Clare Walsh and James Hodges, aka The Viking, are highly-capable organisers and for some time have been front and centre in promoting anti-migrant demonstrations in the north of England.
Clare, with her energy, glamour and determination, came into the movement all guns blazing.
But with a worrying naivete.
Centrally involved
She has poured her soul into building support for a variety of far-right events, from those organised by Britain First, to Richard Donaldson’s Great British National Protest.
She established herself online as ‘Clare Uniting Britain’ and was centrally involved in demonstrations at the Cresta Court Hotel in Altrincham, the most recent attracting around 50 people last weekend, including Donaldson.
Ashlea Simon and Paul Golding also attended the previous events and it seemed as if ‘Clare Uniting Britain’ and Britain First were working closely together. Clare recently incorporated a plug for the BF Manchester ‘remigration’ demo into her online profile.
She has also been a passionate supporter of Tommy Robinson and has pulled out the stops to mobilise support for his events.
That was her mistake, and this weekend it all unravelled. Big style.
She has just published an open letter to her supporters denouncing bullying, harassment, lies and threats being made against her by Robinson and his supporters.
And Robinson is being joined in his attacks on her by the leaders of Britain First, who she has energetically supported.
She had, mainly on her Facebook and X feeds, already dropped veiled hints about poor behaviour, grifting, treachery and backstabbing.
It was par for the course. A glamorous young woman with organisational skills and leadership potential inevitably becomes a target for jealousy, misogyny and nastiness. She could be a rival.
The grifters were worried and they have turned on her viciously.
This is her statement. We reproduce it in full, completely unedited:
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
To all those involved, whether by name, by group, or behind closed doors:
This statement comes from a place of exhaustion, hurt, and frustration, but above all, a deep and unwavering love for this country and the movement we claim to fight for.
For over a year, I’ve endured smear campaigns, character assassinations, group bans, threats of physical violence, vile rumours, and relentless bullying, all without ever having done a single thing to deserve it. My so-called “crime”? Turning up. Helping. Organising. Supporting. Believing.
I’ve never taken money from this movement. I’ve never sold a single story to any paper. I’ve never “plotted” with Paul Bates, Mark Heath, or anyone else to “take Tommy down”, and the fact I even have to say that is insane. I’ve bent over backwards to clear my name, even publicly distancing myself from others just to get the heat off. I’ve stayed silent, walked away, taken breaks, apologised when I didn’t need to, and begged for peace, all in the hope that someone, somewhere, would do the right thing.
I wrote to Tommy Robinson directly, from the heart, over and over again while he was inside. Not to beg for favours. Not to grovel. But to explain. To ask for a chance to clear the air. To call off the dogs. I honestly believed he might see what was happening and do something about it.
Instead, the abuse has escalated.
This week’s accusation? Apparently, I’m a journalist working with the media. Last month? A con artist. Before that? A plant. A grifter. An infiltrator. A liar. And now, I’m apparently being targeted for a beating, and I have the voice notes to prove it.
What more do I have to do?
Not only have I been relentlessly targeted online, I’ve also been banned and blacklisted from several key grassroots movements, including For The Children, Voice of Wales, and now Britain First, all because Tommy’s team have got it in for me, for reasons they’ve never explained and certainly never justified. This isn’t justice, this isn’t safeguarding the movement, this is targeted ostracisation, coordinated bullying, and blatant manipulation of the wider community.
And now, it’s reached a new low.
Last night, I received a call from Ashley of Britain First. She rang to warn me not to attend the event, because their security is the same as Tommy’s security, and I was told I would be ejected if I turned up. She was pleasant enough in her tone and did apologise in her own way for having to make that call. As you can imagine, I was absolutely livid, but I told her I appreciated the fact she had the decency and courage to speak to me like an adult. I told her I felt bad that she was caught in the middle of all this, and I respected her honesty. She said she’d go back to Tommy’s team and speak with them, and that she would call me back.
That call never came.
I waited up until gone 2am.
I am not your enemy. I am a mother. A patriot. A woman who has given everything I have, time, money, energy, heart, to support the same cause we’re all meant to be standing for. I’ve supported Britain First. I’ve helped Team Tommy. I’ve promoted demos, pushed pledges, raised awareness for victims, and tried to unify groups when nobody else would.
So let me say this, as clearly as I can:
Stop the lies.
Stop the threats.
Stop bullying smaller groups into disowning me.
Stop weaponising the movement to settle personal vendettas.
You do you. Let me do me. Let’s agree to disagree, but leave each other in peace. I am no threat to you. I never was. But I will show all the receipts, the targeted harassment and threats that I have received, if I continue to be treated the way I have for doing nothing more than try to bring people together to unite under a common cause.
This isn’t just “drama” anymore. This is harassment. This is intimidation. This is morally bankrupt behaviour wrapped in a Union Flag.
To every single one of you who has shared lies, dogpiled, blocked me, blacklisted me, or used your platform to destroy mine, ask yourself what this is really achieving. And ask yourself what the ordinary working-class men and women of Britain would think if they saw this behaviour behind the curtain.
We’re meant to be fighting for truth, for freedom, for unity, not tearing down our own from the inside.
Please. For the good of the cause. Let me be. Let us ALL be.
Have a great rest of the day everyone and stay safe.
Clare x
Like others before her, Clare Walsh found out the hard way that the world of the extreme right is a very poisonous world indeed.
