Hello and welcome to The Lancashire Lead,
In the quiet countryside between Preston, Chorley and Blackburn, sits the gorgeous surroundings of Hoghton Tower.
The historic tower dates back to the mid-1500s and has seen political upheaval, struggles and more through the centuries.
It’s an unlikely setting for a far-right movement but since Monday it emerged as the backdrop, unknowingly for a ‘Patriots Platform’ video. Usually it’s filled with families enjoying car shows, farmers’ markets and ghost tours.
In today’s edition we delve into the group behind the rally and reveal further footage that’s surfaced showing a more sinister rally that took place at the war memorial across the road directly after where the group express their support for Danny ‘Tommo’ Thompson who will face charges in March over appearing to slash with a knife at a dingy on the South Coast in the summer.
We’ve also spoken to Hoghton Tower who have taken issue with the way the ‘documenter’ who badges himself as a journalist (yes, really), has edited YouTube clips which they say makes it seem like the Tower was open. It wasn’t and some footage within the videos is shot on private property, although the actual speech which is circulating on Facebook was on the public part of the tower’s driveway.
Balaclava-clad protests have been primarily on the South Coast of England in recent months, but their emergence in a quaint village in the heart of Lancashire is a new development.
Lancashire briefing
💨A Reform UK councillor who was accused of disrespect when he broke wind during a council meeting has denied it was a deliberate act.
After making national headlines when he was accused of farting at another councillor among other alleged rude behaviour during a meeting of Blackburn with Darwen Council, Cllr Andy Mahon of issued a statement in which he attributed the noise to a medical issue.
He said: “For some time, I have been taking prescribed medication for a health condition. One of its side effects is flatulence, which I cannot always control. What happened in the chamber was an unfortunate but natural bodily function.
“It was not directed at anyone and it certainly was not down anyone’s microphone.
“Nobody chooses to be in this situation. Having a private medical matter discussed in the chamber and then in the local and national press has been deeply embarrassing and has caused me considerable distress. I would ask people to consider how they would feel if it were them or someone in their family.”
Attention was turned to the matter during a four hour meeting as Cllr Tasleem Fazal, a member of the 4BwD group sitting across the aisle, raised the issue of disrespect, loud noise and silly comments before adding: “I’ll tell you what I really take issue with: somebody lifting their arse cheeks higher than my mic in my direction, and blowing their arse out like we’re at school.”
In his statement, Cllr Mahan added: “I hold no ill feeling towards Cllr Fazal and I am happy to speak to him directly. I will carry on with the work the residents of Blackburn South East elected me to do.”
🚧 Work on a project that will transform one of the busiest routes between South Ribble and Preston is set to begin in a matter of weeks.
Lancashire County Council says preparations for a revamp of the A582 between Lostock Hall and the ‘tank roundabout’ at Farington Moss are expected to start sometime during the autumn – more than six months sooner than expected.
The authority had previously forecast that the scheme would get under way next summer once the government had officially confirmed its provisionally-promised majority share of the estimated £77.3m total cost.
However, cabinet members have now agreed to use already approved local funding – at the county council’s own risk – in order to begin so-called ‘enabling works’.
The main elements of the project are focused on a radical redesign of three key junctions on the A582 itself – including the removal of the double roundabout junction and the introduction of ‘smart’ traffic lights where Flensburg Way, Farington Road, Croston Road and Centurion Way all meet.
🌹Interested in whether Lancashire should have a Mayor, or not? A Mayor for Lancashire? debate takes place on Wednesday 14 October at Cotton Court in Preston, from 6pm-8pm. It’s free and it’d be great to see Lancashire Lead readers there, as our Senior Editor, Ed Walker, is the question master in an event hosted by the Preston Partnership. He’s joined by leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council and member of the Lancashire Combined County Authority, councillor Phil Riley, Northern Powerhouse Partnership chief executive Henri Murison MBE and Lancaster-based leader of Groundswell Innovation, Jane Dalton. You can reserve your place here and you don’t need to be a member of Preston Partnership to attend, it’s open to anyone.
Rally at Hoghton Tower sees ‘Patriots’ declare solidarity with man accused of slashing at dingy in English Channel
By Ed Walker
A historic Lancashire hall has been used as the backdrop for a gathering of balaclava-wearing men dressed in black.
Patriot groups have been in the headlines predominantly on the South Coast of England in recent weeks but a North West group has now reached Lancashire.
Their presence saw Lancashire Police called to the driveway of Hoghton Tower on Sunday evening in the Lancashire countryside between Preston and Chorley.
The Constabulary say the group - numbering around 100 people, predominantly men dressed in black hoodies - dispersed with no further issue and no arrests were made.
Their masked leader’s speech, made by Alex Robinson who lists himself on social media as a ‘British Nationalist’ and is wearing a hoodie with his name on, includes: “We will not rely on rumours. We will not rely on rage.
“We are not calling for violence. We are not calling for Civil War. We are calling for something far more powerful than that, a country where the law actually means something.”
He says the video is a ‘message to Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’.
The video finishes with the group applauding and marching towards the camera. It does not address why the group chose to use Hoghton Tower, dating back to the 1560s, as a backdrop.
Further footage, shared on YouTube, shows the group holding a rally at the war memorial across the road.
Robinson calls repeatedly in the clip shared on Facebook for the country to ‘have secure borders’. The Office of National Statistics said net migration to the UK had fallen by 48 per cent year on year in the 12 months up to December 2025 and small boat arrivals were also showing a decrease for January to September this year compared to the previous year.
In a statement on Monday evening the Hoghton Tower venue, which hosts farmers markets, weddings and school trips, said they had no knowledge of the event before it happened.
A spokesperson said: “We have been made aware of a Patriot Platform event that took place at the main driveway entrance to Hoghton Tower [public right of way] yesterday evening after closing time.
“This was not organised by or cleared with us, but rather took place without prior knowledge.
“We understand that the police attended the scene and brought the protest to an end without incident.”
When approached by The Lancashire Lead for further comment, a representation from Hoghton Tower reiterated “No permission was given for the filming - the bottom of the drive is a public right of way.
“We have no involvement and no association with the group.”
They also say edits of the video which have been made which appear to show the Tower as open are wrong - the videos were filmed during Sunday 4 October when the attraction was closed to the public.
The Lancashire Lead approached Chorley MP, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who has Hoghton Tower within his constituency.
Independent councillor for Clayton East, Brindle and Hoghton at Chorley Council, councillor Pauline McGovern, told The Lancashire Lead: “If these ‘Patriots’ truly want a ‘country where the law actually means something’ they would have the courage to show their faces and protest lawfully and openly.
“One hundred masked and black shirted men, massed outside someone’s private property, is of course both intimidatory and has chilling echoes of both Nazi black shirts and ICE enforcers. I do not suggest that this is their intention. But I must make the obvious point that this action is both aggressive and unhelpful.”
Fellow ward councillors Ellie Close (Reform) and Irene Amahwe (Labour) did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.
The Lancashire Lead can reveal the clip posted under the Patriots North West banner, which has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times, was one of a number shot and shared by one of a growing number of far-right social media influencers and activists who are monetising their content via Meta, X, YouTube and other platforms.