Nick Hubble, one of the most prominent figures in Devon’s anti-migrant street protests, has been convicted of racially-aggravated assault after an incident at a far-right demonstration last November.
Hubble, from Exeter, is a Britain First member who has been a visible presence at anti-migrant demonstrations across the West Country at hotel demonstrations and at a succession of city centre marches.
Union Jack suit
His trademark Union Jack suit has made him a recognisable figure at Britain First events.
Hubble pleaded guilty to racially aggravated assault by abusive words or behaviour, after an incident on 30 November last year at Exeter Airport Industrial Estate, where opposing groups of protesters had gathered outside a hotel which had been used to house migrants.
He also faces a charge of common assault against a counter-protester described in court as a university professor, a charge he denies.
Shoulder-barged
The court heard that officers on duty observed protesters attempting to block the path of another individual. The prosecution claims that Hubble shoulder-barged the complainant, causing him to stumble backwards, before barging him a second time.
Officers also heard him shouting and swearing at members of the counter-protest group later the same day. The prosecution said that Hubble was targeting individuals from a group “representing lesser harm”. In mitigation, his lawyer said he had been approached aggressively and acted in self-defence.
The case has been sent for trial.
Declining support
His court appearance comes as the far-right street movement he has helped build in Devon shows signs of decline.
Anti-migrant protests at the hotel near Exeter Airport, staged every Saturday for 19 weeks, were consistently outnumbered by counter-protesters by four or five to one, and the far-right numbers dwindled from a peak of around 40 to a handful of hardcore regulars.
Successive city centre marches organised under various banners have fared little better. A January counter-demonstration drew around 850 people against roughly 60 far-right marchers.
