017, also appears on the Twitter feed of Peruta.

Mr Peruta has ranted against interracial relationships in the Polish community, adding that such relationships were turning ‘traditional’ Polish shops into ‘pseudo’ stores which stock halal products, where the store’s profits could be going towards the funding of a mosque, an Islamic centre, or terrorism. He went on to lament the ‘stupidity’ of Poles who welcome their ‘own destruction’ by working with Muslims. Peruta ended his hateful rant by suggesting that he will upload photos of such ‘pseudo’ Polish stores in what amounts to a boycott, in pursuit of ‘authentic’ Polish stores in Manchester. The attached image claimed that Polish barcodes begin with the digits 590. The post, which appeared on his Facebook on September 30, 2015, gained almost 100 shares.

In Peruta’s blog entry from 2015, he states this about Muslims: “They cheat and lie. They steal and break the law. They are lazy and filthy”. There are many other examples of such dehumanising rhetoric used by Mr Peruta which have been sent to us by concerned members of the Polish community.

He follows the Twitter account of the disgraced former priest Jacek Międlar – a far-right extremist banned from entering the UK due to his antisemitic views.

Mr Peruta’s Twitter account follows several nationalist and extreme right-wing pages – from the National Radical Camp (ONR) to the National Rebirth of Poland (NOP).

A photograph later removed from Mr Peruta’s personal Facebook page showed individuals with ONR flags at an event in 2017 (see below).

A year earlier, on June 19, 2016, near Rochdale, Karol Peruta was photographed with the controversial revisionist historian with links to the ONR, Leszek Żebrowski, who was labelled an antisemite in a 2016 article published by Gazeta Wyborcza.

It was around this time in 2016 that Mr Peruta shared a meme on Facebook which referred to ‘Good Night Left Side’ – a neo-Nazi parody of the anti-fascist idea of ‘Goodnight White Pride’.

Nor is this the only example of this rhetoric appearing on his social media. A Facebook ‘like’ which appears on his profile is the neo-Nazi page ‘Anti-Antifa Hooligans’ which includes videos of individuals carrying out acts of graffiti and men performing Nazi salutes. Another nationalist meme was anti-Muslim and anti-LGBT in nature. Now, there’s no evidence of Karol Peruta interacting with the page, or liking any of the content, but the page itself boats almost 20,000 fans and draws in support of ultranationalists from across Europe. Why Mr Peruta liked such a page is, therefore, concerning.

An individual assisting Husaria Manchester with grave cleaning in the Birmingham area was photographed wearing a ‘Good Night Left Side’ t-shirt on April 18, 2018.

The official page of Husaria Manchester has been used to promote the neo-Nazi group Ogniwo (The Link).

Mr Peruta gave the Israeli Embassy in Poland a one-star review on Facebook, describing them as ‘liars’, days after official commemorations for Holocaust Memorial Day took place on January 27.

Given that Husaria Manchester has worked with mainstream Polish organisations, we are concerned that many are unaware of the views expressed on the social media accounts of Koral Peruta.

Husaria Manchester has worked with other mainstream Polish groups – from community outreach to the cleaning of gravestones, with children, and other communities. Organisations like the Kresy Family and the Polish Expats Association will abhor and reject the views expressed by Karol Peruta, and our research will be forwarded to them, to ensure such examples of entryism is not allowed to continue.

Faith Matters will be handing its evidence to Manchester County Council.

Senior British political figures joined faith and community leaders on Tuesday to commemorate the anniversary of an attack by a far-right extremist who drove a van into Muslim worshippers leaving a London mosque.

Darren Osborne, 48, ploughed his rental van into a crowd leaving Ramadan prayers in Finsbury Park, north London, in the early hours of June 19 last year, killing 51-year-old father of four Makram Ali and injuring 12 others, two seriously.

Authorities said it was the fourth deadly terrorism incident in Britain last year, following three Islamist attacks which killed 35 people.

On Tuesday, the British capital’s mayor Sadiq Khan was joined by the opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and interior minister Sajid Javid and figures from the local community for a minute’s silence outside Islington Town Hall.

“It’s a time to support and pray for the victims,” said Toufik Kacimi, the chief executive of the Muslim Welfare House whose worshippers were targeted in the attack.

“It’s also a time to reflect on the outstanding response from the community. We believe the terrorists will never win and this is shared by the British people of this country as seen by their messages of peace, love and tranquillity.”

Osborne, who was jailed for at least 43 years in February, had become obsessed with Muslims after watching a BBC TV drama about a child sex abuse scandal involving British Pakistani men.

He told his trial he had initially wanted to kill Corbyn and Khan, a Muslim, at a march in central London but had been thwarted by road closures.

“Last year’s cowardly attack which targeted innocent worshippers leaving Finsbury Park Mosque was an attack on all of us,” Prime Minister Theresa May said in a statement. “As with all acts of terrorism, the intention was to divide us. But we will not let this happen.”

An event for Polish families in Stafford on May 12 will feature a lecture by a controversial historian who has links to the neo-fascist National Radical Camp (ONR) group in Poland, a Faith Matters investigation has revealed.

The speaker, Leszek Żebrowski, was labelled an antisemite in a 2016 article published by Gazeta Wyborcza.

The event, hosted by the White Eagle Club, promises bouncy castles, a barbeque, and face painting, will also see an appearance from the controversial GROM Legion group.

A Facebook event page has already attracted interested.

The event poster also sees sponsorship from the Ogniwo (The Link) which promotes itself as a self-styled ‘patriotic group’ but whose membership attracts neo-Nazis.

Rafal Pankowski, an academic who works for the Polish anti-hate charity Never Again, noted that Żebrowski continues to deny Polish involvement in the anti-Jewish pogroms in Jedwabne and Kielce.

Żebrowski appeared in a photograph of the Irish chapter of the ONR following a brief speaking tour in May last year which included events in Dublin, Cork, and Limerick.

He appeared in an ONR promotional video concerning the March 1 march to commemorate the ‘cursed soldiers’ and by organising such rallies, allows the extreme right to posit themselves as torch-bearers for this form of Polish patriotism, according to the historian Rafał Wnuk. Żebrowski was also photographed at an ONR rally last year. 

Commemorations for this event in Slough, London in February 2017, included an event where the extremist former priest, Jacek Międlar, infamous for his antisemitic and anti-Muslim views, was listed alongside Żebrowski as guest speakers. Międlar has twice failed to enter the UK to attend two Britain First rallies in February and June and remains banned due to his extreme views.

A video of the Slough event, uploaded by Piotr Szlachtowicz to YouTube, confirms Żebrowski’s presence, at the timestamp of 7:21.

The views of Szlachtowicz do also appear in the Faith Matters report.

Razem Londyn, the London branch of the left-wing Polish political party Razem (Together), condemned the potential presence of Żebrowski and Międlar in Slough in a Facebook post on February 22, 2017.

Leszek Żebrowski shared a flyer for the same commemorative event in Slough a year earlier.

On Facebook, Żebrowski promotes the Holocaust revisionism of Jan Peczkis, who writes long screeds on Amazon and other obscure blogs. In one example Peczkis  wrote: “All attention is focused on the suffering of Jews and almost completely ignores crimes committed on the Slavic nations like Poles, treating them as second-class victims.”

Nor does this view exist in insolation, our report into contemporary and historical forms of antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred and racism in Poland highlights how parts of the Polish right attempt to use historiography to reshape a collective memory which favours and exceptionalities Polish suffering collectively under Nazism. This form of revisionism also serves to erase discussions about how some Poles were complicit in antisemitism and antisemitic violence before, during, and after the Second World War.

This view has found ground in more mainstream circles, including in the works of Richard Lukas, who is not without controversy and has been accused by one eminent Holocaust scholar of publishing a book which ‘borders’ on antisemitism.

Peczkis has made various antisemitic comments in his Amazon reviews, including “THE USA AND EUROPEAN UNION AS TOOLS FOR PROMOTING JEWISH INTERESTS AT POLAND’S EXPENSE.” It is, therefore, no surprise to see Żebrowski promoting such views to his large Facebook audience.