Det britiske forsvaret er livredd for at soldater skal ha sympati for EDL.
Her er en interessant historie fra forrige uke:

Tommy Robinson ville forsøke å samle inn penger til Help for Heroes (Lee Rigby hadde på en hoodie med H4H da han ble myrdet) ved en sponset lang marsjtur (han er visst ikke så sporty så han skrev at det kom til å bli tøft). EDL hadde allerede begynt å samle inn penger til Help for Heroes. Men så gikk Help for Heroes ut offentlig og sa at de ikke ville ha penger fra EDL.

Jeg så deretter på Facebooksiden til EDL at en sersjant ved navn Glen Hughes tilbød seg å ta marsjturen istedet for Tommy Robinson. Tommy ble veldig begeistret og svarte at han ville gå bak ham og bære drikke hele veien. Det neste som skjedde var at dette ble oppdaget av militæret som startet en etterforskning av sersjant Glen Hughes. Dagen etter var alle disse meldingene på Facebook borte uten noen forklaring. Jeg leste som vanlig The Times på lørdag formiddag og så tilfeldigvis en artikkel med resten av historien:

«A serving Army NCO is facing military investigation after apparently professing support for the English Defence League amid fears of broader links between Forces personnel and the right-wing group.

Colour Sergeant Glen Hughes volunteered to undertake a fundraising walk from Westminster to Woolwich on the same route and date that was recently abandoned by the leader of the EDL. In a series of tweets originating from his Twitter account since the murder of drummer Lee Rigby last week Colour Sergeant Hughes of The Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, apparently made reference to «dirty Muslims» and spoke of a need to «get rid of the «scum». The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said it was investigating.

Military berets and Afghan and Iraq war medals were worn in the crowds at an EDL on Whitehall on Monday, and other social media accounts appear to show soldiers sympathising with and supporting the EDL. The MoD confirmed that it had issued a reminder to all servicemen that participation in political parties or movements is prohibited. The soldier planned to walk from Westminster on June 29th – Armed Forced Day – to the site where Drummer Rigby was murdered to raise money for Help for Heroes. He has since said that he plans to change the route, but will still go ahead. The charity has said that it would decline any funds raised by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, the EDL leader who uses the name Tommy Robinson and had pledged to march the same route. Mr Yaxley-Lennon later tweeted: «Army Sgt Gen Hughes is taking my place on the walk from Westminster to Woolwich I will be walking with him could everyone donate, glen is a serving soldier, I will be carrying his refreshments and following his footsteps, stick 2 fingers up at political correctness and dig deep!»

When the EDL leader first announced his walk Colour Sergeant Hughes apparently replied: «I’d like to get involved». (Jeg så den meldingen på Facebook).

After Help for Heroes rejected the EDL funds, he allegedly retweeted several Tommy Robinson and EDL adverts for his Just Giving page. (Jeg så det også). Last Saturday Colour Sergant Hughes appeared to indicate he planned to attend and EDL march on Monday, writing: @EDLTrobinson Being in the forces this is dangerous ground for me but f*** it, enough is enough» He added the hashtags «Queen&Country», «EDL» and «Seeyoumonday».

Sergeant Hughes has issued a statement: I, Glen Hughes, have never been a member of the English Defence League, nor have I ever supported them, nor do I agree with what they stand for. In the wake of the publicity surrounding the Westminster to Woolwich walk on Armed Forces Day, I planned to conduct my own walk to raise money for Help for Heroes. In the last 24 hours I believe my Just Giving page has been re-published on social media against my will and in a manner that has brought my reputation into disrepute.»

Så slik gikk det. Det ville vært en katastrofe for militæret hvis deres soldater offentlig viste sin støtte til EDL. Dette kunne de ikke tillate og eksemplet er satt.