ENGLISH Defence League organisers have accused Unite Against Fascism of using Bolton’s Muslim community as “political pawns”.

Speaking to The Bolton News last night, EDL North West organiser David Johnson said it was his group’s intention that tomorrow’s rally in Victoria Square should pass off peacefully.

He said: “Our message to the Muslim community in Bolton is that they have nothing to fear.

“We are a peaceful, non-violent, non-political group and we want the rally to pass off without incident.

“The left-wing groups such as Unite Against Fascism have been raising fear among the Muslim community and using them as political pawns in a game.”

While police have said that they expect about 1,500 EDL protesters in town tomorrow, along with a similar number from the UAF for its counter protest, Mr Johnson says the figure will be much higher.

He said: “We are hoping to surpass the 4,000 we had at the event in Stoke. Bolton is in very easy reach of a lot of places in the North West.

“If there was a way in which we could get our points across by sitting at home then we would. But that is not possible and this rally represents our best chance of getting the Government of this country to listen to our opinions. We will have a number of measures in place, not only to safeguard our members but also the general public.

“We have been working with police for a number of weeks and they have been very helpful in helping us organise this rally.”

The UAF and its supporters are expected to start arriving in Bolton from early tomorrow morning while reports on EDL websites suggest its protest will start at 1pm.

andrew.greaves@ theboltonnews.co.uk