Police investigate race hate leaflets distributed in Bishop's Stortford
Police are investigating the distribution of 1,000 leaflets intended to stir up racial hatred in the Bishop's Stortford area.
The fliers, targeting refugees, were printed and promoted by a British far-right white nationalist and fascist group.
Patriotic Alternative, founded in September 2019 by Mark Collett and now run by him and Laura Towler, describes itself as a "community building and activism group... to raise awareness of issues such as the demographic decline of native Britons in the United Kingdom, the environmental impact of mass immigration and the indoctrination and political bias taking place in British schools".
The leaflets highlight the use of the Great Hallingbury Manor hotel as a haven for refugees.
On Twitter, Patriotic Alternative boasted seven activists targeted the venue and the town on January 8, saying: "We handed the hotel management one of our specifically designed leaflets and let them know they were letting their country down.
"We then headed off to the nearest town of Bishop's Stortford to deliver 1,000 leaflets to let the locals know of this great injustice."
The group claims the hotel is home to "around 50 illegal immigrants" and scaremongered "nobody knows the history of these mostly fighting age men, this puts our woman and children at risk!"
The four-star accommodation at Tilekiln Green closed to the general public last November and is not taking bookings before May.
Patriotic Alternative, based in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, brags about having groups "in every region in Britain" and the leaflet purports to be locally authored.
As well as calling for a boycott of the venue, one of 12 owned by Surya Hotels, for housing the asylum seekers, Patriotic Alternative urges supporters to write to "our MP" Kemi Badenoch. However, the authors have spelled the Saffron Walden Conservative's name incorrectly, rendering the email address supplied useless.
One disgusted householder condemned Patriotic Alternative as "extremist" and told the Indie the leaflet was a "scary example of a far-right group's attempt to seize on the fears and prejudices of some residents".
A spokeswoman for Herts Constabulary said: "Police are aware of the leaflets which have been distributed in the area and are currently investigating. It is being treated as an act intended to stir up racial hatred.
"The relevant policing teams and partner agencies have been informed as a safeguarding measure.
"Hate crime has no place in Hertfordshire and will not be tolerated."