BNP send representative to Mohammed memorial march

The British National Party (BNP) sent a representative to the two minutes silence in memory of Mohammed Al-Majed - and vowed to keep fighting in Hastings. Chris Barnett, a BNP activist from nearby Eastbourne, stood yards from Mohammed's grieving family as they laid flowers at the spot where he [died] on Sunday August 24.

As the family, many of whom were in tears, said a prayer for the dead 16-year-old, Mr Barnett took a series of photographs of the mourning. He was also telling anyone who would listen that the blame of the Qatari teen's tragic death lay not with the thugs who attacked him but with the Goverment.

Mr Barnett also told a nearby BBC journalist that Mohammed was taken to hospital not in an ambulance but in a taxi - a claim the local health authorities say is 100 per cent not true.

Fellow BNP campaigner Nick Prince, who is leader of the East Sussex branch, said: "As a father myself and like any sane thinking person, I was left horrified by the attack and murder of student Mohammad Al-Majed."

He then said that were his right-wing party in charge those found to have caused the death would be given the death penalty and strict curfews would be imposed on students visiting the town.

He added: "We did send a representative to the two minutes silence on Monday and on behalf of all of the members and supporters of the British National Party in Hastings and Rother, I wish to send our deepest sympathy to the family of Mohammad Al-Majed. We will continue to increase our presence in Hastings."

In February this year the BNP's national figurehead Nick Griffin made a secret visit to the Hastings - with the local party hiring out a charity's hall under a fasle name.

When asked about his party's presence leading to an increase on attacks on foreign residents, Mr Griffin said: "We do not condone attacks on anyone. Some of the people who are hostile in this way are just morons who will do it whatever the situation. Some though are people who have no outlet for their concerns.

"We (the BNP) are a safety valve for the tensions being caused by turning English homes into something resembling the United Nations."

Despite fielding four candidates the BNP failed to win a single seat at the last round of council elections.

Hastings and St Leonard's Observer