UK Extremist Armed For "Civil War"

Isn't it amazing how the American far Right jumps all over UK terrorism cases when those arrested are called Ali or Muhammed but are eerily silent when the suspects are uber-right racists?

You may have missed the case that's currently in court in Britain:

A former BNP candidate who is accused of possessing explosives told a court yesterday that he thought the UK was on the brink of civil war and he had purchased crossbows and airguns to protect his family from attack.
Robert Cottage, 49, told Manchester crown court that police would be unable to control the civil unrest that would break out. He stockpiled food, petrol and chemicals to make gunpowder. Cottage claimed he had planned only to manufacture a device to make a loud bang and flashes to frighten off intruders and insisted he had not wanted to hurt anybody. He bought gas mask filters to be used with hydrogen peroxide in case of an outbreak of avian flu.

Cottage was arrested after police searched his home in Colne, Lancashire, on September 28 last year and found 21 chemicals including ammonia, hydrogen peroxide and hydrochloric acid and ball bearings. They also discovered a document on making explosives called the Anarchist's Cookbook on his computer.
Cottage, who had stood in three local elections without success, has pleaded guilty to possession of explosives but denies conspiracy to cause an explosion.

...Cottage claimed that if civil war broke out the authorities would be unable to control the public as the armed forces were fighting in the Middle East and the police were insufficiently trained. "I believe it is everybody's God-given right to protect themselves and their families if they are attacked," he said. "The breakdown of the financial system will inevitably put an unbearable strain on the social structures of this country."

Cottage also wrote that he would like to shoot Tony Blair and other prominent public figures.

Who do you think he expected to be using his arsenal on in event of this civil war?

Well, I posted about this story when Cottage and his co-accused were first arrested back in October. The BNP are a particularly odious uber-right British political party with antecedents including the World War II nazi sympathisers of Mosley and the white-supremacist thugs of the National Front. It's main platform is preserving Britain for ethnically native Britons. Membership is limited to "indegenous caucasians" and the party advocates resettlement to their lands of ethnic origin for Britons of non-white ancestry. Prominent members including their leader, Nick Griffin, have been convicted of race-hate crimes.

So, do you think that maybe the "civil war" this bigot was so paranoid about might have something to do with the ravings of the likes of Mark Steyn?

You betcha!

And just in case you think this was purely a British thing and no big deal for Americans, there have recently been allegations that the BNP are using a front organization to fundraise in the U.S.