BBC: Radio 1 not tough enough on BNP

Editorial complaints unit says Newsbeat should have strongly challenged claims that Ashley Cole was not 'ethnically British'

The BBC has admitted it. Radio 1 was not tough enough when it interviewed two senior British National Party members who said footballer Ashley Cole was "not ethnically British".

The BBC's editorial complaints unit has ruled that the programme should not have allowed the pair to appear anonymously, and should have more strongly challenged their concept of British ethnicity. The interview, broadcast on the station's Newsbeat programme last year, introduced the men as "two young guys who are members of the BNP", when in fact they were Mark Collett, the party's publicity director, and Joseph Barber, in charge of the BNP record label, Great White Records.

During the two-minute interview, conducted by Newsbeat reporter Debbie Randle, Collett and Barber said that Cole, married to singer and The X Factor judge Cheryl Cole, was not "ethnically British", and spoke of him "coming to this country", even though he was born in London.

The Welsh secretary, Peter Hain, and others criticised the station for not identifying the pair and for not challenging their assertions in the interview that aired in the lead-up to BNP leader Nick Griffin's appearance on BBC1's Question Time.

Last October, the Newsbeat editor, Rod McKenzie, defended the interview on his BBC blog after the BBC received "thousands" of texts, a "great many" of which were in support of the BNP. The complaints unit in its ruling published yesterday said two listeners had complained that the programme introduced the BNP members as "young guys who are members of the BNP" when they had important roles in the party.

"At the time of the interview, one of the interviewees was the BNP's publicity director and the other ran the record label which promotes and sells BNP CDs. Information about their status was relevant to listeners' understanding of their contributions, and should have been included," the unit said.

The complaints unit said that the interview was not confrontational and did include some challenges of the pair.

"However, the concept of British ethnicity, introduced by the interviewees in connection with the example of a black British-born footballer, was not tested in the way its controversial character called for," it added.

"The Newsbeat team were reminded of the need to ensure that listeners have enough information to assess the status and credentials of interviewees. The editor of Newsbeat also discussed with the team the need for rigorous challenge within interviews of this kind."

Guardian

Racism will remain at root of BNP

The somewhat bizarre decision by the British National Party to change its whites-only membership rules to comply with equality law strikes us as being driven purely by financial necessity.

The BNP is not, if readers will pardon the pun, changing its colours. It simply cannot afford to fight the court proceedings being brought against it by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The BNP’s leader Nick Griffin has now pledged to revise its constitution so its rules on membership no longer discriminate on the grounds of race and religion. We have no doubt the change will happen. Mr Griffin and his cohorts have no choice. But it is mere window dressing. The BNP is a far-right party with policies that drip with the venom of racism and discrimination. It will remain so no matter what its constitution might say.

Mr Griffin, now an elected MEP, continues to attempt to coat his party with the veneer of respectability. Thankfully the majority of British voters continue to see through the disguise and recognise the fascism that lurks beneath it. This is a party, let us not forget, that believes people like the England footballer Ashley Cole, born and bred in this country, are not British because of the colour of their skin.

There is a simple way to test the BNP’s apparent new commitment to equality. A great many black Britons should apply to join the party. Racism may no longer be written into the BNP’s membership rules but it will remain at the root of every one of its actions and policies.

Halesowen News

The BNP may have been elected to Europe but on football they founder

The BNP does not accept black members even if they are wearing
an England shirt like Ashley Cole, right, seen here with David Beckham

Although it is too late to drive the British National Party out of politics, or to turn the clock back to a time when a pair of posturing fascists had not been elected to the European Parliament, we may, however, kick some sense into the debate using football.

Your starter for ten: what do Glenn Johnson, Joleon Lescott, Ashley Cole, Theo Walcott, Jermain Defoe and Ashley Young have in common? Correct, they were all part of the England team who beat Andorra 6-0 on Wednesday night; but what else? Give up? None of them can be members of the British National Party. Nor could Rio Ferdinand, David James and Emile Heskey, who all would have played had they not been injured, or Shaun Wright-Phillips and Carlton Cole, who were in the squad but not selected.

Indeed, it could work out that when the England squad depart for the World Cup in South Africa next summer, half the plane will be filled with Englishmen who would not be welcome within the ranks of a political party that claims to speak for us all.

The BNP does not accept black members, even if they were born in England, even if they are wearing an England shirt and scoring the winning goal in a World Cup final.

Nick Griffin, the BNP leader, is enraged by the presence of a black Friar Tuck in the BBC TV series Robin Hood, because he claims this is not historically accurate. Yet what could be more quintessentially English than a black international footballer, of which there have been 58, or a black Olympian, or black Englishmen in the cricket team? Without them, there would be no Ravi Bopara, Dimitri Mascarenhas or Adil Rashid in our cricket team, nor Christine Ohuruogu winning Olympic gold.

These people can play for England, run for Britain, bring distinction and glory to our country; but cannot gain entry into the BNP. The same goes for Shirley Bassey and most of Diversity, the dance troupe that won Britain's Got Talent.

I'm not saying that any of these people would want BNP membership; more that there are better and more civilised ways to dismantle the logic of these preposterous racists than hurling eggs and turning Griffin's jacket into an omelette preparation each time he stands to speak.

One of the most patriotic sportsmen I have met is Ian Wright (whose adopted son is Shaun Wright-Phillips), who scored nine goals in 33 games for England. In retirement, as a television analyst, he was worthless because he could not separate his professional persona from his fan-like desire to see England win. If the team played badly, while others in the studio would dispassionately rip the performance to shreds on tactical and technical issues, Wright would sit there with the raving hump, sulking his way through the broadcast like a miffed supporter resenting the price of his ticket.

And the BNP would wish to play patriot games with this guy? Or with a young man like Walcott, who is risking the wrath of his club employers at Arsenal because he is determined to represent his country at senior level and at an Under-21 competition this summer, rather than taking time off?

The squad members from England's World Cup victory in 1966 received belated medals on the pitch at Wembley on Wednesday night, and there was not a black face among them. Yet there were seven black players in the squad Sven Goran Eriksson took to the World Cup in 2006. Are they somehow less English?

All that needs to be known about the values of the BNP is that they do not permit blacks, but raise money through their website with the sale of gollywog souvenirs. It is a warped view of England and Englishness that permeates their culture and finds no room for the way the country has evolved.

If you intend putting a flag out for the football team next year, or are keeping your fingers crossed for an Ashes win this summer, or a British and Irish Lions victory in South Africa, you are casting a vote for a country more inclusive than Griffin's little band of inbreeds.

Daily Mail

Is racism rife in European football, and what is being done to stop it?

Why are we asking this now?

Racism has long been an issue in football, that most tribal of sports; but in recent weeks, the game in Europe has faced a series of incidents that have reminded British supporters of the Continent's problems and may have brought matters to a head.

First, Croatia fans made monkey noises at Emile Heskey during England's World Cup qualifying fixture in Zagreb, and were fined £15,000 by Fifa, the game's global governing body. Next, England asked for their forthcoming friendly against Spain to be rearranged away from Madrid's Bernabeu stadium, where black England players suffered similar abuse in a fixture four years ago. And yesterday Uefa decided that Atlético Madrid would be forced to play their next two home matches at a neutral venue and fined €150,000 (£120,000) after supporters abused black Marseille players a fortnight ago.

Where does racism most affect the game in Europe?

Spain and Italy have long had reputations as being particularly poor at policing racist supporters, and in both leagues black players are abused for the colour of their skin as a matter of course. In Spain, leadership from politicians and senior figures in the game has been seriously lacking. After national team coach Luis Aragones called Thierry Henry a "black piece of shit", condemnation from politicians didn't exactly pour out, and it was no great surprise supporters unfurled a banner which read "Aragones 1 – Henry 0" at the same game against England in 2004 at which Shaun Wright-Phillips and Ashley Cole were constantly barracked.

Italian fans are known for the same kind of behaviour. Some Italian clubs' supporters are also subject to a troubling neo-fascist influence, with Lazio, the club that Mussolini supported, particularly notorious in that regard. Meanwhile, away fixtures against Eastern European teams are often an endurance test for black players.

Why are fans so susceptible to racist influences?

In the aforementioned countries, it's partly to do with wider demography: countries with smaller ethnic minority populations are almost always more hostile towards them. But some believe that football's insular culture is especially prone to such problems.

"The [football] hard-man lives in a dangerous and unchanging world," wrote sociologist Dave Robins in 1994. "Permanently sensitised to 'trouble' in his environment, his paranoid fantasies about defending his 'patch' against outsiders make him ripe for manipulation by the politics of the extreme right."

Do the same problems apply in the UK?

To some extent, racism can still be found in British stadiums. Just a few weeks ago, Tottenham supporters chanted racist, homophobic abuse at their former captain Sol Campbell in a game against his current club, Portsmouth. Compared to much of Europe, though, such incidents are few and far between. "When you go to a football match in the UK, you don't expect to be abused for the colour of your skin," says Piara Powar, director of the anti-racism campaign Kick It Out. "In Spain, Italy, some parts of Eastern Europe, you would expect it."

Why are things better here?

Partly as part of a broader cultural difference. "There's a wide appreciation of multiculturalism here," Powar says, "even if there's been a backlash against it in the last few years." Black players became a fixture in British football much earlier than in Spain or Italy, and so British football went through its own racist phase earlier – in the 70s and 80s supporters thought nothing of throwing bananas at players like Cyrille Regis and John Barnes – but, as a result, they dealt with them earlier, too.

What do we do differently?

Campaigns like Kick It Out started earlier here than they did in many other European countries, and clubs founded their own anti-racist initiatives which have become part of the furniture of the game in this country. This week, for instance, Kick it Out starts a "One game, one community" campaign aimed at encouraging inclusivity in the game at all levels.

Anecdotally, most supporters say that such efforts have coincided with a major reduction in racism in the game. As early as 1994, a survey found that 84 per cent of football fanzine editors felt that racism had diminished significantly in the previous five years; and, while homophobia is still rife, serious racist incidents are now very rarely a feature of the clashes between Premier League teams. Most British players and supporters are much more likely to encounter trouble in international fixtures or club games in European competitions.

What is Fifa doing about it?

Football's authorities have long talked a good game on anti-racism. Before the 2006 World Cup, Fifa president Sepp Blatter declared that "more than the sword of Damocles" was hanging over national associations that failed to take adequate steps to prevent racism. "This," he went on, "is the end of non-compliance with what our society is asking football to do." Since then, though, the organisation's actions have been far from the firm deterrents that such a speech would suggest. The decision to fine Croatia a mere £15,000 in the light of the clear evidence of abuse against Emile Heskey has drawn particular derision.

"Croatia were fined a few thousand quid," Rio Ferdinand said afterwards. "What's that going to do? That is not going to stop people shouting racist or homophobic abuse. Sepp Blatter likes to speak up about things that are good for Fifa's image but I would love to see them stand up and dish out the right punishments for these incidents."

What would the right punishment be?

It's widely agreed that a points deduction would be a far more powerful disincentive for abusive supporters, who might then see their teams lose out in competition. But many say that it has no chance of getting off the ground because of the minefield of potential legal challenges to such a decision. If that fear – and the inertia of member nations where racism is not high on the agenda – stops Fifa taking stronger action, it's hard to see how the organisation's actions can have much impact on racist behaviour.

Is anyone else doing more?

Uefa, which has responsibility for the club game in Europe, has taken a more convincing anti-racism stance. Its decision to hit Atlético Madrid with a much heftier fine and to deny them home advantage for two fixtures is seen as much more likely to hurt supporters and club revenue – and therefore to motivate real change. There is a caveat to this: while the fine was levied because of racism, the home ban also took into account an attack on the opposition bus after the game, and no such punishment has been levied on purely anti-racist grounds. Still, says Piara Powar, "this is a momentous step. It shows Uefa's prepared to show leadership on the issue. And football is a very familial industry. If the daddy shows a lead, the national associations will follow."

Should clubs with racist supporters get points deducted?

Yes...

• Supporters don't regret a financial penalty in the way they do if their team suffers in competition If a victim's play is affected, it makes sense to deny the other team any advantage it might have gained
• A points deduction makes headlines and send a wider message that such behaviour will not be tolerated

No...

• Docking points is much more likely to produce an expensive, time-consuming legal challenge
• You could end up encouraging away fans to sneak into the home end and behave in a racist fashion on purpose
• It's wrong to punish the club, players and law-abiding supporters so severely for the actions of a few

Independent