Editing Richard Verrall

{{short description|British Holocaust denier}}
{{for|the actuarial scientist|Richard Verrall (academic)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2016}}
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'''Richard Verrall''' (born 1948) is a British [[Holocaust denial|Holocaust denier]] and former deputy chairman of the British [[National Front (United Kingdom)|National Front]] (NF) who edited the magazine ''[[Spearhead (magazine)|Spearhead]]'' from 1976 to 1980. Under the ''nom de plume'' of '''Richard E. Harwood''', Verrall wrote the pamphlet ''[[Did Six Million Really Die?]]''

==National Front involvement==
Verrall studied [[history]] at [[Westfield College]], now part of [[Queen Mary University of London]], obtaining a first class honours degree.<ref name="S. Taylor, 1982, p. 62">S. Taylor, ''The National Front in English Politics'', London: Macmillan, 1982, p. 62</ref> Initially a member of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]], Verrall left in the early 1970s, along with a number of members on the right who supported [[Enoch Powell]], to join the NF.<ref name="S. Taylor, 1982, p. 62"/> Initially a close supporter of [[John Tyndall (politician)|John Tyndall]], he was appointed ''Spearhead'' editor by Tyndall and used the magazine to deny [[the Holocaust]].<ref name="S. Taylor, 1982, p. 62"/> He was also known for his endorsement of [[eugenics]] and [[biological determinism]], adding to this theory that it was equally natural for members of a genetic group to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of others of the same group, thus attacking the criticism that the notion of [[sacrifice]] makes this theory inapplicable to humanity.<ref>S. Taylor, ''The National Front in English Politics'', London: Macmillan, 1982, pp. 63–64</ref>

Despite his initial support for Tyndall, Verrall did not follow him into the [[New National Front]] and indeed was appointed deputy chairman of the NF by [[Andrew Brons]] in 1980.<ref>S. Taylor, ''The National Front in English Politics'', London: Macmillan, 1982, p. 91</ref> In 1985, he testified before a British court that he was disassociated from the NF,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Verrall v Guardian Newspapers, [1986] EWCA Civ J0626-3, Court of Appeal (Civil Division) |url=https://vlex.co.uk/vid/tessa-anna-verrall-plaintiff-793661637}}</ref> testimony that was corroborated by that of his Canadian publisher in a separate trial held in Ontario.<ref>{{Cite web |title=R. v. Zundel, 1992 CanLII 75 (SCC), [1992] 2 SCR 731 |url=https://canlii.ca/t/1fs9n |access-date=2024-02-27}}</ref>

==Holocaust denial career==
Verrall is best known for his pamphlet (under the [[pseudonym]] Richard Harwood), ''[[Did Six Million Really Die?]]'',<ref name="Granada Television">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNalu0pSL2A | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140626055834/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNalu0pSL2A| archive-date=2014-06-26 | url-status=dead|title=World in Action - The Nazi Party |work=Granada Television |date=3 July 1978 |access-date=11 April 2012}}</ref> a [[Holocaust denial]] pamphlet which was the subject of criminal action against its Canadian-based German publisher, [[Ernst Zündel]]. The [[Supreme Court of Canada]] found the pamphlet contained fabrications and distortions, noting it "misrepresented the work of historians, misquoted witnesses, fabricated evidence, and cited non-existent authorities".<ref name="scc2">{{lexum-scc2|1992|2|731}}</ref>

In 2017, [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] in the UK removed the pamphlet from its site.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/amazon-uk-removes-3-holocaust-denial-books-from-sale/|title=Amazon UK removes 3 Holocaust denial books from sale |work=The Times of Israel |date=9 March 2017 |access-date=21 October 2019}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Verrall married Tessa Sempik, a British solicitor. They were mentioned in a 1996 article about tenancy law.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 October 1996 |first=Rita |last=Carter |title=When the tenant refuses to go |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/when-the-tenant-refuses-to-go-5598440.html |access-date=2024-02-27 |work=The Independent}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Ernst Zündel]]
*[[National Front (United Kingdom)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*Renton, D., [https://web.archive.org/web/20060903131349/http://dkrenton.co.uk/anl/trent1.htm ''Fascism and Anti-Fascism in Britain'']
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060429084757/http://www.hdot.org/evidence/evans006.asp Holocaust Denial on Trial]

{{UK far right}}

{{Historical revisionism}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verrall, Richard}}
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Alumni of Westfield College]]
[[Category:Pseudonymous writers]]
[[Category:British Holocaust deniers]]
[[Category:English male journalists]]
[[Category:English neo-Nazis]]
[[Category:National Front (UK) politicians]]