Tariq Mehmood, who migrated from Pakistan to Bradford in 1967, encountered the far-right early in his life, experiencing racism at primary school. He recalled white children singing racist rhymes and a lack of intervention from the school.
Mehmood later became a co-founder of the Bradford Asian Youth Movement (AYM) and, following a split, the United Black Youth League (UBYL) in 1981. These groups aimed to demand equal rights, a fairer world, and to defend communities against attacks from groups like the National Front (NF) and the British Movement (BM).
He described frequent attacks on the south Asian community in Bradford, particularly after NF demonstrations. Mehmood stated that the UBYL organised for self-defence, believing they could not trust the police. In summer 1981, Mehmood and 11 others, known as the Bradford 12, were arrested after police found 38 petrol-filled milk bottles. They were charged with conspiracy but were acquitted by a jury on 16 June 1982, having argued self-defence.
Mehmood, who now teaches at the American University in Beirut, believes the current atmosphere regarding the far-right is more vicious than in the 1980s, citing a rise in Islamophobia and a larger scale of far-right presence across Europe.