Land-buying firm linked to fascists buys plots of land in Wales

Martin Shipton

Serious concern has been expressed following the revelation that a land-buying company with links to the UK’s largest fascist group has bought land in Wales.

The anti-fascist organisation Hope not Hate has confirmed that The Woodlander Initiative (TWI), which has links to Patriotic Alternative, now owns two plots of land close to the village of Llanafan Fawr, near Builth Wells in Powys.

Despite claiming on its website that it is “not a political organisation”, the Llanafan Fawr plots have been used by Patriotic Alternative (PA).

TWI has the long-term ambition of owning land in every county in the UK, and members are currently aiming to buy a plot near Alston, Cumbria.

‘Off-grid’

The organisation, which is a limited company, is headed by Simon Birkett, a tattoo artist who has previously been involved with the National Front, the British National Party and the Conservative Party. He lives in an “off-grid” cabin near Warminster, Wiltshire, and has built an online following among the far right via his YouTube and Telegram channels and guest appearances on various fascist streams.

Birkett has been involved in PA since early 2020 and addressed the group’s annual conference in October. In his speech, he dismissed the viability of electoral politics for the far right and advocated the building of a “parallel society”, citing Orania, a whites-only town in South Africa, as an example.

In a recent article for TWI members, Birkett invoked the “Great Replacement” among a number of other conspiracy theories, claiming that “those in power” are “intentionally replac[ing] one population with another” and that “White Europeans are being out bred” by migrants. He concluded: “we have to be the ones that create an elite, a vanguard, an alternative group who will actively do what’s best for us”.

In May 2024, Birkett described TWI as “a possible avenue to power”, adding: “If we can get an organisation together which is asset rich – owns land, maybe property – we will suddenly, within a very short period of time, become a multi-million pound organisation that has power … Suddenly we’re not a political organisation, but what we are is a very powerful organisation that has clout.”

Whites only’ enclaves

In its online magazine, Hope not Hate writes: “Purchasing land and property is a long-standing aspiration for many on the far right, who desire a space in which they can host events with fewer risks or, more ambitiously, to withdraw into ‘whites only’ enclaves. There have been previous such attempts in the UK by members of Combat 18, the BNP, National Action and other groups, all of which have ended in failure.

“Now, frustrated with electoral politics, sections of the UK’s fascist fringe are again turning inward. Within PA, there is considerable interest in land and property acquisition as a means of establishing ‘white heartlands’ and the organisation regards TWI as a model.

“PA leader Mark Collett wrote recently in the fascist magazine Heritage & Destiny: “The Woodlander Trust [sic] is a fantastic initiative that allows nationalists to pool their money in order to purchase land and property, so now we have places to meet, camp and socialise. This is a long term plan that will hopefully catch on and turn into the establishment of indigenous heartlands; places for our people.”

“While TWI is not an official PA project, Birkett and Collett have voiced an intention for their organisations to ‘work together’.

“On November 2-3, 10 PA activists camped at the TWI’s land in Llanafan Fawr. PA encourages such activities in pursuit of its central goal – establishing cohesive far-right communities across the UK. It is unclear whether TWI members and shareholders were consulted about the use of the land for this purpose.

“Birkett also offers advice to other TWI members seeking their own group land purchases. Members are attempting to purchase a plot of land two miles northwest of Alston, Cumbria – an opportunity that Birkett advertised in PA’s official chat group. A regional TWI group in the South West is also aiming to purchase land together.”

‘Neo-Nazi’

At PA’s national conference in October, Birkett was photographed with the Australian neo-Nazi and serial criminal Blair Cottrell. Cottrell is an Australian far-right extremist and neo-Nazi. He is the former chairman and a founding member of the United Patriots Front (UPF) and the Lads Society. He has been convicted and served prison time for stalking, arson, illegal sales of steroids, and burglary.

Cottrell’s right-wing views have been described by Australia’s former Race Discrimination Commissioner, Tim Soutphommasane, as neo-Nazi. He has been convicted of charges of inciting hatred against Muslim communities.

In 2015, Cottrell stated on Facebook a desire to see a portrait of Adolf Hitler hung in Australian classrooms and for copies of Mein Kampf to be “issued annually” to students, and has made anti-Semitic and racist comments in support of Nazism.

In 2018, Cottrell openly advocated for Remigration, calling for the deportation of “enemies of my country” and the execution of immigrants who refused to leave.

In 2017, Cottrell, Neil Erikson, and Chris Shortis were found guilty by a magistrate of inciting contempt against Muslims after they had enacted and made a video of a fake beheading, to protest against the building of a mosque in the city of Bendigo.

In the aftermath of the Christchurch mosque shootings at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand in March 2019, it was discovered that the perpetrator, Brenton Harrison Tarrant of Grafton, New South Wales, Australia, had interacted with Cottrell’s UPF on its Facebook pages. He affectionately called Blair Cottrell “Emperor Blair Cottrell” as well as donating to the UPF and threatening a man from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia over criticism of the organisation in 2016. Cottrell had distanced himself from Tarrant and denounced his attacks, stating he didn’t know him. He conceded it was possible that a UPF member did meet him at one point. Tarrant was also offered the opportunity of joining the Lads Society but declined.

Hitler

In August 2018, Sky News Australia was criticised for providing a platform to Cottrell in a one-on-one discussion about immigration. Sky News reporter Laura Jayes took offence at his appearance on the programme due to the fact that he had expressed admiration for Hitler and claimed to have manipulated women “using violence and terror”.

Political editor of Sky News David Speers was also critical of Cottrell’s appearance on the show. Sky News commentator and former Labor Party minister Craig Emerson resigned in protest after the interview was broadcast, saying that the decision to give Cottrell a platform on Sky was “another step in a journey to normalising racism and bigotry in our country”.

Cottrell subsequently tweeted about Jayes: “I might as well have raped @ljayes on the air, not only would she have been happier with that but the reaction would’ve been the same.”

In 2012, Cottrell served four months in jail after being convicted of stalking his ex-girlfriend and her new partner, and of arson after attempting to burn down the man’s house. In December 2013, he was fined $1,000 and sentenced to seven days in jail by a County Court judge for aggravated burglary, property damage, arson, testosterone trafficking, possessing a controlled weapon and breaching court orders.

‘No welcome for fascists’

Cllr Elwyn Vaughan, leader of the Plaid Cymru group on Powys County Council, said: “At a time when many of us have concerns about the pressures on our farming community and rural areas, the economic pressure leading to selling land, and numerous stories of companies and rich individuals buying farms for greenwashing exercises, it is particularly concerning that such right wing groups as TWI are now buying land and creating a presence in rural Powys.

“The message needs to be loud and clear that there’s no welcome for fascists in mid Wales and they should keep clear from our communities.”