Facebook bans 'dangerous' far-right leaders and groups including Nick Griffin, Britain First and EFL

Facebook has announced a ban on a host of far-right figures and groups including former BNP leader Nick Griffin, the English Defence League (EDL), and Britain First, after designating them as “dangerous”.

The social media giant’s move comes after it banned Tommy Robinson, the founder of the EDL, earlier this year as part of a crackdown on hate speech.

Those affected are barred from being on Facebook or Instagram in any capacity and other users who post supportive material about them also face being banned.

Others named in the crackdown are Jack Renshw, a former member of banned terror group National Action; former Britain First deputy leader Jayda Fransen and National Front leader Tony Martin.

A spokesman for Facebook said: “Individuals and organisations who spread hate, or attack or call for the exclusion of others on the basis of who they are, have no place on Facebook. Under our Dangerous Individuals and Organisations policy, we ban those who proclaim a violent or hateful mission or are engaged in acts of hate or violence.

“The individuals and organisations we have banned today violate this policy, and they will no longer be allowed a presence on Facebook or Instagram.”

Far right groups have previously been adept at exploiting Facebook to reach mass audiences. Until its page was originally taken down last year, Britain First was the largest UK political party on Facebook, with more than 1.5 million followers. The Labour Party currently has just over one million followers and the Conservatives 650,000.

Despite Facebook removing the Britain First page last year its prominent members such as former deputy leader, Jayda Fransen, maintained a presence on Facebook and Instagram, where until Thursday she had more than 7,000 followers.

Facebook's purge today also included Britain First leader Paul Golding;  EDL member Paul Ray, far-right group Knights Templar International and far-right activist Jim Dowson.

The move was welcomed by MP Yvette Cooper, the chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, who described the bans as “long overdue”.

She said: “We have been calling on social media companies, including Facebook, to act urgently on this for a number of years and it should not take events like the terrible attack in Christchurch and the subsequent external pressure to prompt meaningful action. This has been far too slow. Other companies also need to do much more.

“For too long social media companies have been facilitating extremist and hateful content online and profiting from the poison.

“They have particularly failed on far right extremism as they don’t even have the same co-ordination systems for platforms to work together as they do on Islamist extremism. For some time we have been calling on all social media companies to take far right extremism much more seriously.”