November 19, 2008

Griffin in panic as membership demands answers over list debacle

Nick Griffin trying to look coy
It's rare to see Nick Griffin responding to the concerns of the members of the British National Party. As long as they pay their membership subscriptions to enable him to live in the style to which he is determined to remain accustomed, he can generally ignore them except for the odd visit to a meeting or the occasional impassioned plea for yet more money.

In fact, the only thing that has ever motivated Griffin is money - as those who have watched him closely over the past decade or two will verify. Hence the sudden panic.

Yesterday's news of the leak and widespread publication of the party's entire membership list - complete with names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, job details, hobbies and a few other little notes that seemed to be of interest to the BNP management - brought the sweat to Griffin's ample brow as he contemplated the membership rightly dumping a party that could lose such essential and sensitive information.

Blogs and forums all over the internet were buzzing with the news - our side with glee at such an appalling disaster for the far-right, their side with fury at the fear of being outed as members of the foremost racist party in the UK, particularly where they have a lot to lose, like a job. Far from supporting Nick Griffin on this worrisome day, the party membership was on the attack all day demanding to know how this crisis had come about.

As the day progressed, more news agencies picked it up - from those based solely on the internet like the Register, Bloggerheads, TechRadar, Harry's Place et al, to a swathe of newspapers and TV stations including the Guardian, Mirror and Telegraph, BBC, ITV and Channel 4.

Griffin's reaction to all this was, according to one of our sources inside the party, to sit in stunned silence for ages, seething. Eventually though, he decided that action was after all of more use than sulking and decided to do what he always does - to attack on multiple fronts.

His first claim - which doesn't really seem to have convinced anyone - is that the membership list is genuine but long out of date. It is, he claims, a membership and skills list from November 2007. Our response is to ask why in that case are there several entries dated 2008? The second claim is that it is the same list that was used by the December 2007 rebels to send out 'bogus' British Nationalist bulletins last December and January and that 'detailed analysis by our membership department proves conclusively that the core list dates from between 30th November and 2nd December 2007'. And we ask the same question again. Not that we expect an answer.

Griffin is desperate to reinforce the fiction that the list is out of date and thus mentions it on any available occasion. You can almost hear him chewing the pencil as he struggles to get the message across.
'We have already sent formal demands to the web hosts to remove the list, pointing out to them that the fact that the publication of this year-old list constitutes Contempt of Court because a court order preventing its release or use was made and consented to by the group of disgraced former employees who first misappropriated it.'
He then goes off at a tangent, reminding us that there is still another stage of his Manchester court case against the rebels to go through - carefully avoiding mentioning that it will never happen because both he and his party are close to skid row. Even so, he attempts to justify this year's expulsion of the December rebels by saying; 'There, see what they did. Wasn't I right to kick them out then take them to court?'

Naturally, he doesn't address the question of why the rebels would make use of a membership list that the court had expressly forbidden them to use, in the full and certain knowledge that, at the very least, it would lead to a charge of contempt? Because he knows full well what the answer is - this was nothing to do with the rebels; they just happen to be a useful scapegoat. Nevertheless, we look forward with some interest to seeing him back in court in the very near future, attempting to prove that the rebels had anything at all to do with the current release of the list. It would be a good laugh, except that it won't happen.

Griffin really gave the game away yesterday when he announced indignantly that the party had made a complaint to Dyfed-Powys Police and 'will be giving formal statements shortly to support our demand for a serious and thorough police investigation into a series of very serious potential crimes, including breaches of the Data Protection Act, theft and receipt of stolen goods, and breaches of the Human Rights Act [which, incidentally, the BNP intends to repeal on its triumphant march into Downing Street]. Unless those involved have been extremely careful to cover their tracks, they are liable to find themselves in very serious trouble - and in prison'.

All very pompous and British and stern and so on - except that when asked by the BBC about the complaint, the Dyfed-Powys police had no record of it. The complaint seems to been made since the Beeb asked and reported on it but this is yet another example of Griffin's empty pompous bluster.

Yesterday was a double-disaster for Griffin for it was meant to be the official launch of his campaign to become a member of the European Parliament and thus one of the Euro fat-cats that he professes to despise. Our article, and the astonishing publicity that it generated, killed the launch stone-dead.

Attempting to claw back some gain from the day, he threw in an advert for the BNP's very own trade union - still, I gather, under investigation for financial irregularities by the Certification Officer - suggesting that those who are concerned about any possible repercussions that might result from the publication of the list should join Solidarity, run by his old mate, the similarly pompous Patrick Harrington.

Poor old Griffin, who has always believed his own insane stories about there being a million conspiracies against him , had one ready for yesterday's disaster.
'The timing and actual aim of this leak story is blatant: It was set running on Sunday evening, when the clique who co-ordinate virtually all anti-BNP campaigns would have been confident that the following day’s kangaroo court at the General Teaching Council would take away from Adam Walker his right to teach.'
Well, no actually. We were still debating whether to pick up the story at all after taking advice about the potential legal difficulties involved and didn't decide to go ahead until late-morning. Adam Walker, I'm afraid, never formed any part of that decision.

Back in fantasy-land or possibly just believing his own bullshit, Griffin has this to say;
'Thanks to the treachery of the now long-dissipated Searchlight-linked rebel faction, the entire list has not only already been bombarded with lie-filled anti-BNP propaganda, but it has also without doubt been available to the far-left for the best part of a year already.'
Searchlight-linked? Really? Available to the far-left for the best part of a year? Really? Assuming Lancaster Unity is part of Griffin's mythical far-left conspiracy, we certainly haven't had access to this list for a year. If we had, we would have made use of it before now, as he knows full well. And if the rebels are 'long-dissipated', how come this can all be laid at their feet?

He finishes with a final flourish;
'It was absolutely obvious that the sensational BNP by-election victory in Boston at the end of last week...this latest attack is not really directed against our own people, who are already tough-minded and know that nothing ever comes of this sort of bluster, so much as against the thousands of UKIPers who are thinking of joining us.'
The by-election victory in Boston was a surprise yes, but more because it was the first by-election victory the BNP had managed in years. It was so 'sensational' that we mentioned it a whole, er twice. Some sensation - but when you have to motivate a flagging membership I guess you have to hang on to any victory, no matter how small or rare. As for 'thousands of UKIPers who are thinking of joining' the BNP, this appears to be another complete fantasy that the BNP has been droning on about for years in the hope that if they say it enough times, it will become the truth. It won't. The truth is that as many people leave the BNP to join Ukip as vice versa and nothing Nick Griffin says will change that.

All in all, this letter smacks of a desperate, panicky attempt at damage limitation after an unexpected and overwhelming publicity onslaught. In the absence of any other target, Nick Griffin has attacked the rebels (who have in fact gone and got on with other things as far as we can see), tried to bolster up some lies and added a smidgeon of bullshit to try to turn things back his way. It hasn't worked.

In truth, Griffin is in a mad panic because he sees a lot of members - angry at the apparently casual way the BNP seems to view their confidential information - walking out and taking all their endless donations with them. With the European elections coming up in 2009, he's going to need a lot of money if he is to properly attempt to con the electorate into letting him join what he perceives as the Euro gravy train - his objective for a number of years now.

Yesterday's fiasco was disastrous for Griffin and the BNP - let's keep the pressure up.

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

According to the Sun

"Earlier the BNP said it was an old and out-of-date list.

However bosses later admitted it was “essentially genuine”."

Eh?

Anonymous said...

Just heard his royal highness on Today contradicting himself all over the place the dickhead.

Anonymous said...

He doesn't look coy to me. He looks like he's either constipated or he's eyeing up Mark Collets arse.

Anonymous said...

The December rebels have updated their page

"Membership List Leak – A Response
It is unfortunate that a response has to be made regarding the disgusting accusations emanating from the lie filled mouth of Nick Griffin, yet in order to set the record straight we feel that a response is indeed necessary.

Firstly we would like to point out that the publication of the BNP membership list is a treacherous act which will have repercussions for the entire Party and nationalism in general. Whoever has done this should be utterly ashamed of their spiteful actions. Whatever the reasons for the publication of the list, ordinary BNP members should not have to suffer because of the crass incompetence, flawed personality and arrogance of the Party Leader.

The BNP website carries an “urgent update” from the BNP leader, Nick Griffin. This update blatantly accuses those involved in the December 2007 dispute, which had its source concern expressed by several leading Party members and senior officials over the disgraceful protection by the Chairman of two individuals who had brought and continue to bring the Party into disrepute and heap embarrassment through their incompetence, immaturity and selfish behaviour. Griffin, a man who like so many contemptible politicians can be detected lying when his mouth open’s hardly conceals his ill-founded and thoroughly false suspicions that Kenny Smith, the previous Head of Administration, of being responsible for the publication. This is a disgrace and a downright lie. None of the six people involved in the April 2007 court case want to see the BNP suffer at all. Moreover, they certainly do not want to see the thoroughly decent members and activists suffer at the hands of filthy communist scum. Seeing Nick Griffin get his deserved comeuppance is one thing, harming the Party is completely different. Neither Kenny Smith, nor any of the other co-defendants who Griffin and Darby took to court leaked/published the database.

Nick Griffin has clearly landed himself in very hot water by alleging that the publication of the list proves ‘Contempt of Court’. He says that the web host’s legal department has been contacted by the BNP and that the BNP are liaising with their solicitors about how to use this against the six defendants in the ongoing court action.
We would dearly like to see the BNP find out who did this and we would like to see them brought to book. When the real culprit is found we will be expecting a full public apology from Griffin, with damages for the smearing of our names.

In reality, the publication of the membership lists simply shows the contempt in which Griffin holds the BNP membership. By allowing gross inefficiencies in BNP departments (which was the main reason behind the December crisis whereby sickened national officials could not take any more incompetence from two departments and were sacked for speaking out) Griffin is to blame. The fact that up to a dozen (possibly more?) people may have, or have had a full database is bad enough when the database is the BNP’s prize asset. However, the real problem is that Nick Griffin has such a terrible record for falling out with senior BNP officials who criticise him in any way that the list of his enemies is seemingly endless. Because of the way in which Griffin treats those who have given their all for the BNP, he creates a rod for his own back in that some people (in this case misguidedly) may do things which damage the BNP in an attempt to attack Griffin himself.


Further, the rather arrogant way in which the BNP web team and Griffin himself dismiss the membership leak as ‘a publicity bonus’ is truly shocking when you consider that many members and activists with a sensitive job have now been exposed to violent communist bully boys and their backers at Searchlight and UAF. We have already had calls from people who have had such threatening calls and our sympathies go out to them. For Griffin to brush this off, and to wrongly claim that ‘former employees’ were to blame is beneath contempt. Griffin has once again shown just how little he really thinks of the everyday BNP member.

We suggest that the Party Chairman:

1.) Immediately apologises to the six court defendants (who have never been found guilty of anything despite the malicious Griffin/Darby prosecution) and to Kenny Smith in particular.

2.) Actually contacts Dyfed-Powys Police rather than just pretending so, in order to start the ball rolling as to who did actually leak the list.

3.) Actually contacts the web host’s legal department and gets them to shut down the offending websites.

4.) Starts to act in the interests of the members and not operate once more in a zone of self-survival which leads to utter contempt for the feelings of the average BNP member."

Anonymous said...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7736794.stm

The BBC News seems symathetic with Nick Griffin and data protection. Is this to do with the establishment credentials of one Edgar Griffin?

Anonymous said...

Now they know it's genuine, what action will the police take against serving officers who are unlawfully members of the bnp?

They will hopefully be sacked in accordance with their contracts, to rid the police force of these scumbags.

Anonymous said...

Well, as an ex BNP member i can verify the list is in fact older than what they make it out to be. The list is in fact from 2006-2007. The year i was a member and indeed my name is on the list. I didnt renew my membership in 2007 because i am sick of being branded a racist when in fact i am not, i joined the BNP because i believed in some of their views and policies regarding the armed forces and bringing industry back to Britain, views which i believe our main parties brush aside to save money. I turned up at 1 meeting in the year i was a member and i was disgusted at what i seen, Half of the members may as well have been wearing white hoods and gowns. The BNP have a lot of good beneficial policies, unfortunatly there is the racist side too, a side which i didnt want to be associated with. My membership was never renewed. It is my belief that there are a great many members of the BNP that feel the same way as i did. Dont tar everyone with the same brush.

Anonymous said...

"'Thanks to the treachery of the now long-dissipated Searchlight-linked rebel faction, the entire list has not only already been bombarded with lie-filled anti-BNP propaganda, but it has also without doubt been available to the far-left for the best part of a year already.'"

Without knowing much about the background to this the grammatical construction of this sentence is flawed and contradictory. Griffin must be having trouble concentrating these days knowing that there are enemies all around him, perhaps even under the bed. What a clown!

Anonymous said...

Just a thought...wasmnt Sadies Graham's PC stolen by the Griffin goon squad in December last year.

That would have contained the membership list. Hey presto a bit of digging and playing around with screenshots and "proof" can be created that her PC was the source of the leak. Inside job, set up. MMMmmm

Green Gordon said...

Right, because courts have no idea that you can mock things up in photoshop or that if one party seizes another party's computer that may taint it as evidence...

Anonymous said...

I always knew golf was a racist game.

Such a shame when the world's best golfer is black.

Guess he wouldn't be welcome at Headingley Golf Club.

Always wandered what the significance of the burning cross on the long Par 5 tee off, was. Now I know! lol

Hope all anti-racist golfers refuse to play at this scummy little course, and take their business elsewhere.

The only way to respond to the date is through boycott and censure of the racist inviduals who form the active part of the BNP.

Stay7 lawful. Do not take the law into your own hands, however much instutionalised racism sickens you. Violence is wrong, as are threats against individuals.

Instead peacefully boycott the businesses of the people in power on the list, mildly taking the piss whenever necessary.

Oh, and inform authorities when BNP membership is illegal or incompatible, such as police, social workers, child protection and serving army officers.

Anonymous said...

spambots-a-go-go

Anonymous said...

The wacky celebrity UFO investigator from Filey from BritishFlying Saucer.com (initials RK), who has appeared on TV, is a BNP activist, according to the list.

Bet he's a friend of loopy Lee Barnes, lol.

Anonymous said...

A golf club in Oswestry has a golf professional on the list.

Golf is the sport of bigots!

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't (alegedly) bother trying to join the Mile End Golf Club in Oswestry if you're not of a pure white Aryan background.

Anonymous said...

An NVQ Assessor from Hull is an activist.

This is shameful if one can assume that his prejudices might lead him to failing a candidate for the colour of his skin.

Talk about instutionalised racism.

Anonymous said...

Boycott the Slip Inn Morley West Yorkshire

Its a fascist pub with a self-declared neo-nazi landlord

Definately the place to give the slip. There's Weatherspoons not too far away. Drink there instead, folks.

Anonymous said...

"Well, as an ex BNP member i can verify the list is in fact older than what they make it out to be. The list is in fact from 2006-2007. The year i was a member and indeed my name is on the list."

It is not an old list - the reason your name is on it is because they keep a record of all members whos subs have lapsed.

Anonymous said...

They can complain to the welsh police all they like. The list is now downloadable from sites that specialise in making this sort of data freely available to the public. The cat really is out of the bag.

Anonymous said...

Funny how Cyclops says the list proves the bnp membership are not skinhead oiks.

I don't see any reference on the list to anyone's hairstyle or choice of music.

The list proves fuck all, and a small handful of public or professional members proves nothing.

Anonymous said...

"According to the Sun

"Earlier the BNP said it was an old and out-of-date list.

However bosses later admitted it was “essentially genuine”."

Eh?"

I think what they mean is, the list is genuinely from the BNP (and not made up) but that it is an old list so could (and obviously does) contain people who are no longer members. Part of Griffin's ridiculous attempt to portray the party as having far more members than it actually does.

Anonymous said...

Love the notes for BNP member no 2214, -

Mental health worker - poss help with lee barnes?

LOL!!!

Anonymous said...

BNP activist and Paranormal investigator Russ Kellett in an interview to the press (describing his first encounter with demigod Nicholas Gri££in esq.):

"Welcome to my web-site ,my name is Russ Kellett. I have been a UFO investigator since my close encounters back in 1988 up to 1990 where I came face to face with strange humanoid figures what I have come to know as silhouette people or shadow people. This was the reason for my search for the truth in this subject, That is paranormal"......

Most people merely puke when they meet the lying, thieving bastard Gri££in for the first time, not revere the mab.

For paranornal read subnormal, lol

http://www.flyingsaucerhunters.com/

Anonymous said...

Nick Griffin's brain has been abducted by aliens long since, which is why he believes the liberal-left wing-bbc conspiracy theory guff.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps there should be a nationwide, co-ordinated campaign to gain assurances from the Data Protection Officer of the BNP that our names are not on the current BNP member list, or the published member list that has had some non-member names entered onto it for malicious reasons. I mean. What if my name is on that list? How do I know? The only way to know is to contact the BNP Data Protection Officer, I believe this is Tony Brewer, but I could be wrong.

All we need is a standard postcard with a space to fill in your name (not a fake name, of course) and
if somebody could set up a PO Box maybe to which all Data Protection enquiries to the BNP on this issue should be replied to by the BNP, I'm sure that they will not mind spending the critical administration time taken to ensure that your name is not on the list, and reply to a PO Box address in order that your real address may be protected.

Anonymous said...

The name "Lee Barnes" is an alias for a man from Filey.

Anonymous said...

"He then goes off at a tangent, reminding us that there is still another stage of his Manchester court case against the rebels to go through - carefully avoiding mentioning that it will never happen because both he and his party are close to skid row. Even so, he attempts to justify this year's expulsion of the December rebels by saying; 'There, see what they did. Wasn't I right to kick them out then take them to court?'"

Griffin did it.

Green Gordon said...

http://lolgriffin.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

This is brilliant but guys, please ignore Griffin's story about UKIP members joining the BNP. I am a UKIP member and the BNP make me feel physically sick in their aims - UKIPers would overwhelmingly join up with the Tories if anything.

John P said...

Why isn't John Walkers name on the list?

Anonymous said...

That's for me to know and you to find out!

Anonymous said...

What a brilliant 24hours for Lancaster Unity, just about this time last year we had the marathon from the rebels which kept us all entertained for quite some time.

But this really is a super duper early Christmas prezzie.

Lots of night time reading, wont need the sleeping pills anymore.

great thanks

tulip

John P said...

My mistake, John Walker is on the list

Anonymous said...

I think I've found my favourite comment on it so far:

Will not be renewing 07 ("Jehova God only real hope for mankind") Company director

Anonymous said...

"I wouldn't (alegedly) bother trying to join the Mile End Golf Club in Oswestry if you're not of a pure white Aryan background."

Thank the good lord that us Welsh arn't aryan !

Old Sailor

Anonymous said...

canot help feeling that the December Rebels have nothing to gain - and lots to lose - from leaking.

and who gains from leaking? well, who's been getting loads of publicity over the past day or so. his initials are NG.

and who suffers? the poor footsoldiers of the membership ... as usual.

Anonymous said...

Looking on the bright side, at least any non-members on the list have been offered a letter from the BNP stating that they are not members of the BNP.

Previously the only people to have this privilege were ones facing charges of murder, possession of explosives, incitement to racial hatred or any other criminal charge.

No doubt, before too long, someone will be kind enough to publish the list of the people issued with these letters.