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that any members must agree to preserve the integrity of an "indigenous British" society was illegal and should be withdrawn.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."
PA
March 13, 2010
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7 comments:
Cyclops does what he pleases, the arrogant cock!
Can he legally do this? It does kinda seem as though Griffin is slapping the Judge in the face with a wet kipper.
tulip
OH SHIT!!!!
British National Party to stand PPC in Lancaster and Fleetwood.
http://cumbrianpatriotbnp.blogspot.com/
'OH SHIT!!!!'
There's no 'oh shit' about it. If the BNP rears its ugly head in Lancaster, we'll deal with it as usual.
"The BNP will have to inform its members of any changes by Monday, and then meet the order to the court’s satisfaction before it can accept new members.
Mr Griffin said that he would not appeal against the ruling, a decision that may prove unpopular with the hard core of his party.
The commission said that it doubted whether Mr Griffin had the power to make such changes without consulting BNP members. It indicated that it would take the party back to court if it did not remove the offending clauses in the constitution.
An injunction was placed on the far-right party preventing it from accepting new members until it complied with race relations laws. The BNP is also likely to be financially crippled after Judge Paul Collins ordered costs against it."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article7059840.ece
the party voted to give nick griffin the power to change the constitution as he saw fit during the court case ,to avoid having to keep calling an EGM every time, so it is legal
"the party voted to give nick griffin the power to change the constitution as he saw fit during the court case ,to avoid having to keep calling an EGM every time, so it is legal"
Can you believe how stupid the average BNP member is?
His hero did the same thing about 77 years ago, it was called the Enabling Act.
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