Greater Manchester Police has issued a statement confirming it is investigating after a series of Manchester Evening News articles showed a group of Neo-Nazis celebrating Hitler’s birthday in an Oldham pub, complete with Nazi flags and a swastika cake.
A GMP spokesperson said: “Police in Oldham are investigating reports that a group attended a pub on Market Street in Royton in possession of Nazi memorabilia.
“We are treating this incident with the utmost sensitivity and severity, and we are appealing to the public.
“If you have any information which may assist with the progression of the investigation, please to come forward.
“Information can be shared by calling 0161 856 9577 or 101 quoting log 784 of April 24, 2025.”
The MEN first revealed on Sunday how a group of neo-Nazis from an organisation called British Movement gathered at a pub in Oldham to celebrate the “occasion,” posting pictures of themselves with Nazi regalia to social media as they did so.
The MEN – in a story published without a byline after both police and the anti-racist organisation Hope not Hate warned that some of the men connected to the organisation are extremely dangerous – managed to trace the pub where the meeting had taken place and obtain the original footage.
A second story looked at far-right stickers which have been found on lampposts, signs and bus stops at multiple locations throughout the city, seemingly targeting commuters, and directing them via QR codes to forums filled with racist and antisemitic propaganda. Stickers were found on Deansgate, Princess Street, Oxford Street, Trinity Way and Tib Street.
The British Movement was founded in 1968 and contested UK General Elections in 1970 and 1974, picking up 2.5% in Birmingham Aston in 1970, its best result.
Hope Not Hate’s State of Hate Report for 2021 noted that the group today is a “mere shadow of its heyday self from the early 1980s,” but has been “surprisingly resilient” and remains active “in south London and Kent, South Wales, the East Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber, Scotland and Northern Ireland,” and now seemingly the North West too. The report added: “Its activists hold meetings, host white power concerts, coordinate leafleting and postering sessions for activists and attend demonstrations and protests. It also produces a quarterly magazine and regular newsletters.”
A review of the Oldham gathering on the British Movement Northern Region website had a bizarrely Mumsnet ring to it, stating: “On a gorgeous sunny afternoon in Greater Manchester, a platoon of Northwest British Movement met up to celebrate the 136th birthday of Uncle A.
“It certainly didn’t take long for the dimly lit interior of the Oldham boozer to be filled with the warm laughter of comrades old and new. Tables were filled with a plethora of drinks: frosty pints of beer, fruity cocktails, schooners, and birthday cake!”
The pub concerned said staff were unaware of the group’s presence until the following day and have now reported the incident to police.
MEN features editor Rob Williams said: “A major consideration in this story was the right to privacy of those involved. We came to the decision that the individuals had lost their right to privacy – the meeting was held in a pub that was open to the public, and anyone could have walked in and witnessed the gathering at any time. This was further exacerbated by their social media posts. We also felt that the public interest in revealing their faces was more important than their privacy.
“I think it’s the most difficult moral question. We were at pains to research this group prior to publication and we spent time speaking to experts on the far right. They told us this was a small organisation that had recently acquired new recruits and was on the more extreme end of far right groups. We decided that such blatant and boastful action meant we could not ignore what they were doing. We balanced that against the potential danger of giving them publicity.
“One of the experts we spoke to highlighted how their stickers are being placed on lampposts and are clearly targeted at disgruntled and fed up commuters. This group is not a benign project. They are dangerous.”
Editor Sarah Lester added: “This is not a decision we took lightly. As the story evolved key people in the newsroom met several times to discuss how we should handle it, with a final meeting to discuss the public interest. This is a process we follow for more complex stories and is invaluable in supporting me to make the final decision.
“The decision to publish content like this is always a considered one. We have an extremely rigorous process which sometimes results in us deciding not to publish, but on this occasion I felt we had a duty to put this in the public domain. I was reassured to see the powerful reaction from community leaders and the fact that the police have now launched an investigation.”
Image: British Movement North West/Twitter
