RED ACTION STATEMENT ON 'NO RETREAT'

October 31 2003

Due to the controversy surrounding the launch of a book called 'No Retreat' by Dave Hann and Steve Tilzley due out on November 1, which is presented by the authors as a true and honest account of their involvement in militant anti-fascism over two decades, we are now putting out this statement.
As preview copies of the book have not been made available we cannot comment with any authority on the contents.
Of the character of the authors we can say this. As a result of serious breaches of trust, Tilzley and Hann were either expelled or forced to resign from Anti-Fascist Action (AFA) and Red Action respectively.
Following the attempted theft of extremely important AFA intelligence data, Steve Tilzley was shown the door by AFA in 1993.
Sometime in 1994 Dave Hann was arrested and charged in connection with a street robbery involving a gay man. It was many months before the national leaderships of RA or AFA were made aware of the charges. An immediate investigation revealed disturbing evidence of Dave Hann's involvement in similar anti-social activity. Shortly after his trial at Liverpool Crown Court, where his co-defendant pleaded guilty, Dave Haan resigned from Red Action. On being confronted with the testimony of former associates, and in the presence of two officers representing national AFA, and a leading anti-fascist resident in the city, Hann confessed his guilt and offered his immediate resignation from AFA. He also surrendered his involvement in the football fanzine Red Attitude with which AFA was publicly associated. Not long afterwards he left Manchester.

End of Statement

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