 The RVF emerged in 2002 after a split in C18.The long-established extreme right group had entered a period of severe inactivity under the leadership of Will Browning, leading to a sense of frustration amongst activists keen to reignite activity.As a consequence a group of militants under the leadership of Mark Atkinson, a long-term activist in C18, and John Hill, an Oldham-based organiser, split to establish the RVF as a separate paramilitary organisation.