The Cornish National Liberation Army (CNLA) was a short-lived Cornish nationalist paramilitary organisation that threatened to perform acts of vandalism and arson against commercial targets that it considered to be

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. The organisation has been described by the Cornish political party

Mebyon Kernow Mebyon Kernow – The Party for Cornwall (, MK; Cornish for ''Sons of Cornwall'') is a Cornish nationalist, centre-left political party in Cornwall, in southwestern Britain. It currently has five elected councillors on Cornwall Council, and s ...

as a 'pseudo-terrorist group'.

History

The CNLA claimed to have been formed through the merge of An Gof and the Cornish Liberation Army. In 2007, an email claiming to be from the Cornish National Liberation Army threatened the restaurants of celebrity chefs

Jamie Oliver James Trevor Oliver MBE OSI (born 27 May 1975) is an English chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He is known for his casual approach to cuisine, which has led him to front numerous television shows and open many restaurants. Oliver reac ...

and

Rick Stein Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

in Cornwall, claiming they were hurting local people though driving up living costs. The following month a 36-year-old man was arrested for making the threats. The group also opposed the flying of the

English flag The flag of England is the national flag of England, a constituent country of the United Kingdom. It is derived from Saint George's Cross (heraldic blazon: ''Argent, a cross gules''). The association of the red cross as an emblem of England ...

in Cornwall, and has threatened to destroy all English flags in the region. It claimed to have been involved in arson attacks on English people's holiday homes in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. There is little evidence as to the size of the CNLA other than an August 2007 interview in Cornish World Magazine in which Stuart Ramsay claimed they had thirty members, with a similar number being reported in 2017."CNLA: the writing on the wall" in ''Cornish World Magazine'', Issue 53 (August/September 2007) pp.50–53.

Cornish Republican Army

In 2017, the group announced a name change to the Cornish Republican Army (CRA), as the previous name had been used by other groups. The CRA claimed responsibility for a firebomb attack on Rick Stein's restaurant in

Porthleven Porthleven () is a town, civil parish and fishing port near Helston, Cornwall, England. The most southerly port in Great Britain, it was a harbour of refuge when this part of the Cornish coastline was infamous for wrecks in the days of sail. Th ...

, along with other fire incidents in

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro ...

and Penryn. They also claimed to have a

suicide bomber A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...

ready to undergo an attack. However, the

Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

confirmed the restaurant fire was "probably an electrical issue and not one of deliberate ignition". Comparisons to a fictional group in the 2015 film ''

The Bad Education Movie ''The Bad Education Movie'' is a 2015 British comedy film directed by Elliot Hegarty and written by Freddy Syborn and Jack Whitehall. The movie is based on Whitehall's sitcom of the same name, and follows a similar plot-line, with young teac ...

'' have been made, in which Alfie Wickers and class K go to Cornwall but accidentally get involved with the Cornish Liberation Army, a terrorist organisation fighting for Cornish independence.

References

External links

Fighting them on the beaches
''Guardian'', 15 June 2007 {{Cornish self-government movement 2006 establishments in the United Kingdom Cornish nationalism Republicanism in England Separatism in the United Kingdom Military units and formations established in 2006 Anti-English sentiment in Europe Cornish militarism