Veteran British fascist Kenny Smith, from Broadford, Skye, is the driving force behind the creation of Homeland, which was sparked by his resignation as PA’s national administration officer in April 2023. Smith is likely to become the chairman of Homeland but has stated he does not see himself as a “political leader” for the new party. While Smith’s mantra is “optics matter”, he is best known for waving a swastika flag in his garden on Hitler’s birthday, and in November 2022, pled guilty to firearms offences.
Smith has been involved in British fascism since 1991 when he joined the BNP in Glasgow. Smith claims to have initially been a skinhead and a fan of neo-Nazi bands including Skrewdriver and Brutal Attack, who sparked his interest in the BNP and National Front. After becoming the BNP regional organiser for the Highlands & Islands, Smith was rapidly promoted, going on to become the party’s Scottish secretary then head of administration. While in the BNP, Smith contested elections for the party on several occasions.
Smith was involved in PA from the organisation’s beginning, initially as the Scottish administration officer and then the national administration officer. Smith was involved in the provision of physical security at PA events, and has been pictured at PA conferences wearing a ‘security’ lanyard and Secret Service-style coiled earpiece. Former BNP leader Nick Griffin has written that as a key player in PA’s Scotland region, Smith was “closely associated with the organisation’s only real bunch of ‘hard men’”.
Smith also appears to have been central to PA’s limited counter-surveillance efforts. Documents leaked in August 2021 by a disgruntled former PA member implicate Smith and other PA Scotland members in a covert project attempting to infiltrate left-wing groups and compile a “hit list” of anti-fascist activists. Leaked voice notes from the same period appear to show Smith trying to convince another PA activist to commit identity fraud in order to obtain the details of a suspected anti-fascist infiltrator. Smith’s Twitter activity reveals a deranged fixation on anti-fascist counter-protestors.
Claymore Books and Hammer of the Patriot
In March 2022, Smith launched his own far-right publishing business, Claymore Books. Claymore’s first publication was Hammer of the Patriot, a guide for neo-Nazis on how to argue in favour of ethnonationalism and against democracy, multiculturalism, feminism and LGBTQ+ rights. The book, which was formerly promoted by the now-banned neo-Nazi terrorist group National Action (NA), is authored by ‘Charles Chapel’ (real name Gabriel Sohier Chaput), a former moderator of the now-defunct forum Iron March, which was linked to a wave of murders and groups including NA and Atomwaffen Division. The book refers to the Holocaust as “a ridiculous myth” and states that “Jews are a big problem in white society”.
