Editing British Movement (section)

==Ray Hill's return==
In 1980, [[Ray Hill (British activist)|Ray Hill]], who had been a leading member of the BM under Jordan before emigrating to [[South Africa]], rejoined the group and soon became one of its leading figures, a decision prompted by the [[Anti-fascism|anti-fascist]] magazine ''[[Searchlight (magazine)|Searchlight]]'', for whom Hill had become a mole.<ref>Hill & Bell, ''The Other Face of Terror'', p. 126.</ref> Hill was appointed Area Leader in the [[East Midlands]] where he was given responsibility for enticing disaffected NF members to join the BM. Before long Hill had added about thirty members in Leicester and had also built a close working relationship with the [[British Democratic Party (1979)|British Democratic Party]] in the city.<ref name="Hill p. 125"/> Hill also managed to ensure publicity for the BM from the ''[[Leicester Mercury]]'' after a riot in the city, a fact that won him the admiration of McLaughlin.<ref>Hill & Bell, ''The Other Face of Terror'', p. 130.</ref>

Following an incident at a [[Birmingham]] hotel in which NF supporters had entered a room booked by the BM and daubed the walls with graffiti Hill suggested to McLaughlin that the breach in security had been the fault of Steve Brady, a leading figure in the [[League of St. George]] and the only non-BM member invited to the event. McLaughlin appointed Hill to head up an "anti-subversion unit" as a result, although a lack of funding ensured that the unit never actually convened.<ref>Hill & Bell, ''The Other Face of Terror'', pp. 131–132.</ref> Nonetheless Hill continued to criticise Brady to McLaughlin and before long Hill had been promoted to the head of the entire Midlands region following the retirement of Birmingham chief Peter Marriner.<ref>Hill & Bell, ''The Other Face of Terror'', p. 133.</ref>

Under ''Searchlight'' direction Hill sought to take charge of the BM and he launched his campaign at a demonstration in [[Welling]] in October 1980 organised by Crane. Attending in McLaughlin's stead after the BM leader had asked him to Hill made frequent references to other organisers present about allegations that McLaughlin was letting them do the work whilst he stayed behind at BM headquarters in [[Lampeter]] collecting membership fees.<ref>Hill & Bell, ''The Other Face of Terror'', p. 134.</ref> A speech criticising the police at a BM rally in [[Paddington]] helped to cement Hill's popularity amongst the rank and file membership, most of whom held police in contempt.<ref>Hill & Bell, ''The Other Face of Terror'', p. 139.</ref>

After he opened contact with Jordan, Hill was expelled from the BM by McLaughlin in 1981.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} Hill was backed by his Leicester branch, London organiser Tony Malski and Robert Relf and his lieutenant Mike Cole, all of whom backed Hill to replace McLaughlin as leader.<ref>Hill & Bell, ''The Other Face of Terror'', pp. 139–141.</ref> Hill released a statement to BM members rejecting the expulsion and threatening a court injunction to overturn the expulsion.<ref>Hill & Bell, ''The Other Face of Terror'', pp. 145–146.</ref> With legal advice provided by British Democratic Party leader [[Anthony Reed Herbert]], Hill soon issued the writ against McLaughlin, who attempted to get around the problems by renaming the BM the '''British Nationalist and Socialist Movement''' and claiming that the BM in fact no longer existed.<ref name="Hill146">Hill & Bell, ''The Other Face of Terror'', p. 146.</ref>