Protest organiser arrested directly after being lauded as UKIP's next general election candidate for Blackpool
Three arrests made during Saturday's protests - no charges brought at the time of writing
Hello and welcome to The Blackpool Lead.
I took last week as leave so I could spend some time on some little things in my back garden that needed sorting. It turns out that 25C+ weather is not the ideal time to be doing gardening.
That means that I missed most of the build-up and aftermath of Saturday’s joint UKIP/No Filter Britain protest in Blackpool, attended by the UKIP leader who promised not to leave without parliamentary candidates for the next general election.
Police made three arrests on Saturday as protestors were met with counter protestors, all documented by plenty of YouTube ‘auditors’.
Today we look at the fallout from that demonstration in more detail than you’ll have seen written down elsewhere. We can only keep doing journalism with more paid subscribers, so if you want to give me a boost on my week back to work, you can do so here.
Blackpool briefing
🍔 Police have requested that the premises licence of a Blackpool takeaway be reviewed owing to their concerns about the absence of required door staff and public safety late at night. Blackpool Council’s licensing panel have been asked to review the licence of Burger Shack, based at 20 Talbot Road, after an application from PC Matt Lund on behalf of Lancashire Constabulary. Police say that on many occasions, due to the late hours, customers are “already in drink” and on one of those occasions a man was reportedly assaulted inside the premises. That incident is still being investigated. The Licensing Panel, which met on Monday (June 1) to consider the application, will now write to the licence holder within five working days to confirm its decision.
👷🏻♂️ National concern about the rising number of young people who are NEET – Not in Employment, Education or Training – are being shared in Blackpool. In the resort, the NEET rate among 16-17-year-olds is more than double the national average. The stark challenge facing the country as a whole was made still clearer following the release of Alan Milburn’s recent government-commissioned report. MP Chris Webb said: "I strongly welcome this investigation. Here in Blackpool the challenge is even greater with the NEET rate among 16-17-year-olds is more than double the national average. I’ve seen first-hand how too many young people are being held back by ill-health, lack of opportunity, or a system that simply doesn’t join up around them. Local services like The Platform are proving what’s possible – helping hundreds of young people into work, training and education – but we need national action to match that effort.”
🧺 A new launderette is set to open in Blackpool’s South Shore after being approved by planners. The facility is earmarked for a property at 161 Lytham Road, which has been used for retail but which is currently unoccupied. A planning application was lodged with Blackpool Council, seeking part use of ground floor as a launderette and the installation of an extraction flue to the rear.
Protest organiser arrested directly after being lauded as UKIP’s next general election candidate for Blackpool
By Luke Beardsworth
The man who put himself forward to be a UKIP candidate at the next general election was among three people arrested at an anti-immigration protest in Blackpool at the weekend.
Ben Sykes, 42, AKA one half of No Filter Britain, was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer after an exchange with police during the protest which was billed as a joint-UKIP and No Filter Britain event.
UKIP leader Nick Tenconi vowed at the start of the demonstration that he would not leave without candidates for Blackpool’s two parliamentary constituencies - and it was Sykes who stepped forward with one arm raised.
Tenconi said into his microphone: “I’ve already got one. Alright everyone, let’s hear it for Ben. Blackpool South - I’ve already got one. That’s called leadership.”
In an exchange later the same day, captured on video by multiple YouTube auditors in attendance along with some counter protestors, police can be seen pushing back a protester understood to be Pamela Sykes - Ben’s wife - before which Ben appears to push a police officer. He is then detained and, in the process, he is struck by at least one officer.
The Blackpool Lead understands Sykes has been released on bail until 28 August and no charges have been brought against him.
He has since arranged a protest at Blackpool Police Station on 6 June and says ‘we are taking the fight directly to the police on their own f—ing doorstep!’. A second protest, at the same location, was arranged for Tuesday evening (2 June) at 6pm in response to the news of Henry Nowak’s murder but was poorly attended.
The details of Henry Nowak’s murder in Southampton have caused justifiable outrage. Nowak, 18, had been fatally stabbed with a ceremonial dagger in December 2025. His murderer, Vickrum Digwa, falsely claimed to have been racially abused which led to police handcuffing Nowak despite him telling officers he had been stabbed.
A demonstration was held outside Portswood police station in Southampton on Tuesday which was attended by both Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and Nick Tenconi which followed Nowak’s family asking that his death not be used to create division. It followed Reform UK leader Nigel Farage calling for ‘pure cold rage’ in response.
But the smaller protest in Blackpool, aimed at demonstrating against police brutality, was likely more personal for Sykes. His claim appears to be that police have assaulted both Ben and Pamela Sykes during his arrest on Saturday.
In a Facebook post seen by The Blackpool Lead, it has been claimed that Ben was kept in a cell for eight hours with a ‘split head’ and ‘two broken wrists’.
