Introduction

 

 

1. Background

1.1. White Vanguard

The group White Vanguard states they:

are a group of National Socialist activists committed to exercising our rights to protest and the use of freedom of expression within the bounds of United Kingdom law.

In June 2025 the organisation HOPE not Hate (whose work focuses on the organised far right) explained the group had officially launched in March and emerged out of Youth Alliance (YA), which they report are “a highly antisemitic groupuscule that both founded and folded last year”.

The petitioner states that the White Vanguard group “displays antisemitic slogans, performs Nazi salutes, and spreads racist conspiracy theories, threatening community safety and cohesion”.

They go onto say:

The continued racist demonstrations in Rhoose have caused fear among residents and community groups. The loud and abusive protests threaten Afghan families, people of all backgrounds, and those welcoming refugees. Demonstrators have performed Nazi salutes, chanted vile abuse, and endangered public safety. The threat has grown with the arrival of White Vanguard, whose masked members carried Nazi symbols and antisemitic slogans.

On 31 October 2025 White Vanguard submitted its own petition which calls on the Welsh Government “to condemn and take action against ‘Antifa’ (a left-wing anti-fascist and anti-racist political movement)”. The petition was rejected as it did not collect the required 250 signatures to be referred to the Petitions Committee.

1.2. The Terrorism Act 2000

Under the Terrorism Act 2000 the UK Government can proscribe organisations that it considers engage in or promote terrorism. For the purposes of the act, this means that the organisation:

§    commits or participates in acts of terrorism

§    prepares for terrorism, promotes or encourages terrorism (including the unlawful glorification of terrorism), or

§    is otherwise concerned in terrorism.

When an organisation is proscribed, it becomes a criminal offence to belong to it or to support it. Once an organisation has been deemed to merit proscription, it will be proscribed throughout the whole of the UK.

Section 121 of the Act defines an “organisation” as any association or combination of persons. As of December 2025 there were 84 international terrorist groups proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000 and 14 organisations in Northern Ireland proscribed under previous legislation.

Section 3 of the Act enables the Secretary of State to make orders adding or removing organisations from the list in Schedule 2 or amending the Schedule in some other way. These orders are subject to the affirmative procedure and therefore require the approval of both Houses of Parliament - there is no role for the devolved legislatures in this process. The most recent proscription orders concerned Palestine Action, Maniacs Murder Cult and Russian Imperial Movement.

In the correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice to the Committee, Jane Hutt MS reiterates the position, that the Welsh Government:

will always support peaceful protest within the law but we will not let divisive voices and extremism undermine the values that hold us together. We continue to consistently voice of our strong and absolute opposition to hate in all its forms, as I did during the recent Hate Hurts Wales Oral Statement on 14 October.

The Cabinet Secretary reasserts the petitioner’s statement that the proscription of groups under the Terrorism Act 2000 is not a Welsh Government responsibility. She adds:

“Our views on whether certain groups should or should not be proscribed is not a relevant factor in how the Home Secretary makes these decisions”.

Responding to the allegations made by the petitioner in relation to the behaviour of some of the protesters at Rhoose, the Cabinet Secretary encourages them to submit this evidence to the police as the appropriate agency.

1.3. Protest and police powers

An individual’s right to freedom of expression and assembly are protected by Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which is enshrined in UK law. These rights are not absolute, therefore the UK Government has legislated to restrict the right of protest to maintain public order to protect the rights and freedoms of others.

The Public Order Act 2023 established a number of criminal offences relating to protests, including obstructing major transport works and interfering with key national infrastructure. There are several other criminal offences that could also apply to a person’s conduct during a protest, which are not directly related to the act of protesting, including causing public nuisance.

If it becomes law, the Crime and Policing Bill will introduce further measures aimed at restricting certain behaviours at protests, including creating new offences of misusing flares and fireworks, climbing on war memorials and seeking to avoid criminal liability by concealing their identity using face coverings.

In October 2025, the UK Government announced it would introduce legislation to allow the police to place conditions on “repeat protests” that have a “cumulative impact” of disruption.

The UK Government also launched a review of protest legislation in December 2025  “to test whether the law remains fit for purpose, assess whether thresholds and safeguards are right and effective, and recommend reforms that improve consistency, protect rights and reassure affected communities.” A report is expected in February 2026.

Asked about the right to protest, in July 2025, the First Minister said:

Obviously, there has to be a line in terms of breaking the law and on stirring up racial hatred. So, we’ve just got to be very clear on that, but, as far as I’m concerned, the right to protest is a sacred right in relation to how we do it in Wales, and these are actually within articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which assures people of the right to be able to express themselves in Wales.

In the correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, she reasserts support for peaceful protests but adds that divisive voices and extremism should not undermine the “values that hold us together”.

2. Welsh Government action

The Welsh Government has taken a number of actions to support community cohesion through anti-racism and safeguarding initiatives. These were highlighted by the First Minister in September 2025 when asked what steps the Welsh Government is taking to counter far-right extremism:

We’ll never tolerate hate in Wales. That’s why the Welsh Labour Government has invested £1.6m in our Community Cohesion Programme. We’ve supported 7,000 hate crime victims. We’re running our Hate Hurts campaign this autumn and we’re working with schools and police to stop extremism at its root. While Reform thrives on division, Welsh Labour brings people together because in Wales we choose unity, and we’re proud to be a nation where everyone belongs.

The Welsh Government’s major intervention for supporting cohesion is the Community Cohesion Programme, established in 2009. It operates across all 22 local authorities in Wales and is divided into eight ‘cohesion regions’ which provides a pan-Wales framework to respond to the needs of local communities.

In 2019, with additional funding, the Cohesion Teams expanded to deliver a range of activities, including monitoring community tensions and fostering good relationships. Each year the Welsh Government co-produces a regional workplan with local government and monitors progress quarterly. In her correspondence, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice states that as a result of a 25% funding uplift this year, the programme has received £1.6 million, adding that “it is a key mechanism for helping Welsh Government and local authorities to monitor and mitigate tensions within communities across Wales”.

In 2021 the Welsh launched the Hate Hurts Wales campaign which aims to raise awareness of the impact of hate crime on victims from ethnic minority communities. This campaign will address victims, perpetrators and bystanders through various materials. Campaign materials will be developed with those who have been affected by racist hate crime. In February 2023, the Welsh Government relaunched the Hate Hurts Wales campaign, with media activities throughout the year aiming to empower victims and witnesses to report hate crimes. The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice states that the Welsh Government increased the budget for the campaign by more than 80% in 2025-26 with a focus on helping to ensure victims learn about the support available.

The Welsh Government published its Anti Racist Wales Action Plan (ArWAP) in June 2022. The plan sets out the vision of a Wales which is ‘anti-racist by 2030’ and includes actions to tackle racism and make ‘meaningful and measurable changes’ to the lives of people from ethnic minority backgrounds. The Plan includes a goal to

To ensure that Wales continues to strive to be an anti-racist country and so is a safe place to live, by eliminating hateful attitudes and supporting victims of racially motivated hate crime.

In the update of the ArWAP in 2024 the Welsh Government reaffirmed its commitment to tackling hate crime which they say: 

[…] includes preventative work, provision of support for victims, and awareness-raising activities, via the funding and delivery of a Wales Hate Support Centre, A Hate Hurts Wales campaign, and Welsh Government’s Community Cohesion Programme.

To deliver the hate and cohesion commitments in the Anti-Racism Action Plan for Wales the Welsh Government established a Hate and Community Tension Board which meets 4 times a year. Membership includes representatives from South Wales Police and Welsh Government. In correspondence to the Committee, the Cabinet Secretary reaffirms the commitment to create an anti-racist Wales by 2030 and to the actions set out in the Plan.

3.     Welsh Parliament action

Between March 2023 and February 2024, the Equality and Social Justice Committee held an inquiry into the implementation of the ArWAP and concluded further work is needed if the Welsh Government is to achieve its vision of an anti-racist Wales. Organisations who shared their views with the Committee endorsed the Plan’s vision and comprehensive scope, but most raised concerns about the implementation and rate of progress. The refreshed strategy reflects some of the Committee’s recommendations, particularly around the need to strengthen overall leadership of the plan. 

In response to rising tensions within communities in Wales and elsewhere in the UK. the Equality and Social Justice Committee held an inquiry into social cohesion in 2025. The Committee heard evidence from Dame Khan (a former UK Government Adviser) who referred to an “evolving and accelerating extremism landscape”.

The Committee’s report, Co-operation over Conflict: Wales Must Act, highlights growing challenges to social cohesion and calls for urgent, coordinated action. It recommended establishing an Expert Group on Social Cohesion with representatives from local government, police, cohesion teams, the third sector and the Strategic Migration Partnership to devise a set of immediate, medium and long-term actions to address these challenges.

In response to the increasing threats to social cohesion from the rise of extremist views and activities, the Committee recommended the Expert Group should carry out work to pinpoint the challenges this poses for Wales and identify the best ways to tackle far-right activities. The Welsh Government accepted this recommendation immediately and established an Expert Group chaired by Gaynor Legall. The group met on 20 November 2025 and its recommendations are expected to be finalised by March 2026.