BNP members 'hold Nazi principles'

As the BNP launches its London election campaign, a former party activist tells Channel 4 News some of the party's members have Nazi-esque tendencies.

The BNP faced protest this week as it launched its electoral campaign at the Home Office's main immigration centre in Croydon, in south London. The BNP activists stood their ground despite the anti-fascist demonstration, and delivered their message.

Councillor Bob Bailey, the London campaign manager for the BNP, said: "Immigration is the second biggest issues facing the politicians and government of this country. We are here to day to break the silence."

This is a crucial time for a party trying to capitalise on winning two seats in last year's European elections. But allegations of inner-party feuding have threatened to hit the party in areas such as Stoke on Trent and Barking which is seen as central to the BNP's campaign. The working class majority in Stoke on Trent are disillusioned by the old political order - in the mid 90s all 60 councillors here were Labour, now they number just 14.

Which is why it mattered when Alby Walker - former group leaded for BNP councillors in Stoke on Trent - resigned four months ago. He is now standing as an independent in this election.

"There's a vein of Holocaust denying within the BNP," Mr Walker told Channel 4 News. "There are people with Nazi-esque tendencies that do support Nazi principles."

Mr Walker said that he was aware of the controversy sounding the party when he joined but said he was "assured from the highest level by Nick Griffin and Simon Darby, the deputy leader… that the BNP was taking a new direction and people like that wouldn't be tolerated."

"But after being there for seven years I noticed that the same people were still there or hanging round in the background.

A BNP official has described Alby Walker as a disillusioned individual who's struck out for himself. But in London in recent weeks another BNP councillor has split from the party after a dispute with a fellow activist.

"It is the same old racist, right-wing party," former BNP councillor for Havering, Mark Logan, told Channel 4 News. "I'm not going to be used as a political vehicle to make Nick Griffin rich and famous."

Nick Griffin is hoping to gain a seat in Barking in east London, where the party polled 17 per cent at the last election. If they do not win a seat at Westminster, it is not inconceivable they could take control of the council in Barking, as its proclamations on immigration strike a chord with many in the area. The party is quick to reject any claims of Holocaust denial and racism, and has little time for talk of inner-party turmoil.

"Out house is very much in order," Cllr Bob Bailey told Channel 4 News. "The party's funding is increasing year by year. The membership is increasing year by year. The amount of people we put forward at every level at elections is increasing year by year. The mainstream parties are adopting out policies now. We are shaping the political conversation of Britain now."

The BNP is due to publish its manifesto next week.

Channel 4