Home > Racism and far-right concerns around Safeguard Community Support
Racism and far-right concerns around Safeguard Community Support
Safeguard Community Support presents itself as a neutral community safety group. But the public record around its early formation raises serious questions about racism, Islamophobia, anti-migrant rhetoric and far-right politics.
Safeguard Community Support’s Racism Problem
The group has repeatedly tried to frame itself as “apolitical”. The Times reported that Gary Bartlett said Safeguard Force was apolitical, did not tolerate racism, and that Sikh and Muslim people had signed up to the initiative.
Pointing to Sikh or Muslim involvement does not clear Safeguard Community Support of racism concerns.
What really matters is whether Safeguard Community Support challenges racism and publicly rejects anti-migrant scapegoating and islamophobia. It should mean defending refugees and asylum seekers from harassment.
It should mean taking responsibility for the rhetoric that surrounded the group’s formation.
Instead, they are silent. There is no condemnation of the extreme racism we’ve seen from Gary Bartlett, and no acknowledgement of one of the largest systemic issues we face in our society - racism - something that genuinely puts a lot of people in Bournemouth in danger.
Who is Safeguard Community Support protecting?
If the group gives attention to crime and disorder while paying little attention to the intense discrimination faced by refugees, Muslims and migrants, then its idea of safety is selective. It protects those it is convenient to protect, while ignoring those most likely to be scapegoated, harassed or treated as suspicious.
Racist posts on Safeguard Community Support Facebook
In the early days of Safeguard Force, posts used language such as “fighting-age illegal migrants”. That is not neutral community safety language. It is far-right rhetoric. It presents migrants and asylum seekers as a threat before they have done anything, framing them as dangerous because of their age, gender and immigration status.
If Bartlett had genuinely broken from anti-migrant politics, that should have been visible from the beginning. There should have been a clear rejection of the rhetoric around “illegal migrants”, asylum hotels and racialised suspicion.
Instead, the posts were quietly removed.
How did an EDL supporter get into Safeguard Force?
Another serious concern from the early days of Safeguard Force is the presence of a member or supporter of the English Defence League, a far-right street movement known for anti-Muslim protests, Islamophobic rhetoric and confrontational, violent demonstrations.
The individual now appears to have been removed from Safeguard Community Support, but that does not answer the bigger question.
How did he get in in the first place?
Safeguard Community Support claims to oppose racism and presents itself as a responsible community safety initiative. But if someone with visible EDL links was able to join, appear with the group, or be accepted into its early activity, then that raises serious questions about its vetting, judgement and political culture.
We're continually looking for new evidence. If you have public information, screenshots, statements or records relating to members of Safeguard Community Support, please get in touch.