Nothing British urges Charity Commission to take action
The Charity Commission has been urged to take action against a voluntary organisation that has been accused of being a front for the British National Party.
Soldiers off the Street was set up last year by the BNP's former Welsh secretary Bill Murray to help homeless former service personnel. Nothing British, an anti-extremist group set up by Conservative supporters, claims the group is one of a growing number of forces groups being established or supported by the BNP as a way of gaining popularity.
Maurice Cousins, a researcher at Nothing British, said: "Soldiers off the Street presents itself as a legitimate organisation but doesn't tell people about its BNP links."
Cousins' complaints to the commission have been rejected because Soldiers off the Street is not a registered charity. But it describes itself as a 'charitable organisation' on its Facebook page, which has more than 4,300 friends. "Unless the commission clamps down, it undermines the work of reputable groups," said Cousins.
Murray said his organisation would apply to become a charity when it reached the £5,000 registration threshold. He said he had never denied his BNP past but now had no political affiliations. "We just genuinely want to help," he said.
A commission spokeswoman said it was reasonable for organisations with incomes of less than £5,000 to say they were charitable provided they did not say they were registered charities. She said people with political affiliations could establish charities provided the organisations did not have political purposes. The commission would treat Soldiers off the Street's application "in line with the registration criteria", she said.
Third Sector
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8 comments:
SOTS is ran from a premises in Wrexham - 21 Chester Road - which is owned by the mother of Ennys Hughes, a BNP parish councillor on the Plas Madoc estate in Wrexham. Paper address me thinks. Ennys Hughes was no 1 on the list for the BNP in Wales in the european elections & is likely to be PPC for Clwyd South in the generals. She is also the wife of fellow BNP parish councillor Malcolm Hughes, who was last seen 'spotting reds' at the Wrexham Communities Against Racism festival when the EDL came to town.
A few of us in the town have been paying close attention to this - had a couple of pieces placed with the local rag and one with the Independent, but the journo for the Indie did a proper lame job. Couple of pieces here that might be of interest:
http://wrexhamarf.blogspot.com/2009/10/bnp-bill-is-kosher.html
http://wrexhamarf.blogspot.com/2009/11/griffin-contradicts-murray-over-ex.html
Bill Murray claims he is no longer a BNP member but there has never been an official announcement that he is no longer joint BNP welsh secretary, indeed he has been listed as a BNP official on their own website since. It is difficult to know if he is still politically active because the BNP seem to be lying low in Wrexham at the moment, although I'm sure that will change in the run up to the elections. Bill Murray lives up Colwyn Bay I think.
This is worth getting on to - Murray has claimed that SOTS have already helped homeless ex-services and claimed they had ten trained counselors ready to get on the streets to assist them. Nonsense. As a 'charitable organisation' they have been completely inactive, save for a truly lame website and forum. Suspect the BNP need to pay for a new minibus or something. It does, however, illustrate the BNP's agenda of exploiting the forces and the current string pro-forces sentiment for political gain.
As a side note, have noticed the EDL pushing SOTS as a worthy cause a couple of times.
Bill Murray, resigned from the bnp a few weeks ago due to extreme fraud by griffin and darby.
Four members of the griffin family are drawing wages from the bnp. Its disgusting but this is just the tip of the iceburg
Soldiers Of The Street is also promoted by the neo-Nazi street-fighting EDL with a link on their website!
There's another BNP campaign called Soldiers Out Of Mummy's Spare Bedroom And Into Prison. They've already had one success with Terrance Gavan. This proves their caring side is genuine.
Anonymous said...
Bill Murray, resigned from the bnp a few weeks ago due to extreme fraud by griffin and darby.
Four members of the griffin family are drawing wages from the bnp. Its disgusting but this is just the tip of the iceburg
11:52 PM, January 19, 2010
Oh yes thats right, in fact you said it in front of a load of Wrexham members before you resigned you cunt.Are you still living at 18 Highbury Avenue, Prestatyn, according to leaked list?. You are despised by Wrexham BNP god only knows why Ennys Hughes entertains your fake charity.
The self-proclaimed angel of the forces JoJo Cleary has a new facebook group... and oh look at that, its for Soldiers Off The Streets...
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=258267199351
Soldiers off the street claim they have been stopped in Northampton by the local police, from feeding homeless people.
this charity is a sham, they claim to help ex serving soldiers and yet to gain support they are feeding anyone they can find, and saying we helped another brave hero tonight.
what a load of Bullshit
one of the reasons SOTS have been stop is because of the links to the BNP. but Bill Murrey will not tell Facebookers that part of story. for fear of backlash
also there have been calls from SOTS facebook members for the them to go to the press about the police
Murrey avoids this one like a dose of flu, because this will ruin his fake charity,
for a main player with the BNP for 30 years, why would you give it all up to start a charity for ex service personnel,it doesn't make sense at all, Murray has no military back ground all though he made claims the he was a mercenary back in the day, well Mr Murray no agency in this field would consider you services without any previous military service. you are a walt in every description. your charity is front for the BNP without a shadow of a doubt in my mind, to threaten ex members of SOTS with verbal attacks and violence who have left you group.is unacceptable. and the quicker you are brought to justice the better,your the scum of the earth along with you wife and all that SOTS stand for.
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