A former BNP candidate who admitted sending racist hate mail has had the charges against him dropped – because he was not charged in time. West Yorkshire Police and the Crown Prosecution Service have been slammed by Brian Wainwright's victims for the failure and have been accused of taking a soft line on the BNP.Wainwright, 38, admitted sending offensive and threatening letters at Calderdale Magistrates' Court last month. One warned of "spilling Muslim blood." He sent posters featuring skulls, crossbones, swastikas, Muslim insults and threats of violence, to Calderdale's first Asian councillor, a Halifax mosque and an anti-fascism campaigner. But, in what may be a legal first, the case has been dismissed because the police and CPS did not charge Wainwright within the six - month time limit for summary offences. Mr Wainwright, of Lee Mount Road, Halifax, was charged nine months after sending the last poster in April 2005. The error was not spotted until the last minute when magistrates were considering sentence.
Paul Sutcliffe, of Calderdale Unity Against Racism, received the first poster in February 2005. It warned his home would be visited by far-right group Combat 18. He was "amazed" Mr Wainwright had escaped punishment and is considering a formal complaint. He said: "I think the police and CPS have to ask themselves some serious questions over their featherbedding of the BNP. Here we have a guilty person who has admitted as much but still the authorities did nothing."
Councillor Mohammed Najib received a poster saying a race war would begin in Halifax. He said: "I am unbelievably disappointed. He made our lives hell and has just walked away." A third poster was sent to the Jama Majid Ahl-E-Hadith mosque in Halifax, with the words "Muslims will die".
Halifax MP Linda Riordan said: "The evidence was overwhelming and I am shocked it has not been taken further." A spokesman for Searchlight, an anti-facist magazine, said: "We would urge the CPS to raise their standards in all cases – especially with race-hate crime."
Neil Franklin, chief crown prosecutor, said the CPS was not consulted by police until the legal time limit had already expired. A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said they were disappointed with the outcome.
When asked by the Courier if he wanted to respond to the dismissal of the case, Mr Wainwright said: "I will do in my own time."
Halifax Evening Courier
10 comments:
It does look deliberate doesn't it. How long can it take to get the evidence together in a case like this?
And he looks an arrogant bastard too. I bet he'll be crowing to his mates down the pub about this one!
I wonder what Chris Hill thinks of this shit?
Go ask him on his rubbishy blog. Should be good for a laugh (though I doubt you'll get a straight answer).
I'd be willing to bet he hasn't even been thrown out of the party yet - and he won't ever be. Why the hell won't the British public wake up to what the BNP are all about?
This bloke is scum. The people he had a go at should take out a private prosecution to get him done properly.
And he was a BNP parliamentary candidate? That says it all really.
How the hell do you find all this stuff? Do you get every newspaper in the world delivered or what?
'How the hell do you find all this stuff? Do you get every newspaper in the world delivered or what?'
We'd need a damn great big letterbox! No, we use a news agency with a bloody good search facility and subscribe to a hell of a lot of newsfeeds. Newsfeeds are a brilliant idea - so much easier than having to scan a zillion newspaper sites just to find a little something that might be of interest.
"We'd need a damn great big letterbox!"
LOL
He'll be laughing his socks off over this. All ready for prison then the police go and fuck it up. Nice one plods. The relevant officers should be disciplined for this disaster.
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