At the beginning of The Walk-In, the new true-crime ITV drama, we see Matthew Collins (played by Stephen Graham) giving a lecture to a hall full of students. In it, he talks about the problem of white terrorism and extremism in the UK, and explains why people may identify with these hate groups. Then comes the big reveal: he knows, because he used to be at the centre of this scene.
In real life, Collins spent his youth as a key part of the violent racist and fascist far-right. He is now a reformed anti-fascist campaigner who heads up the Hope Not Hate charity. He wrote a memoir in 2011, Hate: My Life in the British Far Right, and co-wrote a second book, 2019's Nazi Terrorist: The Story of National Action, which is the inspiration for the new primetime series.
Who is Matthew Collins?
Collins grew up on a council estate in Lee, south-east London, and his father left home when he was five. As a teenager, he fell in with local far-right groups and in an interview with The Independent, Collins explained what drew him into this world: “For me, there was always this search for male role models. We had excellent female role models who did all the cooking, cleaning, carpet fitting. But no men to look up to on our estate. The far right gave me a safe environment. There was lots of violence, but they elevated me. They took me into pubs at 15. I would be picked up from home in a car, taken to clubs. They taught me things. They treated me as if I was bright.”
Collins became the south London organiser at the National Front, and at one point was suggested as a new potential leader. He also worked as a volunteer at the British National Party and hit the streets with Combat 18, taking part in violent demonstrations and riots.
His turning point was an orchestrated attack on a library in Welling, south east London, in 1989, where 40 men assaulted mainly women – some of who were pregnant and OAPs. He told The Independent: “I couldn't see what freedom of speech and fighting for British democracy had to do with stamping on little old ladies' heads. It was real hatred. I began to see it was all about destroying people's lives. Violence was the only way they could affect change. I was standing in the library watching people getting their heads kicked in for attending a debate and discussion. I thought: I'm on the wrong side.”
Collins contacted the anti-fascist magazine, Searchlight, and began passing on covert information to the publication which led to the arrest of key figures in these violent groups. However, his actions were uncovered and there were threats on Collins' life, and he was forced to move to Australia for a decade from 1993. He returned back to the UK to go public with the 2004 BBC documentary, Dead Man Walking.
Over the years, Collins has had to move house three times, and was attacked himself in 2019 in an underground station. He says he has helped to imprison up to 65 people, telling The Guardian: “I’ve got a lot of enemies. There’s a long, long queue of people who say I’ve fucked them over.”
The Walk-In true story
However, his work has saved lives. In 2017, Collins was contacted by a National Action member, Robbie Mullen – portrayed by Andrew Ellis in the series – who wanted to act as a whistleblower on the group’s plans; in particular, a plot by group member Jack Renshaw to murder local MP Rosie Cooper with a machete.
Speaking to The Observer in 2019, Mullen said he had been so disturbed by the discussion of the assassination in the Friar Penketh pub in Warrington that he had reached out to Collins: “There were five of us sat at a full table, and I wasn’t going to be the person to object to it. Renshaw told his plot over two to three hours. It wasn’t just a quick outline…There was an aura around the room. It was as if this is what they had been waiting for; everybody sort of had a smile on their face.”
Collins then arranged for Mullen to be placed in a safehouse – and demanded immunity from the police – until he could testify in the court case against Renshaw. Renshaw was later sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 20 years.
But the battle against white extremists is far from over. Collins, via The Guardian, warned that the current climate is worrying: “If you keep pumping out the hate then someone will eventually do it. It’s even more dangerous now than ever before.” However, Collins also revealed that two more far-right members have “flipped” since The Walk-In was announced, and he is currently deradicalising 22 former rightwing extremists.
The Walk-In continues on ITV on Mondays at 9pm.
