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Ground-Level Activist Funding — UK Far-Right

Ground-Level Activist Funding — UK Far-Right

Last updated: 2026-06-14

Overview

This document covers the small-scale, informal, and street-level funding that sustains UK far-right activism — as distinct from the billionaire/electoral pipeline documented in the main research. Ground-level funding is harder to track but forms the operational bedrock for street movements, legal defense, and day-to-day organising.

1. Crowdfunding Platforms

GiveSendGo (US Christian Platform)

The most important platform for UK far-right crowdfunding after deplatforming from GoFundMe, JustGiving, and PayPal.

Known UK campaigns:

  • PA member Costello: £3,379 raised via GiveSendGo, described as "political prisoner". Campaign set up by Samuel Melia (known PA member). Source: The Ferret, Aug 2024.
  • Tommy Robinson legal defense: Multiple campaigns, amounts unclear. Robinson has used GiveSendGo for legal fees.
  • General pattern: GiveSendGo allows neo-Nazi fundraising that other platforms ban. The platform's "Christian" framing doesn't prevent this.

The 2022 leak:

  • 92,000+ donor records leaked (Freedom Convoy-focused but contained ALL campaigns)
  • Hosted by Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets)
  • Data includes names, emails, IP addresses, ZIP codes
  • Key gap: The full leak has NOT been systematically analysed for UK recipients. This is a significant research opportunity — the dataset likely contains UK far-right campaign donors.
  • Anti-disinformation org Logically reported in Jan 2022 that GiveSendGo was "the hub for a far-right funding network" including QAnon, anti-vaccine, and Project Veritas.

What we need:

  • Access to the DDoSecrets leak dataset
  • Filter for UK-specific campaigns (GBP currency, UK locations)
  • Cross-reference donor names with known far-right figures

GoFundMe / JustGiving

  • Mainstream platforms generally remove far-right campaigns quickly
  • JustGiving: John Myles (PDL) raised £16,544 for "4 Miles For Myles & MND Challenge" (charity, not political, but demonstrates fundraising network)
  • GoFundMe bans legal defense for violent crimes and hate promotion

SubscribeStar / Patreon / Buy Me a Coffee

  • Used by far-right influencers as alternative to demonetised YouTube channels
  • SubscribeStar: Popular with deplatformed creators, including UK far-right figures
  • Buy Me a Coffee: Lightweight donation tool, harder to track
  • Amounts unknown — no public disclosure requirements

2. Merchandise Sales

A pervasive, low-visibility funding stream for nearly every group.

Britain First / Advance UK

  • iNews investigation (Jan 2026): Both groups sell merchandise "Made in China" and "Made in Pakistan" — despite campaigning for British-made goods
  • Items: t-shirts, hoodies, flags, patches, mugs
  • Storefronts on their own websites (Shopify or similar)
  • Revenue: Unknown but described as ongoing funding stream

Patriotic Alternative

  • Sells t-shirts, stickers, flags via website
  • Hope not Hate: "tacky lines of merchandise are producing dwindling levels of support"
  • Revenue: Unknown, likely small-scale
  • Key finding: PA's merchandise and crowdfunding may be declining — the group is "flagging" per HnH Oct 2024

Active Club Network

  • White Rex brand: Combat sports clothing branded for white supremacist market
  • MMA/fight club events generate revenue through ticket sales and merch
  • Centralised merch operations (Terror Machine) route money to Robert Rundo
  • Revenue: Unknown — BBC and ADL have flagged this as a concern

General Pattern

  • Print-on-demand means low overhead — no inventory risk
  • Platforms: Shopify, Teespring/Spring, Spreadshirt, Printful
  • Some groups use encrypted/private storefronts on Telegram
  • Regulatory gap: Merchandise sales are NOT reportable as political donations

3. Cryptocurrency Fundraising

Why Crypto?

  • Deplatformed by PayPal, Stripe, Apple Pay, Google Wallet, Visa, Discover
  • Pushes groups toward Bitcoin, Monero (privacy coin), and crypto donation bots
  • Telegram integrated wallets (Button Wallet, NOWPayments) make it trivially easy

Scale of Crypto Extremist Funding (Global)

  • Chainalysis 2025 report: Crypto donations to extremist groups dipped globally BUT white supremacism and anti-Semitism grew across Europe
  • Europe's share: Rose to ~50% of global extremist crypto inflows between 2022-2024
  • Daily Stormer (Andrew Auernheimer): $2.2M in Bitcoin at current values
  • Nordic Resistance Movement: "Hundreds of thousands of dollars" in Bitcoin
  • ADL 2024 report: Traced $142,546 between extremist actors and exchanges (Kraken, Gemini, Binance)

UK-Specific Crypto Activity

  • UTK coin: "Unite the Kingdom" cryptocurrency promoted at Tommy Robinson's Sep 2025 rally. Logo visible during livestream. Described as route to "financial freedom". Sponsor: Core Signals (warned by FCA).
  • Reform UK: First UK party to accept Bitcoin donations (May 2025). Electoral Commission "doesn't know where" the crypto donations come from (Byline Times, Mar 2026).
  • Tommy Robinson: QR codes for crypto donations displayed at rallies. TBIJ described the UTK rally as a "cash grab".
  • Telegram channels: Many UK far-right groups post Bitcoin/Monero wallet addresses for donations

What We Need

  • Systematic collection of crypto wallet addresses from UK far-right Telegram channels
  • Blockchain analysis of inflow/outflow (tools: Chainalysis, TRM Labs, or public explorers)
  • Focus on Monero — the privacy coin preferred by extremists (harder to trace)

A recurring funding need — activists are frequently arrested and need legal representation.

Tommy Robinson

Patriotic Alternative

  • £14,500 raised (2024) to "support families" of convicted members. Source: Hope not Hate
  • Sam Melia and Costello both convicted — PA crowdfunding for their support
  • Key insight: PA is now providing financial support to members facing legal consequences — suggests institutional maturity

Britain First

PDL / Street Activists

5. Major US Donors to UK Street-Level Activity

This bridges the "billionaire" and "ground-level" categories. US individuals are directly funding UK street events.

Donor Amount Recipient Event Source
Andy Miller (US Republican donor) $200,000 Tommy Robinson Unite the Kingdom rally (Sep 2025) TBIJ, HnH, May 2026
Robert Shillman $100,000 Tommy Robinson Unite the Kingdom rally (Sep 2025) TBIJ, HnH, May 2026
Elon Musk (alleged) Unknown Tommy Robinson Legal fees Politico EU, Dec 2024

Andy Miller is a US Republican donor — previously not in our research. This is a new lead that connects US GOP donor networks directly to UK street-level far-right activity.

6. Shell Companies and Obfuscation

Britain First Shell Company

  • VICE investigation: Britain First set up a shell company to disguise £200,000 donation
  • Electoral Commission found £200,000 of undeclared donations in 2016
  • Pattern: use limited company registration to obscure donor identity

Patriotic Alternative Ltd (12759841)

  • Registered company provides some transparency
  • Micro-entity accounts required at Companies House
  • Action needed: Download and analyse latest accounts

7. Funding Channels — Full Summary

Channel Transparency Scale Groups Using It Difficulty to Track
GiveSendGo crowdfunding Low (public campaigns) £3k-£50k per campaign PA, Robinson, Britain First Medium
Merchandise sales Very low (private sales) Unknown, likely small ALL groups Hard
Crypto (Bitcoin/Monero) Pseudonymous Growing globally (£Ms) Robinson, PA, ACN + Telegram groups Very hard (Monero = near impossible)
Legal defense crowdfunding Low £10k-£100k per case Robinson, PA, Britain First Medium
US individual donors Ad-hoc public $100k-$200k per event Robinson Low (when reported)
Shell companies Opaque £200k+ per case Britain First Hard
Telegram / informal Zero transparency Unknown PDL, local groups Very hard
Patreon / SubscribeStar Low Unknown Individual influencers Medium
Event revenue (tickets, QR codes) Zero transparency Unknown Robinson, PDL Very hard

Priority Actions

High Priority

  • GiveSendGo 2022 leak analysis — search the leaked dataset for UK campaigns. The raw data is hosted by DDoSecrets. Filter for GBP, UK locations, and known far-right figures.
  • Andy Miller profile — US GOP donor who gave $200,000 to Tommy Robinson's rally. Who is he? What's his network?
  • Patriotic Alternative Ltd accounts — download from Companies House (12759841). Latest micro-entity accounts will show revenue.
  • Telegram crypto wallet collection — systematically collect BTC/Monero addresses from UK far-right Telegram channels.

Medium Priority

  • Britain First / Advance UK merchandise revenue estimates
  • Active Club Network / White Rex financial footprint
  • SubscribeStar analysis for UK far-right creators
  • Cross-reference GiveSendGo leak for Tommy Robinson campaigns
  • UTK coin analysis — who created it, who profited?

Lower Priority

  • Buy Me a Coffee profiles of far-right influencers
  • John Myles (PDL) fundraising network map
  • Cash collection at far-right events (un-trackable but worth noting)

Sources

  • The Ferret (Aug 2024): "UK far right raises money for convicted racists on US platform used by neo-Nazis"
  • Hope not Hate (Oct 2024): "Patriotic Alternative: Flagging Fascist Group Finds New Funding Stream"
  • Hope not Hate (May 2026): "Big Money, Dwindling Crowds: Tommy Robinson Demonstration"
  • TBIJ (May 2026): "Unite the Kingdom rally was a cash grab"
  • iNews (Jan 2026): "UK nationalist parties sell patriotic merchandise made in Pakistan and China"
  • VICE: "Revealed: How Britain First Disguised the Source of a £200,000 Donation"
  • PBS Frontline: "'White Dissidents' Raise Millions in Cryptocurrency"
  • Chainalysis (2025): "Cryptocurrency donations to extremist groups dip globally"
  • Byline Times (Mar 2026): "The Elections Watchdog Doesn't Know Where Reform UK's Crypto Donations Are Coming From"
  • GNET (2021): "Far-Right Fundraising on Telegram"

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