Richard Verrall

Richard Verrall (born 1948) is a National Front member and edited its magazine "Spearhead" from 1976 to 1980.

National Front career

Verrall studied History at Westfield College, now part of Queen Mary, University of London, obtaining a first class honours degree [S. Taylor, "The National Front in English Politics", London: Macmillan, 1982, p. 62] . Initially a member of the Conservative Party, Verrall left in the early 1970s, along with a number of members on the right who supported Enoch Powell, to join the NF [S. Taylor, "The National Front in English Politics", London: Macmillan, 1982, p. 62] . Initially a close supporter of John Tyndall, he was appointed "Spearhead" editor by Tyndall and used the magazine to discuss the veracity of the Holocaust [S. Taylor, "The National Front in English Politics", London: Macmillan, 1982, p. 62] . He was also known for his endorsement of eugenics and biological determinism, adding to this theory that it was equally natural for members of a genetic group to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of others of the same group, thus attacking the criticism that the notion of sacrifice makes this theory inaplicable to humanity [S. Taylor, "The National Front in English Politics", London: Macmillan, 1982, pp. 63-64] .

Despite his initial support for Tyndall, Verrall did not follow him into the New National Front and indeed was appointed deputy Chairman of the NF to Andrew Brons in 1980 [S. Taylor, "The National Front in English Politics", London: Macmillan, 1982, p. 91] . Although appointed to this role Verrall played little further role in the politics of the NF and was aloof from the struggle between the Official National Front and the Flag Group. Instead he concentrated most of his efforts on writing about the Holocaust.

Written work

He is best known today for his pamphlet (under the assumed name of Richard Harwood) "Did Six Million Really Die?", a Holocaust denial pamphlet which was the subject of the criminal action brought against its Canadian publisher Ernst Zündel. Zündel was ultimately acquitted on the basis that the crime with which he was charged was unconstitutional, but not before the trial court had found the pamphlet to be composed of fabrications and distortions: the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the book "misrepresented the work of historians, misquoted witnesses, fabricated evidence, and cited non-existent authorities."lexum-scc2|1992|2|731]

ee also

*Ernst Zündel
*British National Front
*British National Party
*White supremacy

References

External links

* [http://www.dkrenton.co.uk/anl/trent1.htm Fascism and Anti-Fascism in Britain]
* [http://www.hdot.org/evidence/evans006.asp Holocaust Denial on Trial]