The below is precisely why some of despise and fear the damage Restore and Reform have, and continue to do to a country in which we both live and would love to feel proud of;
“Over the past few weeks, the RNLI has faced a wave of hostility over its work rescuing people at sea.
Staff and volunteers have faced abuse online and in person, while safety concerns led the charity to temporarily take its Portsmouth lifeboat station off service.
But behind some of this online targeting is a wider story.
My team has identified the man behind an account that has been building what it calls a “Traitorbase” of charity workers, aid workers and others it brands “traitors”.
Our investigation identified the man behind the “Big Time Charlie” account as Tom Watson, a businessman from Worcester and founder of recruitment firm Futura Energy Group.
TIme is up for Big Time Charlie
Watson has described using AI to gather information from LinkedIn and elsewhere about people working for charities, campaign groups and other organisations.
His campaign has targeted people connected to organisations including the RNLI and Stand Up to Racism, as well as business owners who recruit people from ethnic minority backgrounds.
And his public posts go much further.
Watson has written that there should not be a single Pakistani or Muslim person in Britain, referred to Rishi Sunak as an “invader”, and claimed he has “always employed Anglo Saxon men only”.
He has also offered to distribute material for Remigration Now, a group campaigning for the removal of non-white people from Britain.
Our investigation also uncovered his connection to Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain.
Watson has publicly said he is “on the ground most days leafleting” for Restore Britain and that he donated £2,500 to join its Cromwell Club.
Restore describes the Cromwell Club as an annual £2,500 donor membership, with donations supporting its political campaigning and operations.
Investigations like this take time.
My team can spend weeks, sometimes months, following leads, checking records, archiving evidence and establishing who is behind anonymous accounts.
That work takes resources. Investigating hostile online activity can also take a real toll on the people carrying it out.
Thank you,
Joe Mulhall
Director of Research at HOPE not hate”
I have edited the latter part of this, as it’s a plea for financial support, I’m telling you in the spirit of fairness, so there’s no misleading you.
