Alan Lake and the EDL?

[RedSquare]

After reading up on the English Defence League, the name Alan Lake keeps appearing regularly.

According to most, he's a "multimillionaire businessman" who made his money out of the "internet". Yet it seems impossible to find details of any businesses associated with him, or anything else about him other than the above.

Surely someone this important to the EDL would be under greater scrutiny from the media and especially from anti-fascists. It sounds paranoid, but the fact that there's so little information on him makes him sound like a government plant.

[Tjis]

I doubt that any businessman would use their real name to publicly support such a fringe movement. That'd seriously hurt business.
Also, not everything fishy is automatically a government conspiracy. Why'd the British government spend any money on increasing anti-islam sentiment when mainstream newspapers, tabloids and television stations are already doing it for them? Or are they all in on the conspiracy too?

[RedSquare]

I doubt that any businessman would use their real name to publicly support such a fringe movement. That'd seriously hurt business.
Also, not everything fishy is automatically a government conspiracy. Why'd the British government spend any money on increasing anti-islam sentiment when mainstream newspapers, tabloids and television stations are already doing it for them? Or are they all in on the conspiracy too?

Perhaps, but I would hardly think an alias would survive long. For instance, Stephen Lennon (aka: Tommy Robinson) got uncovered quick enough. Someone would know his real identity whether it be anti-fascists, the media, the police, etc. and the cover would be eventually broken.

He's even appeared publicly on several occasions, and lives in North London. Surely people know what companies he's involved in and how he supposedly made his millions and has decided to pump cash into the EDL while not associating with overt fascists like the BNP, etc.

In this day and age, everyone has a paper trail.

[Sasha]

Profile of lake, courtesy of searchlight: http://www.searchlightmagazine.com/index.php?link=template&story=344

[RedSquare]

Profile of lake, courtesy of searchlight: http://www.searchlightmagazine.com/index.php?link=template&story=344

I had read that earlier today, but it still lacked the substantial information about Lake. I'm skeptical about his supposed millions, and how he's evaded scrutiny up to now. He sounds more like a deranged fundamentalist Christian crackpot, a bit like Breivik.

The comparison between the BNP and the EDL is stark in my view. There's detailed information about who is in the BNP, it's policies, finances, etc. and it has been infiltrated on occasion by the cops. Yet supposedly the UK Police anti-terrorist units are monitoring the EDL in the wake of Breivik, and there's still little info on shadowy figures like Lake who are involved with it.

[Tjis]

The comparison between the BNP and the EDL is stark in my view. There's detailed information about who is in the BNP, it's policies, finances, etc. and it has been infiltrated on occasion by the cops. Yet supposedly the UK Police anti-terrorist units are monitoring the EDL in the wake of Breivik, and there's still little info on shadowy figures like Lake who are involved with it.

But the BNP is a political party. A lot of rules apply to parties. People running for offices can't use fake names, and to be able to run for office at all they need to gather signatures (which makes tracking down supporters much easier). Also, donor information has to be made public above a certain amount I believe.
All of that makes it far easier to know who is behind the BNP, who supports it and who finances it.

The EDL is not required to publish any information about their key people and supporters since they are not a political party. In fact, I don't think they are officially registered anywhere.

[RedSquare]

But the BNP is a political party. A lot of rules apply to parties. People running for offices can't use fake names, and to be able to run for office at all they need to gather signatures (which makes tracking down supporters much easier). Also, donor information has to be made public above a certain amount I believe.
All of that makes it far easier to know who is behind the BNP, who supports it and who finances it.

The EDL is not required to publish any information about their key people and supporters since they are not a political party. In fact, I don't think they are officially registered anywhere.

True, that's actually a good point.

That's probably why off-shoots of the EDL in other countries are organising as "movements" rather than as political parties to allow themselves to grow without being obligated to explain funding, membership numbers, etc.

Definitely it means more research is needed into these groups in my opinion. As even without published information it's still hard to believe how someone like Lake can be so shrouded in secrecy when similar fascist "entrepreneurs" have been outted in the media in the past.

[BTS]

I doubt that any businessman would use their real name to publicly support such a fringe movement. That'd seriously hurt business.

That would sound plausible except for the fact that Alan Lake has often been quite happy to show his face publicly.


Also, not everything fishy is automatically a government conspiracy. Why'd the British government spend any money on increasing anti-islam sentiment when mainstream newspapers, tabloids and television stations are already doing it for them? Or are they all in on the conspiracy too?It's not the Government that is behind Alan Lake and the EDL. Well, not the British Government, anyway.

RedSqure is right to notice and comment on the lack of information about Alan Lake. Who is he? Did he really make his money as a computer expert? If so, why is there no record of this anywhere? Bill Gates made his money that way, and we know his story, so why not that of Alan Lake?

If Alan Lake is pulling the EDL's strings, who is pulling his? Is it really his own money that keeps the EDL afloat? Or is he merely the go-between?

All these questions will be answered soon.