Matthew F. Collins

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Matthew Collins in 2023 Author and activist Matthew Collins, Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival 2023.jpg
Matthew Collins in 2023

Matthew F. Collins (born 1972) is an English activist and author. [1] Born in London, he was previously a member of several British fascist and neo-Nazi organizations, before starting to work as an informant for an anti-fascist magazine. He later became an activist for anti-fascist and anti-racist campaigns.

Contents

Far-right politics and role as informant

In his youth, Collins was the South London organizer for the National Front, a volunteer for the British National Party’s head office and a member of the neo-Nazi organization Combat 18. [2]

Collins took part in the Battle of Welling after which he became a paid informant for the anti-fascist Searchlight magazine. Collins was paid in book tokens for his role as an informant. [1] When his role as a Searchlight informant was exposed, Collins went into hiding in Australia

He returned to the UK as the subject of a BBC documentary Dead Man Walking (2004). [1]

In 2012, Collins wrote a memoir of his youth, entitled Hate: My Life in the British Far Right which included a foreword by Billy Bragg. [3]

Hope Not Hate

Matthew Collins is currently a researcher and Head of Intelligence for the anti-fascist and anti-racist campaign group Hope Not Hate. [4] Hope Not Hate is described as a non-sectarian, nonpartisan third party organisation. [5] He manages Hope Not Hate's intelligence network. [6]

Collins managed Robbie Mullen, a mole in National Action, in foiling a plot to murder Labour MP Rosie Cooper in 2017. [7] In 2019, Matthew Collins wrote his second book, Nazi Terrorist: The Story of National Action with Robbie Mullen, [8] and in 2022, he wrote his third book, The Walk-In: Fascists, Spies & Lies - The True Story Behind the ITV series, with a foreword by political journalist Kevin Maguire associate editor of the Daily Mirror newspaper.

Collins is played by the actor Stephen Graham in the ITV television drama series The Walk-In broadcast in Autumn 2022. [9] He appeared in the documentary Nazi Hunters: The Real Walk-In which was broadcast after the final episode. [10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Back from the Front: Inside the mind of a reformed UK far-right" . The Independent. 9 August 2011. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  2. ↑ Matthew Collins, Hate: My Life in the British Far Right, Biteback Publishing, 2012
  3. ↑ Pindar, Ian (14 August 2012). "Hate: My Life in the British Far Right by Matthew Collins – review". The Guardian . Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  4. ↑ "Matthew Collins | The Guardian". the Guardian. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  5. ↑ Anonymous (6 December 2016). "HOPE not hate". Migration and Home Affairs - European Commission. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  6. ↑ "Our Team". HOPE not hate Charitable Trust. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  7. ↑ Duncan Gardham, Fiona Hamilton, Crime & Security Editor | John Simpson, Crime Correspondent | (19 July 2018). "We faced arrest after revealing plot to kill MP, say anti-fascists". The Times. ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 1 April 2019.{{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ↑ Matthew Collins, Nazi Terrorist: The Story of National Action, Hope Not Hate Publishing, 2019
  9. ↑ "Is The Walk-In A True Story?". HOPE not hate. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  10. ↑ "Nazi Hunters: The Real Walk-In Episode". Press Centre. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
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