#title Ten Years As An Undercover Nazi
#author Gareth Henry
#SORTauthors Gareth Henry;
#date 2021
#source [[https://www.fifthestate.org/archive/410-fall-2021/ten-years-as-an-undercover-nazi]]
#lang en
#pubdate 2022-01-01
#notes Fifth Estate #410, Fall, 2021

a review of

<em>Codename Arthur: The true story of the anti-fascist spy who identified the London nailbomber</em> by Nick Lowles. Partisan Books 2021

<em>Codename Arthur</em> is both a tribute to “Arthur,” an anti-fascist spy who spent a staggering 10 years undercover in the nascent far-right British National Party (BNP) during the 1990s and 2000s, facing the constant threat of exposure.

The book is an unwavering account of the far-right’s hateful, divisive and often farcical bid for electoral legitimacy in mainstream British politics.

It reads like a dossier of short intelligence briefings that Arthur fed back to Nick Lowles, then editor of the anti-fascist magazine, <em>Searchlight</em> and now director of the anti-fascist advocacy group, Hope not Hate.

It is a recounting of how Arthur helped the anti-fascist movement confront, harass and undermine far-right activism by sowing misinformation, creating paranoia, and nourishing internal power struggles.

A significant subplot to the book is Arthur’s identification of the London nail-bomber, 22-year-old David Copeland, who spread fear among London’s Black and LBQT communities with a series of bombings in 1999, killing three and maiming more than 200, including a two-year old girl with a three-inch nail in her skull.

Arthur was interviewed for this in the 2021 Netflix documentary, <em>Nail Bomber: Manhunt</em>.

Despite the litany of unsavory characters gracing the pages, there is a sense of inner conflict from Arthur who struggles with his disgust for far-right activists, notably the outright Nazi thugs, while nevertheless forming strong friendships with others.

Yet despite 10 undercover years in the BNP, Arthur doesn’t see himself as a hero but he ought to.

Gareth Henry lives in England.