Skip to content

Domestic abuse survivors say ex‑partners lead far‑right UK street patrols

politicsOct 6, 2026191,062

Seven women told the Guardian that men who led or organised anti‑immigrant street patrols in UK towns and cities were their abusive ex‑partners. One woman named Lisa says her ex threatened and controlled her for years, attacked her with a machete the night she left him, left her with a black eye and broken toes, and later phoned threats; his conduct did not result in a criminal conviction. The women say some perpetrators are key figures in groups such as a local branch of Raising the Colours, which has hung flags from lamp‑posts, and that at least 14 street patrol groups have formed nationwide, receiving tens of thousands of pounds in public donations and winning political backing from figures including Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice. Patrol members wear high‑visibility jackets, sometimes stab‑proof vests, and carry handcuffs while patrolling and challenging people, with the Guardian shown evidence these patrols have been used to profile and target men of colour and to demand identity documents. Several survivors have restraining or non‑molestation orders against their ex‑partners; one woman was forced to move town with police help for her safety. The women say the patrols’ rhetoric of protecting women masks patterns of power and control that mirror intimate‑partner abuse, and they have gone public to expose those links and raise awareness of the violence behind the movement.

Margot Finn
@eicathomefinn.bsky.social

'seven women...have told the Guardian they are survivors of domestic abuse carried out by key figures in the anti-immigration street patrol movement. All have chosen to come forward to make the public aware of the patterns of violence behind this new form of activism.'

29912h ago
1 source