PLANS for a peaceful demonstration against the English Defence League rally in Kirklees on Saturday are now in place.

Unite Against Fascism and Dewsbury Unity are hoping their numbers will increase on previous demonstrations to show their strength of feeling in numbers against the EDL.

Hundreds of EDL campaigners are expected to descend on Dewsbury town centre from 11am.

The organised protest will see campaigners assembling near the Black Bull and Principles pubs in the town before being led to Dewsbury Town Hall, where their demonstration and speeches will take place between 1pm and 3pm.

The counter protest will take place from 1pm in Fountain Street, Dewsbury.

Roger Keely of Kirklees Unite Against Fascism and Huddersfield TUC told the Examiner they were preparing for a ‘multi cultural celebration’ and peaceful demonstration.

He said: “We hope we will be well represented. We do feel people in Dewsbury have had enough of these racist demonstrations.

“The EDL’s plan is to try and spread racial and religious hatred. We don’t want them in Dewsbury or any other part of West Yorkshire and we need to stand up and tell them so.

“They claim they are not racists, but their anti-Muslim chants make their racism quite clear. They are led by Nazi thugs with connections to the BNP and other fascist parties.”

On Tuesday, five EDL members were jailed for their part in an EDL protest in Blackburn. The leader of that EDL protest, Bernard Holmes, admitted a racially aggravated public disorder charge.

The Dewsbury EDL Facebook page reads: “The EDL will be peacefully protesting in Dewsbury to highlight the two-tier system that operates in this country and the spread of militant Islam.”

It refers to the town’s links with the 7/7 bombers and claims there are other Islamic terrorist links.

EDL members also express anger on the website at a lenient 21-month-jail sentence of Mohammed Nazakat Alam, 24, over the killing of Jack Carter in Thornhill Lees.

But Kirklees Faiths Forum had a message to people: “Stay away”.

The forum has condemned the League’s intentions, but wants to avoid any confrontations.

Meanwhile police are gearing up for a major operation to control the protestors.

A previous rally in Dewsbury by the EDL saw a massive policing operation to keep apart rival groups.

There were a large number of arrests and several incidents of violence and of damage.