Facebook finally takes down pages of far-Right Britain First

FACEBOOK has finally removed the pages of the far-Right, anti-Islamic group Britain First and its leaders, it revealed yesterday.

But the social media firm only took action three months after telling MPs that it was considering the move.

It has now agreed that the group had repeatedly violated its community rules.

Britain First’s leader and deputy leader, Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen, were jailed this month for religiously-aggravated harassment.

The couple founded the group in 2011 and ran it from a house in Penge, south-east London.

They attracted half a million Facebook supporters, but faced widespread condemnation for their openly anti- Islamic

agenda. There were even calls for Britain First to be listed as a terror organisation.

However, Facebook only removed its pages after the group ignored a final warning about material it put online, which it said was intended to incite hatred against Muslims.

The material included a caption comparing Muslim immigrants with animals, a photo of the group’s leaders captioned ‘Islamophobic and Proud’ and several anti-Islamic videos.

The group will not be able to create a new Facebook page.

Facebook said: ‘We do not do this lightly. They have repeatedly posted content designed to incite animosity and hatred against minority groups.’

In December, Facebook policy head Simon Milner told the Commons home affairs select committee that it was reviewing the group’s page after Twitter and YouTube suspended Britain First’s accounts.

‘Designed to incite hatred’