The Angry Brigade
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The Angry Brigade was a
far-left Far-left politics, also known as the radical left or the extreme left, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single definition. Some scholars consider ...
British terrorist group responsible for a series of bomb attacks in England between 1970 and 1972. Using small bombs, they targeted
bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...
s,
embassies A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...
, a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
Outside Broadcast Outside broadcasting (OB) is the electronic field production (EFP) of television or radio programmes (typically to cover television news and sports television events) from a mobile remote broadcast television studio. Professional video camera a ...
vehicle, and the homes of
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MPs). In total, police attributed 25 bombings to the Angry Brigade. The bombings mostly caused
property damage Property damage (or cf. criminal damage in England and Wales) is damage or destruction of real or tangible personal property, caused by negligence, willful destruction, or act of nature. It is similar to vandalism and arson (destroying propert ...
; one person was slightly injured. Of the eight people who stood trial, known as the Stoke Newington Eight, four were acquitted. John Barker, along with Hilary Creek, Anna Mendelssohn and Jim Greenfield, were convicted on majority verdicts, and sentenced to ten years. In a 2014 interview, Barker described the trial as political, but acknowledged that "they framed a guilty man".


History


Origins

In mid-1968 demonstrations took place in London, centred on the US embassy in Grosvenor Square, against US involvement in the Vietnam War. One of the organisers of these demonstrations,
Tariq Ali Tariq Ali (; born 21 October 1943) is a Pakistani-British political activist, writer, journalist, historian, filmmaker, and public intellectual. He is a member of the editorial committee of the ''New Left Review'' and ''Sin Permiso'', and con ...
, has said he recalls an approach by someone representing the Angry Brigade who wished to bomb the embassy; he told them it was a terrible idea and no bombing took place.


1970s

The Angry Brigade decided to launch a bombing campaign with small bombs, in order to maximise media exposure to their demands while keeping collateral damage to a minimum. The campaign started in August 1970 and continued for a year until arrests took place the following summer. Targets included
bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...
s,
embassies A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...
, a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
Outside Broadcast Outside broadcasting (OB) is the electronic field production (EFP) of television or radio programmes (typically to cover television news and sports television events) from a mobile remote broadcast television studio. Professional video camera a ...
vehicle earmarked for use in the coverage of the 1970 Miss World event, and the homes of
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MPs). In total, police attributed 25 bombings to the Angry Brigade. The bombings mostly caused
property damage Property damage (or cf. criminal damage in England and Wales) is damage or destruction of real or tangible personal property, caused by negligence, willful destruction, or act of nature. It is similar to vandalism and arson (destroying propert ...
; one person was slightly injured.


Resurfaced Angry Brigade of the 1980s

In the 1980s the Angry Brigade resurfaced as the Angry Brigade Resistance Movement, part of the
Irish Republican Socialist Movement The Irish Republican Socialist Movement (IRSM) is an umbrella term for: * the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP), a Marxist–Leninist Irish republican group formed in 1974 following a split in Official Sinn Fein ** the Irish National Liber ...
(IRSM).


Aftermath

Jake Prescott, whose origins were in the mining community of
Dunfermline Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...
, was arrested and tried in 1971.
Melford Stevenson Sir Aubrey Melford Steed Stevenson (17 October 1902 – 26 December 1987), usually known as Sir Melford Stevenson, was an English barrister and, later, a High Court judge, whose judicial career was marked by his controversial conduct and ...
sentenced him to 15 years imprisonment (later reduced to 10), mostly spent in Category A high security prisons. Later he said he realised then that he "was the one who was angry and the people emet were more like the Slightly Cross Brigade". The other members of the group from North-East London, the "Stoke Newington Eight", were prosecuted for carrying out bombings as the Angry Brigade in one of the longest
criminal trial Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail ...
s of English history (it lasted from 30 May to 6 December 1972). As a result of the trial, John Barker, Jim Greenfield, Hilary Creek and Anna Mendelssohn received
prison sentence In law, a sentence is the punishment for a crime ordered by a trial court after conviction in a criminal procedure, normally at the conclusion of a trial. A sentence may consist of imprisonment, a fine, or other sanctions. Sentences for multip ...
s of 10 years. A number of other defendants were found not guilty, including
Stuart Christie Stuart Christie (10 July 1946 – 15 August 2020) was a Scottish anarchist writer and publisher. When aged 18, Christie was arrested while carrying explosives to assassinate the Spanish caudillo, General Francisco Franco. He was later alleged ...
, who had previously been imprisoned in
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
for carrying explosives with the intent to assassinate the ''
caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; osp, cabdillo, from Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise definition of ''caudillo'', which is often used interchangeably with " ...
''
Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
, and
Angela Mason Angela Margaret Mason (born 9 August 1944) is a British civil servant and activist, and a former director of the UK-based lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender lobbying organisation Stonewall. She is a former Chair of the Fawcett Society, a ...
who became a director of the
LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...
rights group Stonewall and was awarded an OBE for services to homosexual rights. In February 2002, Prescott apologised for his role in bombing
Robert Carr Leonard Robert Carr, Baron Carr of Hadley, (11 November 1916 – 17 February 2012) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Home Secretary from 1972 to 1974. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 26 years, and later se ...
's house and called on other members of the Angry Brigade to also come forward. On 3 February 2002, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' reported a history of the Angry Brigade and an update on what its former members were doing then. On 9 August 2002,
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
aired Graham White’s historical drama, ''The Trial of the Angry Brigade''. Produced by Peter Kavanagh, this was a reconstruction of the trial combined with other background information. The cast included
Kenneth Cranham Kenneth Cranham (born 12 December 1944) is a Scottish film, television, radio and stage actor. Early life Cranham was born in Dunfermline, Fife, the son of Lochgelly-born Margaret McKay Cranham (née Ferguson) and Ronald Cranham, a London-bor ...
,
Juliet Stevenson Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, (born 30 October 1956) is an English actor of stage and screen. She is known for her role in the film ''Truly, Madly, Deeply'' (1991), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leadi ...
,
Tom Hiddleston Thomas William Hiddleston (born 9 February 1981) is an English actor. He gained international fame portraying Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), starting with ''Thor'' in 2011 and most recently in the Disney+ series ''Loki'' in 2021 ...
and
Mark Strong Mark Strong (born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia; 5 August 1963), is a British actor, best known for his film roles such as Prince Septimus in ''Stardust'' (2007), Archibald in '' RocknRolla'' (2008), Lord Henry Blackwood in ''Sherlock Holmes'' (20 ...
. In 2009, family care activist and novelist
Erin Pizzey Erin Patria Margaret Pizzey (; born 19 February 1939) is an English ex-feminist, Men's rights activist and advocate against domestic violence, and novelist. She is known for having started the first and currently the largest domestic violence s ...
was successful in a libel case against
Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...
after ''
Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain ''Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain'' is a 2007 BBC documentary television series presented by Andrew Marr that covers the period of British history from the end of the Second World War onwards. The series was highly praised, and resulted ...
'' had falsely linked her to the Angry Brigade. The publisher also recalled and destroyed the offending version of the book, and republished it with the error removed. The link to the Angry Brigade was made in 2001, in an interview with ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', in which the article states that she was "thrown out" of the feminist movement after threatening to inform police about a planned bombing by the Angry Brigade of the clothes shop
Biba Biba was a London fashion store of the 1960s and 1970s. Biba was started and primarily run by the Polish-born Barbara Hulanicki with help of her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon. Early years Biba's early years were rather humble, with many of the ou ...
. "I said that if you go on with this – they were discussing bombing Biba
he legendary department store in Kensington He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
nbsp;– I'm going to call the police in, because I really don't believe in this." The group and trial feature in
Jake Arnott Jake Arnott (born 11 March 1961) is a British novelist and dramatist, author of ''The Long Firm'' (1999) and six other novels. Life Arnott was born in Buckinghamshire. Having left Aylesbury Grammar School at 17, he had various jobs includin ...
's 2006 novel ''
Johnny Come Home "Johnny Come Home" is a song by British band Fine Young Cannibals, released as the first single from their debut album, ''Fine Young Cannibals'' (1985). It is similar to the style of many other of the band's hits, a mixture of rock and ska with ...
''.
Hari Kunzru Hari Mohan Nath Kunzru (born 1969) is a British novelist and journalist. He is the author of the novels '' The Impressionist'', '' Transmission'', ''My Revolutions'', ''Gods Without Men'', ''White Tears''David Robinson"Interview: Hari Kunzru, a ...
's 2007 novel ''My Revolutions'' is inspired by the Angry Brigade. ''
The Angry Brigade The Angry Brigade was a far-left British terrorist group responsible for a series of bomb attacks in England between 1970 and 1972. Using small bombs, they targeted banks, embassies, a BBC Outside Broadcast vehicle, and the homes of Conservati ...
'' is a 2014 play by James Graham.


See also

* Terrorist attacks in London * Walsall Anarchists *
Urban Guerrilla An urban guerrilla is someone who fights a government using unconventional warfare or domestic terrorism in an urban environment. Theory and history The urban guerrilla phenomenon is essentially one of industrialised society, resting both ...
(
Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...
) * First of May Group *
Anarchism in the United Kingdom Anarchism in the United Kingdom initially developed within the English Dissenters, religious dissent movement that began after the English Reformation, Protestant Reformation. Anarchism was first seen among the radical republican elements of the ...
* Black Mask *
King Mob King Mob was an English radical group based in London during the late 1960s/early 1970s. It was a cultural mutation of the Situationists and the anarchist group UAW/MF. It sought to emphasise the cultural anarchy and disorder being ignored in B ...
* Movement 2 June


Notes


References

*


Further reading

* ''The Angry Brigade: A history of Britain's first urban guerrilla group'', Gordon Carr, 1975 (reissued by Stuart Christie 2005)
''The Angry Brigade 1967–1984: Documents and Chronology''
Bratach Dubh Anarchist Pamphlets, 1978 * ''Anarchy in the UK: The Angry Brigade'', Tom Vague, AK Press, 1997, * ''Bending the Bars'', John Barker, Christie Books, 2002 (reissued 2006). . * Alan Burns, ''The Angry Brigade: A Documentary Novel'' (
Allison & Busby Allison & Busby (A & B) is a publishing house based in London established by Clive Allison and Margaret Busby in 1967. The company has built up a reputation as a leading independent publisher. Background Launching as a publishing company in Ma ...
, 1973). * Gordon Carr, John Barker, Stuart Christie, ''The Angry Brigade: A History of Britain's First Urban Guerilla Group'', 1975 (reissued 2005). . * Gordon Carr, ''The Angry Brigade: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Britain's First Urban Guerilla Group'' (DVD), BBC, January 1973. Released on DVD in 2008 by PM Press. * Gordon Carr, ''The Persons Unknown'' (DVD) 1980. Features as a DVD extra on the January 1973 BBC documentary ''The Angry Brigade: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Britain's First Urban Guerilla Group''. * ''Edward Heath Made Me Angry'', Stuart Christie, Christie Books, 2004. 978-1873976234. * ''
Granny Made me an Anarchist Stuart Christie (10 July 1946 – 15 August 2020) was a Scottish anarchist writer and publisher. When aged 18, Christie was arrested while carrying explosives to assassinate the Spanish caudillo, General Francisco Franco. He was later alleged ...
: General Franco, The Angry Brigade and Me'', Stuart Christie, Scribner, 2004. 978-0743263566. * Tom Vague, ''Anarchy in the UK: The Angry Brigade'',
AK Press AK Press is a worker-managed, independent publisher and book distributor that specialises in radical left and anarchist literature. Operated out of Chico, California, the company is collectively owned. History AK was founded in Stirling, S ...
, 1997, . (Issue 27 of punk rock fanzine ''Vague''. An earlier shorter version appeared as an article in issue 16 ''Psychic Terrorism Annual'' in 1985, reprinted in issue 25 ''The Great British Mistake'' in 1994.) * Graham White, ''The Trial of the Angry Brigade'', BBC Radio 4. Produced by Peter Kavanagh and broadcast 9 August 2002.


External links


A personal memory of Anna in 1968Libertarian community and organising resource
Libertarian communism and anarchism in the UK
Angry Brigade: Documents and Chronology, 1967–1984
* ttp://observer.guardian.co.uk/life/story/0,6903,643923,00.html Look back in anger(An article by The Observer on the 30th Anniversary of their trial)
Interview with Stuart Christie
(3:AM Magazine)
Interview with John Barker
(3:AM Magazine)
British minister's home bombed
(BBC 'On This Day' article)
Timeline of actions
(spunk.org)
Obituary of Anna Mendleson1973 article on the Stoke Newington Eight trialJohn Barker's personal page on Through EuropeChristie Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Angry Brigade Defunct anarchist militant groups Anti-consumerist groups Anarchist organisations in the United Kingdom 1970 establishments in the United Kingdom 1972 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1970 Organizations disestablished in 1972 Left-wing militant groups in the United Kingdom Defunct anarchist organizations in Europe Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 1970 Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 1971 Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 1972