The British National Party's new membership rules are likely to discriminate against non-white people, a judge has ruled
The BNP voted to scrap its whites-only policy after a legal threat from the Equality and Human Rights Commission. A judge at Central London County Court has ruled the party's new constitution is still indirectly discriminatory. BNP leader Nick Griffin said the ruling was "appalling" but he had now made the changes demanded by the court.
Judge Paul Collins ordered the BNP to pay costs and said its membership list must remain "closed" until it complied with race relations laws. Delivering his ruling, he said: "I hold that the BNP are likely to commit unlawful acts of discrimination within section 1b Race Relations Act 1976 in the terms on which they are prepared to admit persons to membership under the 12th addition of their constitution."
BNP leader Nick Griffin said the party thought it had made the changes needed to comply with forthcoming equality legislation and was "amazed" by the ruling. He told the BBC News Channel: "I think it's appalling. The court have opened a huge can of worms here, they have given a government funded, a taxpayer-funded body the right to interfere with the aims and objectives of political parties.
"That's not just an attack on us. It's an attack potentially on any political party. It's a bad day for democracy from that point of view."
But he said the party had complied with the ruling and was now "open for business".
A spokeswoman for the Equality and Human Rights Commission said it "had to take this action" and was "not concerned with the political outflow" of the ruling. She added: "As long as they comply with the court order then that is fine but obviously we are going to be looking carefully at the new constitution when it is issued if we still think it is racist in any kind of way, we will either be bringing this matter back to the court, under contempt of court proceedings or we will be issuing new proceedings."
The constitution rejected by the court asked members to sign up to the BNP's principles, including a duty to oppose the promotion of any form of "integration or assimilation" that impacted on the "indigenous British", and a requirement to support the "maintenance and existence of the unity and integrity of the indigenous British".
It also stated that members have to agree to two party officials - one male and one female - visiting their home for up to two hours. A lawyer acting for the Equality and Human Rights Commission said this could be used to enable potential members to be intimidated, although there was no evidence it had been used in that way.
Mr Griffin said this was an "entirely normal" procedure to prevent the infiltration of people who wanted to sabotage the party and "find out what sort of people wanted to join the BNP". But he said it would now be scrapped to comply with the ruling, adding: "You don't have to agree to a home visit in order to be a member of the BNP."
He claimed there were 7,000 people on its membership waiting list, including a "handful" of people "from each of the main ethnic groups in Britain" including Sikhs, West Indians and "two Chinese ladies".
"We certainly won't put them to the front of the queue, that's for the Labour Party to put ethnic minorities to the front of the queue, we won't do that, but we will treat them fairly," he said.
Speaking earlier, he said if the party was forced to pay £60,000 in costs, it would have "some effect" on the general election campaign "but not a huge amount".
BBC
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30 comments:
60000 pound costs for that cock up. A 2 year old could tell that new constitutuion would not be passed.
The poor members will be getting hassled tommorrow to cough up even more money. Grifin should pay all the expenses himself out of his huge earnings, but he wont.
The begging letters will be flying out of Welshpool tonight!
I'n confused. According to Nick Griffin's latest begging letter, new members are welcome now
http://mybnp.co.uk/newsletter/joinmarch1.html
I've changed the article to the one from the BBC, which appears less confusing.
The begging letter (and isn't it shit) appears to contradict everyone else. For instance, the Indie says 'BNP membership list closed'. Very odd.
Mind you, Porky is probably lying.
the membership is open you sad bastards!!!! the constitution is a piece a paper and we don't give a damn what it says. However it will make it slightly, but no doubt not wholly, more difficult for your media friends to call us racists.
Own goal?
"the constitution is a piece a paper and we don't give a damn what it says"
A rare piece of honestly from the BNP there.
"The poor members will be getting hassled tommorrow to cough up even more money."
Poor members? Fuck 'em! If you join up with these cranks and weirdos you deserve to be fleeced.
"the membership is open you sad bastards!!!! the constitution is a piece a paper and we don't give a damn what it says. However it will make it slightly, but no doubt not wholly, more difficult for your media friends to call us racists".
Why are you allowing the nro-nazi trolls through, Ketlan?
Just saw an angry-looking Nick Griffin pretending not to be enraged on the BBC Six News.
Also saw an Islamophobia piece of news about supposed extremist Muslim gangs who the BBC are claiming are "running jails" but no mention of the racism that causes Asian young inmates to stick together for safety, not the growing number of White Supremacist Gangs which are growing in numbers in jails in equal numbers.
The prison system needs to stop all gangs full stop! Which it is not.
I wish the BBC would tell both sides of the story, but they seem to be bending over backwards to appeal to BNP and EDL views these days, which is so fuckin' sad.
'Why are you allowing the nro-nazi trolls through, Ketlan?'
I'd have thought that was pretty obvious - for the phrase 'the constitution is a piece a paper and we don't give a damn what it says', which says pretty much all that needs to be said about this change to the constitution and whether the BNP is still racist.
Is the membership opened or closed? If it's still closed Griffin is in contempt of court.
"It's a bad day for democracy"
But it presumably wasn't undemocratic to have a party solely for whites? Nick Griffin really is a c**t.
Ahhh ! More excellent advice from Lee Barnes, the Head of the Legal Department of the Bitish Nonces Party !
Old Sailor
"Why are you allowing the nro-nazi trolls through, Ketlan?"
FFS Its Lancaster Unity, they do a great job and they know what their doing. Work it out for your self.
This is good news but why all the fuss about whether or not the BNP's membership criteria are discriminatory against non-Whites when their actual policy platform itself is clearly discriminatory against non-Whites?
I assume this obvious point will be pressed in the fullness of time and the BNP as we know it closed for business for good?
Interviewing Cyclops allowing him to defend the whites-only policy with lies and bullshit that many uneducated people fall for, and telling a one-sided tale about extreme Islamic gangs in jail, the BBC are doing their best for the BBC.
Edgar Griffin's influence lives on, or what?
"Interviewing Cyclops allowing him to defend the whites-only policy with lies and bullshit that many uneducated people fall for, and telling a one-sided tale about extreme Islamic gangs in jail, the BBC are doing their best for the BBC."
I assume you meant "...the BBC are doing their best for the BNP." If so, you're absolutely right.
Report from the Evening Standard
"Griffin reopens BNP recruitment
British National Party leader Nick Griffin declared applications to join were being processed again despite a court order banning recruitment of new members.
In a landmark ruling, Judge Paul Collins issued an injunction against the far-right group stating its constitution was illegal and ordering it to comply with equality laws.
He said the party's membership rules meant it was "likely to commit unlawful acts".
But Mr Griffin claimed he had now amended the constitution to comply with the law and membership had therefore reopened.
The 17-page judgment, delivered at the Central London County Court, found the BNP's clause that any members must agree to preserve the integrity of an "indigenous British" society was illegal and should be withdrawn.
It ordered the removal of the pledge to oppose immigration into the UK and maintain Britons as the "overwhelming majority" racial group. As part of the injunction, the BNP will also have to abandon its "intimidatory" policy of sending officials to the homes of prospective new members.
Mr Griffin claimed he had used his authority to alter the wording of the constitution to remove the obligation on applicants to adhere to the principles of the party. He said: "Section 4, which deals with the requirements for membership and includes the demand that members support all the principles of the party, is not protected.
"I have, therefore, with immediate effect changed the section 4 requirements, as I am entitled to do, to comply with the court order. What this means is that people can apply to join the BNP without having to endorse and support the principles of the party." He said the amended version would be published online within 30 days.
"Membership applications are therefore now open and the 7,000-strong backlog will be processed in the order in which they applied," Mr Griffin added.
A spokesman for the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which brought the case against the BNP, said: "We will be monitoring the situation. They need to ensure they comply with the terms of the court order fully otherwise they will be in contempt."
7,000 my arse!
My neighbour has just told me the lines have gone mad.
So the BNP is STILL a vile, racist party, same as usual then? Nothing changes.
I see Lee Barnes is keeping very, very quiet about this. Though he'd probably claim it as a victory for the BNP in some way.
"Red pill.
Red pill.
Red pill."
That seems to be about all he can say about anything nowdays.
"My neighbour has just told me the lines have gone mad."
What does that mean? For lines, do we read (BNP) troops?
Contempt of court anyone?
£60,000? That's around 2,000 membership fees down the plughole. Isn't it great how Griffin just shrugs it off. It must REALLY piss the suc - members off!
"The British National Party's new membership rules are likely to discriminate against non-white people, a judge has ruled"
Isn't that an oxymoron?
GY said...
"My neighbour has just told me the lines have gone mad."
What does that mean? For lines, do we read (BNP) troops?
I have nothing to do with the BNP I can assure you of that.
My neighbour lives next door to a women who mans the BNP phonelines (phones people who are lapsed etc;) He told me earlier. Just thought you might be interested given whats happened. Not been on this sight before today.
'My neighbour lives next door to a women who mans the BNP phonelines (phones people who are lapsed etc;) He told me earlier.'
Ahh, that makes it clearer. I must admit I thought you meant lines as in troops.
'Just thought you might be interested given whats happened.'
Definitely. Thanks for the info. :-)
Please someone tell me whats happening. the bnp site says join now ehhh
If the BNP are still legally banned from accepting new members then Gri££in has just admitted breaking a court order on Radio 4's Today programme this morning (should be available on iPlayer). He claimed to have signed up 500 new members last night.
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