[Luke and Rob Steele ©RobinCross]
Disturbing revelations have emerged in the last 24hrs about Wild Moors founder, the renowned extremist and career criminal, Luke Steele and his brother, Robin, seemingly revealing Nazi beliefs and support for white supremacy.
Photos have emerged from an unknown Twitter account of the brothers, who recently founded Wild Moors, dressed in white supremacist regalia, with one of the brothers posing in front of the fascist flag of the Celtic Cross swinging a baseball bat.
The Celtic Cross is one of the most commonly used white supremacist symbols, after Nazis used a version of the symbol in the 1930s and 1940s. It is widely used by neo-Nazis, racist skinheads, Ku klux Klan members and virtually every other type of white supremacist.
[Celtic Cross on a Swastika]
Such affiliations are unsurprising for Steele, given his lengthy criminal past which has seen him sentenced to 18 months in jail. In January 2012 Steele was arrested again, and on 27th July, 2012 he was convicted on 3 charges: “Intimidation of persons” (14 months under SOCPA Section 146), “Interference with a contractual relationship” (3 months under SOCPA Section 145) and “Failure to comply” (1 month under Regulatory of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 Section 53 for refusing to give police his computer password).
Wild Moors has recently touted for support and partnerships from a variety of conservation groups, despite Steele’s use of manipulated evidence and criminal past being well known within the conservation industry.
Indeed, the RSPB’S Jeff Knott and Wild Justice’s Mark Avery, have even appeared with Steele on campaigns, including at a joint appearance in Westminster.
After these latest revelations it remains to be seen which conservation NGOs and media platforms will continue to support and publicise Steele and his Wild Moors organisation. We will of course be watching with great interest. As yet, we certainly don't seem to have seen much of an effort from Jeff Knott or Mark Avery to distance themselves from him.