Gerry Gable obituary

"Gerry Gable, who has died aged 88, was one of the most formidable and persistent figures in the postwar fight against fascism and the extreme right in the UK. He combined activism, investigative journalism and clandestine intelligence-gathering in a way that reshaped how anti-fascism was practised in Britain and far beyond. As the founder of Searchlight, the investigative anti-fascist magazine, he played a central role in exposing, disrupting and ultimately weakening generations of fascist and neo-Nazi organisations."

"Searchlight first appeared as a short-lived tabloid newspaper in 1965, edited by the Labour MP Reg Freeson, with Gerry in charge of research, but folded after only four issues. Then, in 1975, in response to the dramatic rise in support for the National Front (NF), it was relaunched in magazine format, produced by Gerry and the Birmingham-based journalist and anti-racist campaigner Maurice Ludmer."

"When Maurice died in 1981, Gerry was left at the helm. I began volunteering with Searchlight in the 1970s and edited the magazine in the 80s. The magazine quickly became indispensable to local anti-fascist committees that had formed in response to the NF's growth, and when the Anti-Nazi League (ANL) was founded in 1977, Gerry and Maurice were among its original sponsors, with Searchlight effectively its research wing."

Gerry Gable combined activism, investigative journalism and clandestine intelligence-gathering to reshape anti-fascism in Britain and beyond. He founded Searchlight, which exposed, disrupted and weakened generations of fascist and neo-Nazi organisations. Under his stewardship Searchlight became the primary intelligence source on the UK far right, infiltrating extremist groups, exposing funding, documenting international connections and revealing criminality and violence. Searchlight first appeared as a 1965 tabloid and relaunched as a magazine in 1975 in response to the National Front's rise. Searchlight supported local anti-fascist committees and the Anti-Nazi League by providing research, photographs and intelligence that undermined the NF's electoral prospects.

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