Britain First’s Jayda Fransen and Paul Golding have been suspended from Twitter as it begins a crackdown on “hateful conduct”.
The far-right group gained a greater profile last month after US President Donald Trump re-tweeted three unverified, anti-Muslim videos posted by Fransen.
Their removal from the site means Trump’s share no longer exists on his timeline.
Their Twitter accounts suggest they have both been suspended since they “violate the Twitter rules”.
“Today, we are starting to enforce updates to the Twitter Rules and media policy to reduce hateful conduct and abusive behavior.”
Today, we are starting to enforce updates to the Twitter Rules and media policy to reduce hateful conduct and abusive behavior https://t.co/yNHAMFcVwG
December 18, 2017
The guidelines were revealed in November and cover abuse, hateful conduct as well as violence and physical harm.
Last month the site paused its verification process, as well as removing verified ‘blue tick’ badges from right wing figures, including former English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson.
Suspensions were also taking place across the US.
Twitter purge has kicked off. White nationalist Jared Taylor (@jartaylor) and his American Renaissance site (@amrenaissance) both banned
Latest Twitter purge suspensions: League of the South’s Hunter Wallace (@occdissent), and the Traditionalist Workers Party (@tradworker). TWP was the organization co-founded by the neo-Nazi profiled in the NYT’s “Nazi next door” story. — Will Sommer (@willsommer) December 18, 2017
Britain First is a fringe group built around publicity stunts and social media and claims that Islam is an irredeemable threat to Europe.
Deputy leader Fransen, 31, was convicted of religiously aggravated assault for shouting at a woman in a hijab last year.
So @Twitter finally suspend Britain First – the day before social media cos appear at @CommonsHomeAffs .Why does it take a Parliamentary hearing to make them do the right thing? https://t.co/WcpCJ1IMlE — Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) December 18, 2017
When Sadiq Khan became the first Muslim elected mayor of a major Western city last year, Golding, the Britain First candidate and the party’s leader, turned his back in protest.
It has carried out so-called “Christian Patrols” in areas with large Muslim populations, during which its members have scuffled with locals, often while repeating the myth that British cities have “no go zones”.
A spokesperson for the anti-fascism campaign group Hope Not Hate said: “We welcome this long-belated recognition by Twitter that groups like Britain First, and Jayda Fransen and Paul Golding, have been using the cover of ‘free speech’ to promote hatred and division.
“These individuals have sought to sow discord and conflict wherever they have gone, attempting to portray themselves as some sort of latter-day Crusaders and sharing distorted anti-Muslim memes and seeking to exploit communal tensions.
“Thankfully, despite the intervention of those like Trump, most people can see the falsity that lies behind this hatred: unlike its social media reach, Britain First struggles to muster barely a few dozen people onto the streets.
“These new rules should put all on notice that they need to be wary of what they do, or say, on public platforms and that hate speech should not be tolerated under the guise of free speech.”