BNP picks psychic and a gay porn director as candidates

The extraordinary collection of individuals standing for the British National Party in the London Assembly elections can be revealed today.

One candidate, Nick Eriksen, was sacked this month after the Evening Standard reported that he had described rape as a "myth" and said that "some women are like gongs - they need to be struck regularly".

Now further investigations by the Standard show that the far-Right party's 10-strong list of candidates includes:

Chris Forster, a psychic who, according to his website, specialises in the "use of the crystal ball, clairvoyance and mediumship" to "develop opportunities" for businesses and individuals. He promotes himself as "the only qualified internal auditor and accountant working full-time as a psychic".

Roberta Woods, who was recently employed in an important branch of the legal system, despite a conviction for contempt of court. During her attachment to the Legal Services Commission, which distributes legal aid, she complained the legal aid budget was going to too many "aliens".

Lawrence Rustem, a man of mixed race allowed into the BNP because, in the words of one of his fellow candidates, he is "only half a wog".

John Clarke, who was reported to police by a London council after setting up a front address and falsifying his nomination papers to stand in the last borough elections.

Richard Barnbrook, also the BNP's mayoral candidate, who directed a gay porn film, HMS Discovery.

The party has high hopes of winning at least one - and possibly two - of the 11 Assembly seats elected under a London-wide system of proportional representation on 1 May. The party scored 4.7 per cent in the last Assembly elections in 2004 and needs around five per cent for one seat this time or eight per cent for two.

However, revelations about its candidates' backgrounds will undoubtedly damage the BNP's cause. Gerry Gable, publisher of the anti-fascist magazine Searchlight, said: "If it wasn't so serious, it would be absolutely hilarious. The candidate list includes lawbreakers, cranks and failed business people and is thus wholly representative of the BNP nationally."

Ms Woods, from Eltham, was convicted of contempt of court in 2004 after walking off a jury in the middle of a trial, claiming she had "lost faith" in British justice. Despite this, she was employed this year by the Legal Services Commission. In a letter published in last month's issue of the BNP magazine Identity, she said: "My previous assignment at UBS [the City bank] shocked me when I found myself surrounded by 'aliens'. The same was true at my Legal Services Commission assignment [and] reflects the real level of 'immigrant saturation' in the capital."

Ms Woods wrote that while working at the commission she objected to legal aid payments to solicitors handling immigration and asylum cases. She added: "Why should 'aliens' who have contributed nothing to this country have recourse to this fund? I can hardly bear to go about my business in London these days, it feels like a living nightmare."

A spokesman for the commission said: "Roberta Woods worked here for a brief period in a junior role. She was employed through an agency and we do not require agency staff to undergo a criminal record check. This policy is under review." Ms Woods refused to comment except to say: "Contempt of court is not a criminal conviction."

The BNP's website describes Mr Forster, 51, from Richmond, as an "events organiser".

But the website for his company, Psychic Events, says he "unlocks the power of the mind" and helps people by the "use of cards, crystal ball, psychometry, clairvoyance and mediumship to identify with important events and stages in their past and present and to develop opportunities and clearer vision for the fulfilment of their future".

It continues: "Chris's speciality is remote viewing of people, property or businesses, i.e. to accurately analyse at a distance."

Mr Forster is also described as "the regular tarot and crystal ball reader on Sky TV's Mystic Challenge", a game show where three mystics try to divine a secret about a hidden mystery guest. When contacted by the Standard, Mr Forster said: "Oh dear, oh dear. I wondered how long it would be before that came out." He added: "If I wanted to predict what would happen on 1 May it would be a gut feeling. I'm not going to use the tarot cards and crystal ball."

Mr Rustem, a BNP councillor in Barking, is half-Turkish and was born Timucin Rustem. His membership has been a sore point for BNP hardliners such as Paul Golding, the then editor of Identity, who was expelled from the party after physically attacking Mr Rustem. Julian Leppert, another BNP Assembly candidate and the party's 2004 candidate for Mayor, said Mr Rustem was "okay" because he was only "half-wog".

Mr Rustem insisted to the Standard that Mr Leppert was "joking" and said: "I'm in the BNP because I'm standing up for what I believe in. My political history is something that serves the party."

Mr Clarke sought election as a BNP candidate in Merton in 2006 but used a false address on his nomination papers to get round the rule that council candidates must live or work in the borough. As his current biography on the BNP website confirms, he actually lives in Croydon. After the Standard exposed the front address used by Mr Clarke, as well as another BNP candidate and the BNP supporter who actually lived there, Merton council called the police. Asked why the BNP was claiming three men and their families lived in the two-bedroom maisonette, a party spokesman said: "People live in all sorts of ways these days."

Mr Barnbrook told the Standard: "HMS Discovery was a film dealing with sexuality; it was not porn. What you write about the BNP in the media makes no difference. We will get one, possibly two, seats on the Assembly."

Asked if Mr Forster had ever foreseen a time in his crystal ball when Britain had no ethnic minorities, he said: "No, I don't think so. He's married to a Chinese woman."

Evening Standard