'Nazi' jibe BNP man says sorry

A senior BNP councillor issued a grovelling apology today after he had launched a foul mouthed attack on a Recorder reporter, branding her a "Nazi".

Cllr Robert Bailey, deputy leader of the BNP group on Barking and Dagenham Council, yesterday launched the unprovoked verbal assault on news editor Sally Lowe, complaining that the Recorder had not given the party a fair crack of the whip in its coverage of the London Assembly elections.

The phone call, peppered with four letter words and in which Cllr Bailey called Miss Lowe a "jobsworth", was followed by the councillor turning up at the Recorder's High Road, Ilford offices with a group of party colleagues. After spending 20 minutes shouting incomprehensively through a megaphone, the far right party members were moved on by a police community support officer.

Despite a BNP spokesman defending Cllr Bailey's outburst saying they "wouldn't blame him because of the way that paper behaved", he contacted the news desk this morning and profusely apologised to Miss Lowe.

"He said he had seen the article on the internet yesterday and said he wanted to apologise for some of what he said," said Miss Lowe.

"He added: 'I am not a yob, I'm not a thug or anything barely resembling anything like that. I was a little bit disappointed and I'm sorry for some of the things I said to you. We all have our moments sometimes, I'm sure you agree."

Recorder editor Chris Carter also spoke to Cllr Bailey - who is a candidate for the London Assembly - and accepted his apology, but insisted he may still pursue the complaint to the Standards Board of England.

"I cannot ignore the fact Robert Bailey is supposed to be an elected member of the council, and yet when he doesn't get things his own way he behaves like a yob."

The incident was followed by Barking and Dagenham BNP leader Cllr Richard Barnbrook failing to turn up for an interview yesterday evening with BBC Radio London.

Ilford Recorder