Anthony Hancock (5 May 1947 – 11 June 2012) was a

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

who created literature for British far right groups and a member of such organisations in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Biography

Based in Brighton, where Hancock owned a hotel called the Heidelberg, Anthony Hancock was the son of

Alan Hancock Alan Vivien Hancock (14 August 1914-July, 1989) was one of the early leaders of the Racial Preservation Society (RPS). He was formerly a member of the British Union of Fascists (BUF) which was formed in 1932 by ex-Labour government minister Sir Os ...

, a veteran of the British Union of Fascists who first set up the publishing firm. With his father as a leading member, Anthony Hancock began as a member of the

Racial Preservation Society The Racial Preservation Society was a far-right pressure group opposed to immigration and in favour of white nationalism, national preservation and protection in the United Kingdom in the 1960s. Background Although parties such as the Union Movem ...

(RPS) and from this group he became a member of the National Front. R. Hill & A. Bell, ''The Other Face of Terror'', London: Grafton, 1988, p. 205 As a member of the NF, Hancock became a close associate of Steve Brady of the League of St George and followed him into the National Party in 1976. It was at this time that Hancock stepped up his printing firm and was soon producing not only for the NP and the League, but also for the British Movement and later the NF and the

British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK gover ...

amongst others. He later became a supporter of the

British Democratic Party The British Democratic Party (BDP) was a short-lived far-right political party in the United Kingdom. A breakaway group from the National Front, the BDP was severely damaged after it became involved in a gun-running sting and was absorbed by the ...

, although by and large he put his own feelings aside and continued to publish for any far right group that asked him to. A

Holocaust denier Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: * ...

, Hancock set up the Historical Review Press (based in

Uckfield Uckfield () is a town in the Wealden District of East Sussex in South East England. The town is on the River Uck, one of the tributaries of the River Ouse, on the southern edge of the Weald. Etymology 'Uckfield', first recorded in writing as ...

) which, funded by Robin Beauclair (formerly of the RPS), became the leading source of Holocaust denial publications in Britain. The Press published versions of a number of such works including Arthur Butz' ''

The Hoax of the Twentieth Century ''The Hoax of the Twentieth Century: The Case Against the Presumed Extermination of European Jewry'' is a book by Northwestern University electrical engineering professor and Holocaust denier Arthur Butz. The book was originally published in 19 ...

'' and an occasional newspaper ''The Holocaust News''. Hancock was responsible for publishing ''

Did Six Million Really Die? ''Did Six Million Really Die? The Truth at Last'' is a neo-Nazi, Holocaust denial pamphlet allegedly written by British National Front (NF) member Richard Verrall under the pseudonym Richard E. Harwood and published in 1974 by neo-Nazi prop ...

'', being sued for royalties in the High Court in 1982.

David Irving David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938) is an English author and Holocaust denier who has written on the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany. His works include '' The Destruction of Dresden'' (1 ...

has also acknowledged that Hancock did some of his printing, although it has been alleged that the relationship ran much deeper and that the two men worked together on Holocaust denial seminars. Hancock was also a leading member of the Clarendon Club, a debating society active from 1979 to 1981 in which Irving and members of the League of St. George were joined by more mainstream figures such as

Harvey Proctor Keith Harvey Proctor (born 16 January 1947) is a British former Conservative Member of Parliament. A member of the Monday Club, he represented Basildon from 1979 to 1983 and Billericay from 1983 to 1987. Proctor became embroiled in a scandal i ...

. Hancock built up an extensive range of international contacts and was closely associated with

Roberto Fiore Roberto Fiore (born 15 April 1959) is an Italian politician and the leader of the party Forza Nuova, convicted in Italy for subversion and armed gang for his links to the right wing terrorism organization "Terza posizione". He self-identifies ...

for a time during the 1980s. Distributing large quantities of Holocaust denial material in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, he was investigated by the German police in the late 1990s, although no case was brought as he was not breaking UK law and so could not face

extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdi ...

. His printing offices were raided in 1999, however, owing to a spate of anti-Semitic mailshots originating from

Colin Jordan John Colin Campbell Jordan (19 June 1923 – 9 April 2009) was a leading figure in post-war neo-Nazism in Great Britain. In the far-right circles of the 1960s, Jordan represented the most explicitly "Nazi" inclination in his open use of the s ...

. On 11 June 2012, Hancock died after suffering two strokes.Gerry Gabl
"The many lives of Anthony Hancock"
, ''Searchlight'' (blog), 12 June 2012

References

External links

Historical Review Press
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hancock, Anthony 1947 births 2012 deaths British Holocaust deniers English neo-Nazis English publishers (people) National Front (UK) politicians People from Brighton 20th-century English businesspeople