Police set to object to BNP festival plan

Griffin cooking some rancid crap at last year's Red, White and Blue

Controversial plans to stage a British National Party festival on land between Codnor and Denby for a third year have been cast into fresh doubt.

Supt Howard Veigas, from Derbyshire Police, has written to party member Alan Warner, who hosts the event on his land off Codnor Denby Lane, confirming the force will object to an alcohol and live music licence for the festival this year. The Red, White and Blue event went ahead without a licence last year with BNP members encouraged to bring their own alcohol, but Mr Warner admits he is still unsure whether he will host it again in August this year.

He said: "I'm not sure where the festival will be this year. Here or somewhere else – I don't know. If the council is minded to approve a licence for music and alcohol then the police have said the whole site will need to be fenced off and we just can't afford to put a fence up around 30 acres of land. It is strange that the police have objected to our festival and not the Rock and Blues. We had no trouble on our site last year."

Mr Warner also pointed an accusing finger at Derbyshire Police over their handling of last year's event where people protesting against the party marched through Codnor and Loscoe and 33 arrests were made.

He said: "The police more or less manufactured the problems by allowing people to get off the buses. They should have turned those buses back. It is the lefties and the Communists causing the problems, not members of the BNP. You only have to look at what happened in London recently, if there is anything to object to they are there – if you want to build an airport, take some coal out of the ground or widen a motorway, there they are."

Police have said they would oppose this year's festival on the grounds of public safety, crime and disorder, public nuisance and protection of children.

A spokesman for the force said: "We have written to Mr Warner saying that if he was to apply for a licence to sell alcohol and have live entertainment we would object to that. He could still go ahead with the festival but would not be allowed to sell alcohol or have live music. We have to facilitate lawful protest which was done in the majority last year apart from the documented problems we had and the arrests that were made."

Ripley and Heanor News

Derbyshire police will object if BNP festival comes to county again

Griffin speaking at last year's RWB, while Alan Warner nods off beside him

A senior police officer has told the BNP he fears more violence if the party tries to hold its annual festival in the county this summer.

Alan Warner wants to hold the Red, White and Blue festival in fields next to his home in Codnor-Denby Lane, Denby, for the third successive year. But Superintendent Howard Veigas, who policed the event last year, has pre-empted any official announcement by writing to Mr Warner with his concerns.

He said the police would object if the party applied to Amber Valley Borough Council for a licence to sell alcohol and play live music at the event.The comments came after the force spent £250,000 policing last year's event with about 400 officers. Anti-BNP protesters clashed with police outside the festival site, leading to 33 arrests.

The letter to Mr Warner said: "In the view of the Derbyshire Constabulary, the site at Codnor-Denby Lane is not a suitable venue for an event which generates such strong emotions and objections. We would oppose it on the grounds of risk to public safety, prevention of crime and disorder, prevention of public nuisance and protection of children from harm.

"The protests last year led to a high number of arrests following various incidents of disorder which took place around the site. The open nature of the site means that it is impossible for the festival to be protected against any determined and violent opponent without a large police presence."

Last year, the BNP withdrew its application to sell alcohol and play live music on the land after the police objected but the event itself went ahead. Mr Warner said the same could happen this year. He said he could not understand the views in the letter as last year's problems had been caused by anti-BNP activists. He said: "We didn't have any trouble on our site last year. If the BNP were to apply but not get the licences I would imagine we would still hold an event."

One festival organiser, Wendy Russell, said that, if the festival took place in Derbyshire, it would be held on or around August 13, 14 and 15. She said: "We are having a committee meeting about it within the next couple of weeks. It will definitely go ahead somewhere, as it's the 10th one, so we've got to pull out all the stops. There's always other options but we like Mr Warner's land and the local area."

One local resident, Brian Bentley, 77, of Codnor-Denby Lane, said he was delighted the police were planning to object.

"If the paperwork comes in I will be objecting, as I did the year before, on the basis of noise," he said.

A police spokeswoman said the concerns raised with Mr Warner were "based on intelligence we have received and the risk that was caused by last year's violence in the area surrounding the festival".

"We are in regular contact with Mr Warner to discuss his plans," she added.

Police only have powers to object to a music and alcohol licence being granted; they cannot object to the festival itself as it is being held on private land

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