Police move to stop Nazi rock concert

A major police operation is taking place to prevent hundreds of Nazi skinheads from all over Europe staging a rally and rock concert in South Wales today.

After a raid on a house in Cardiff on Thursday, police made four arrests and seized weapons and 30 boxes of literature.

Billy Bartlett, 29, from Cardiff, was charged with public order offences and released on bail. His girlfriend and two other men, both Americans, were released without charge.

Blood and Honour, the Nazi skinhead group which is behind the event, is hoping to attract up to 1,000 supporters, with around 150 skinheads travelling from France, Germany and Belgium. But the police initiative was today threatening to create a massive loss-of-face for the organisers who are believed to have been searching for last minute alternative venues in the west of England.

Plans for the so-called "Aryan Music Fest" have alarmed politicians including, the South Wales MEP, Glenys Kinnock, and the Plaid Cymru president, Dafydd Wigley MP, who have called for a ban. And the Anti-Nazi League has called on supporters to rally in Cardiff and Bridgend.

The British Nazi skins, who are highly regarded by their peers in other countries, face humiliation over the climbdown. Similar events are staged regularly in Germany, with 1,000 people attending and British skinhead bands invited to play as headline acts.