Dette billedet af Tommy Robinson med en gruppe britiske soldater ved Watford i oktober 2018 viste hans popularitet, udløste panik i den militære ledelse. Flere af soldaterne blev smidt ud af hæren. Billedet var et bevis på at lederne ikke længere kan stole på soldaternes politiske lojalitet.

The Army is investigating after former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson posted a photo of himself with a group of young soldiers. Mr Robinson also put a video of the scene on Facebook, in which the men could be heard cheering and shouting his name.

The Army said it was aware of the posts and «investigating the circumstances». A spokeswoman said: «Far-right ideology is completely at odds with the values and ethos of the armed forces.» She added: «The armed forces have robust measures in place to ensure those exhibiting extremist views are neither tolerated nor permitted to serve.»

Et internt dokument fra den britiske hær som er lækket til de sociale medier, viser at det at kalde sig patriot eller gøre unøjagtige generaliseringer om venstresiden er blandt faresignalerne officerer skal mærke sig som tegn på mulig højre-ekstremisme hos militært personel, skriver Daily Mail.

Et informationsark med tyve forskellige faresignaler indeholder lidt af hvert:

When spotting people who have ‘extreme right-wing (XRW) views’, army officers are told to look for people who:

Describe themselves as ‘Patriots’

Add ‘istan’ to British place names

Describe multicultural towns as ‘lost’

Use the term ‘Islamofascism’

Claim that immigration is the root of injustices against vulnerable people (e.g. old age pensioners, veterans)

Involve colleagues in closed social media groups

Refer to Political Correctness as some left wing or communist plot

Make inaccurate generalisations about ‘the Left’ or Government

En anonym kilde i det britiske forsvarsministerium bekræfter overfor Daily Mail at dokumentet er ægte og at det blev lavet i 2017 efter arrestationen af fire soldater, som var anklaget for at tilhøre National Action, en nynazistisk terrororganisation.

It is not known whether similar literature has been produced on how to spot left-wing extremists or Islamists.

Kilden i forsvarsministeriet præciserer, at ikke alle patrioter er ekstremister.