Manic Street Preachers to sue English Defence League for using their song in campaign video

The Manic Street Preachers are said to be taking legal action against far-right political group the English Defence League after the latter used one of their tracks in a promo video.

The EDL, known for their Islamophobic stance, used ‘If You Tolerate This Then Your Children Will Be Next’ to advertise an upcoming rally held in Birmingham. As NME point out, the track ironically features the line: “So if I can shoot rabbits/Then I can shoot fascists”.

It originally featured on the band’s 1998 album This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours, which itself has a title inspired by an anti-fascist slogan used during the Spanish Civil War.

A spokesman for the band told NME that they were “horrified” by the way their music was be re-appropriated for the EDL’s own self-promotion.

You can stream the title-track to Manics’ new album Rewind The Film here. It comes out 16 September.