BNP website wins public body funds

A cultural website secretly operated by the far-right British National Party has drawn unwitting advertising income from major Scottish public bodies. Now Jack McConnell, the First Minister, has been asked to order his ministers to check all public bodies and quangos to ensure that all such links are severed.

Alasdair Morrison, the Western Isles MSP, said the BNP was an "odious organisation" and he had urged Mr McConnell to take action after learning VisitScotland and Scotland's People, the official genealogy website, were among the organisations whose adverts were unwittingly linked to the site.

Project Iona says it is dedicated to "the treasures of the islands of the north Atlantic". But while it talks of all the cultures of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland the site does not reveal that it is a creation of the BNP.

The fact the phrase "Islands of the North Atlantic" was coined during political talks between London and Dublin to avoid offence taken by the Irish at the phrase "British Isles" is a particular irony, given the BNP has now hijacked the concept.

The party's website referred to the projects as "a major undertaking intended to be the BNP's very own treasure house of some of the enormous cultural and traditional aspects of the islands".

The links between the Project Iona website and other advertising are generated by Google, with a proportion of revenue then passed in effect to the BNP.

Kenny Smith, Scottish secretary of the party, said of Project Iona: "I know it's on our site and what it stands for. It catalogues our heritage and culture and is a resource for everyone."

The Herald