Richard Verrall (born 1948) is a British
Holocaust denier and former deputy chairman of the British
National Front (NF) who edited the magazine ''
Spearhead
A spearhead is the sharpened point (head) of a spear, similar to an arrowhead. It is often a separate piece called a projectile point.
Spearhead may also refer to:
Armed conflict
* Armoured spearhead, a tactical formation
* HMS Spearhead ( ...
'' from 1976 to 1980. Under the ''nom de plume'' (pen name) of Richard E. Harwood, Verrall wrote the pamphlet ''
Did Six Million Really Die?''
National Front involvement
Verrall studied
history at
Westfield College, now part of
Queen Mary University of London, obtaining a first class honours degree.
[S. Taylor, ''The National Front in English Politics'', London: Macmillan, 1982, p. 62] Initially a member of the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
, Verrall left in the early 1970s, along with a number of members on the right who supported
Enoch Powell, to join the NF.
Initially a close supporter of
John Tyndall
John Tyndall FRS (; 2 August 1820 – 4 December 1893) was a prominent 19th-century Irish physicist. His scientific fame arose in the 1850s from his study of diamagnetism. Later he made discoveries in the realms of infrared radiation and the p ...
, he was appointed ''Spearhead'' editor by Tyndall and used the magazine to deny
the Holocaust.
He was also known for his endorsement of
eugenics and
biological determinism, adding to this theory that it was equally natural for members of a genetic group to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of others of the same group, thus attacking the criticism that the notion of
sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...
makes this theory inapplicable to humanity.
Despite his initial support for Tyndall, Verrall did not follow him into the
New National Front
The British National Party (BNP) is a Far-right politics, far-right, Fascism, fascist list of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walke ...
and indeed was appointed deputy chairman of the NF by
Andrew Brons
Andrew Henry William Brons (born 3 June 1947) is a British politician and former MEP. Long active in far-right politics in Britain, he was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Yorkshire and the Humber for the British National ...
in 1980. Although appointed to this role Verrall, played little further role in the politics of the NF and was aloof from the struggle between the
Official National Front and the
Flag Group
The Flag Group was a British far-right political party, formed from one of the two wings of the National Front in the 1980s. Formed in opposition to the Political Soldier wing of the Official National Front, it took its name from ''The Flag'', a ...
. Instead, he concentrated most of his efforts on writing about the Holocaust.
Holocaust denial career
Verrall is best known today for his pamphlet (under the
assumed name of Richard Harwood) ''
Did Six Million Really Die?'',
a
Holocaust denial pamphlet which was the subject of the criminal action brought against its Canadian-based German publisher
Ernst Zündel. The trial court found the pamphlet to be composed of fabrications and distortions. The
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
ruled that the book "misrepresented the work of historians, misquoted witnesses, fabricated evidence, and cited non-existent authorities".
In 2017,
Amazon in the UK removed the entry for ''Did Six Million Really Die?'' from the offerings on its site after many years of having carried it.
Personal life
Verrall is married to Tessa Sempik, a solicitor, and they were mentioned in a 1996 article about tenancy law.
See also
*
Ernst Zündel
*
National Front (United Kingdom)
References
External links
*Renton, D.
''Fascism and Anti-Fascism in Britain''Holocaust Denial on Trial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verrall, Richard
1948 births
Living people
Alumni of Westfield College
Pseudonymous writers
British Holocaust deniers
English male journalists
English neo-Nazis
National Front (UK) politicians