Hotelier admits 13 hygiene offences

The hotelier who hosted BNP conferences in Blackpool has been handed a suspended prison sentence after admitting 13 food hygiene charges. Peter Metcalf, owner of the New Kimberley Hotel on New South Promemade, was appearing at Preston Crown Court after environmental health officers raided his premises in October 2008.

Following the initial inspection, the 48-year-old was served a number of orders to ensure the property was clean and structurally sound. But when officers returned early last year they found the kitchen equipment and food preparation areas were caked with mould and grime. Food was stored dangerously and could have become contaminated by bacteria while there was no evidence of any systems to prevent the spread of germs.

He was given a 12 week prison sentence suspended for 18 months.

Coun Maxine Callow, cabinet member with responsibility for quality standards at Blackpool Council, said: "There's no place for people who continually flout the law and put the health of our visitors in danger. I'm pleased the sentence imposed reflects how seriously the courts take instances where public health is put at risk. We give people every chance to change their behaviour and improve the quality of their businesses but if it doesn't happen we will ensure the strongest action possible is taken."

Metcalf appeared before a crown court judge in July where he pleaded guilty to 13 food hygiene charges. He was found guilty of 20 food hygiene offences in 2008 while South Shore Travel Limited, also involved with the running of the hotel, were prosecuted for failing to comply with seven health and safety improvement notices last year.

Blackpool Council revoked the hotel's licence in August 2009 due to 'significant and long standing fire and health and safety concerns'.

Blackpool Gazette

Mystery of BNP venue

The BNP has refused to release details of where its conference will begin tomorrow.
It is believed the event will be staged in Blackpool, but the party will only confirm the date and that it will be held in the North West.

The event has been hosted by the New Kimberley Hotel, South Promenade, for the past three years. Hotel bosses have refused to say if it will be held there tomorrow, but earlier this year management did say they would be prepared to cater for the event.

Police say they have not been made aware of the location of the conference – which will be taking place on the same day as soldiers from 12 Regiment Royal Artillery are welcomed home to the resort from the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq, with a special parade and service.

A spokeswoman for Lancashire Police said: "Our events and planning department has not been made aware of the location of the BNP conference this weekend."

The Unite Against Fascism North West group said it believed the conference was due to take place in Blackpool, but was not aware of the exact location. Paul Jenkins, regional organiser, said: "In previous years, it has been held at the New Kimberley but we do not know if this is the case again this time. We have heard a few rumours, but nothing substantial at the moment."

Local BNP organiser James Clayton told The Gazette the venue was being 'kept under wraps'. He said: "The conference is this weekend, but I cannot confirm whether it is in Blackpool or not. As far as I know, it will be held somewhere in the North West. I don't even know where it is being held yet."

Earlier this year, the BNP said it would definitely be holding its next conference in the resort, after its 'victory rally' took place at the New Kimberley in June. The controversial right wing party was celebrating its success at the European Parliament elections. Extra police were drafted in as anti-fascist groups held a protest outside the South Promenade hotel.

BNP leader Nick Griffin was elected as North West MEP in June.

Blackpool Gazette

Ross on Wye Match Report

This article was submitted by one of our readers, Landale. We welcome any contributions from our supporters (as long as those contributions conform to the law and are in reasonably good taste). Please send your articles to us via email.

The protest against the Trafalgar Club Dinner at the Chase Hotel was different to recent protests in that it was a home grown affair. Homemade banners and posters, very clearly local people unhappy that not just had the BNP had chosen their part of the world to defecate in, but that a local hotel, used by the community was hosting it.

As I arrived shortly before 6, the Police seemed to be setting a rendezvous point to the north of the town and that was the direction a number of partially-filled minibuses arrived later on. The police presence was heavy, although there were only about 30 on the gate (significant numbers in reserve) – there were 50-100 of us – and as the mugs/guests arrived in minibuses or cars they were greeted with cries of ‘Shame On You’ and the Police line pushed. At one point a member of Antifa was taken off for a chat.

One car (with dress shirt hanging in the back) pulled up as if to turn in and then drove off not to return – did they see the light? A highlight was a Volvo estate – the sudden jerky reversing skills amused us (but not the police) and seeing it get egged was a nice touch. Also we felt privileged to get a two fingered salute from the passenger of one minibus – rather fat and a Brons lookalike, but then all fascists look the same in the dark.

On my way back to my home in a place even more remote than Llanerfyl I mulled over the winners and losers;

• The BNP were reminded yet again that they and their ideas provoke revulsion, it must have been like eating in the hotel in ‘The Shining’ – you were the only people in the hotel, so you, real Billy No Mates LOSE!!
• The Taxpayer – I believe that 150 police were involved that night to protect Gri££in and the Trafalgar Club – we have to pay for it, so We the people LOSE.
• The Hotel - the story seemed to be that you were allegedly hoodwinked into the booking and that you couldn’t cancel it. If this is the case, it really doesn’t wash, the law covering hotels and licensed premises gives ample methods to cancel, particularly if there was deception as to the real purpose of the event.

Darkly, my opinion is that you just thought callously ‘so what, business is business’ and that you, in doing so, failed to consider the wellbeing of your staff and the community in your actions. You also need to consider that you lost all your other trade that night as the hotel was closed to all but the BNP. You also now have the tag of being a fascist friendly place – so you’ll find you may no longer be favoured with community and charity functions.

Hosting the BNP you will discover is a good way of losing business and we have an economic downturn; you are now in the same league as the New Kimberley Hotel in Blackpool! Haven’t they have just gone out of business? So Chase Hotel Ross-on-Wye, you LOSE!

However, for the community of Ross-on-Wye it was a protest where many local people who had never protested about anything before (and indeed had never met before) came together to show their disgust and disapproval of the BNP and the hotel for its support of fascism and its disregard for the community by hosting the event. Build on it and keep on working together – if there is a winner, as a community, You WIN!

BNP rally hotel licence revoked

A Blackpool hotel which plays host to the annual BNP conference has had its entertainment and alcohol licence revoked.

The New Kimberley on South Promenade was brought before Blackpool Council's licensing panel for posing a risk to public safety, and failing to comply with health and safety notices.

The hotel caused public outcry after hosting three of the far-right BNP conferences since 2006, as well as this summer's "celebration event" after two party members were elected to the European Parliament in May.

New Kimberley manager Peter Metcalfe, who was fined £1,000 for nine offences of breaching food hygiene safety rules last year, was issued with two enforcement notices from Lancashire Fire and Rescue, which found the hotel to had inadequate fire safety standards. And Blackpool Council officers had visited the 50-bedroomed hotel on numerous occasions, issuing a hygiene improvement notice in October.

At Friday's meeting, Gareth Shaw, spokesman for Blackpool Council's Health and Safety Enforcement Section, said: "We have had many unpleasant dealings with the people responsible for the New Kimberley. We issued a hygiene improvement notice in October after customer complaints since 2006. We also requested the hotel produce a certificate proving there was no asbestos risk on the premises, and that regular testing of electrical equipment took place."

The hotel was sent a letter demanding action on April 22, but on June 10 the council was forced to issue court proceedings. Management was fined £525 for seven offences of failing to comply with health and safety notices.

Mr Shaw added: "We've since visited, but Mr Metcalfe has become very aggressive and we have seen no efforts made to improve health and safety."

The fire service's enforcement notices to the hotel, whose leaseholder is Susan Metcalfe, also demanded that smoke detectors should be fitted, and that designated fire exits should be identified. These requests were ignored, said fire chiefs.

Paul Roper, spokesman for Lancashire Fire and Rescue, said: "I've little confidence the managers of this hotel will ever comply with health and safety laws. We've been extremely accommodating with Mr and Mrs Metcalfe. We granted an extension when our enforcement notice, issued in July 2007, ran out, as Mr Metcalfe said the ownership of the hotel had changed hands, and now belonged to a Mr John Donut, of South Shore Travel.

"We've tried to get hold of this man, but we've never been able to, and therefore we have reason to doubt his existence. The managers of this hotel have continually failed to meet any safety standards and therefore we support the council in their call for a review of the licence."

David Kelly, spokesman and "designated fire safety officer" for the New Kimberly, said: "We have tens of thousands of visitors every year, and we have never had any problems. I know everything has been dealt with on an ad hoc basis, but we have had many problems and I'm determined to sort them out.

"I've never met Mr Donut, but I believe he had some financial input and then moved to Indonesia, and he ceased to own the hotel from August this year. We have also had firebomb threats because of the BNP conference, so we have been distracted. We have recently installed a £35,000 fire alarm system, and under my guidance Mr and Mrs Metcalfe will run a pristinely clean, safe hotel that will be among the best in Blackpool."

Mr Kelly claimed the council had taken action against the hotel due to its hosting of the BNP conference. The council denied the claim.

The hotel will have 21 days to appeal against the decision, after which time it will no longer be able to sell alcohol, or provide entertainment .

Blackpool Gazette

See also Grimy BNP-link hotel 'a hazard to humans'

Four nazis arrested at anti-BNP protest

The image is blurry but you can still see these nazi twats sieg-heiling

North West UAF held a vibrant and noisy protest outside the BNP's 'Victory Rally' today. Exactly how many of their party attended the rally is unclear. But it is interesting that there was no sign of them at the hotel windows, no display of numbers or any celebration.

Just over 100 people from around the region took part in the protest; which was great, given that there were only a few days in which to organise and publicise it. Banners included those from Blackpool Trades Council; Blackpool and Fylde College UCU; Greater Manchester UAF and the local PCS.

Several speakers addressed the crowd and onlookers on the promenade. Points made included: why we say 'no platform for Nazis'; the fact that they are virulently homophobic as well as racist; the level of misogyny within the party and ended with a promise to Griffin that wherever he tries to appear publicly in the North West, we will be there too. Speakers talked about the fact that anti-fascists represent the majority and that UAF will organise protests to outnumber and oppose the Nazi BNP wherever they try to organise.

Andrew Wheatley, from Blackpool Trades Council, emphasised that, despite Griffin winning the North West seat, the BNP do not represent the majority of people in the area. Pete Marsden, of Blackpool UNISON, speaking in a personal capacity, criticised the “British Jobs for British Workers” slogan which had benefited the BNP.

Jain Gawn, of Blackpool and Fleetwood Unite Against Fascism, talked of the legacy of fighting Fascism in Britain, including the Battle of Cable Street and the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. Jain also cited the recent attacks in Belfast as an example of where racism leads. Other speakers included Dione Bough of UNISON, Independent Socialist Councillor Michael Lavalette, and others.

Weyman Bennett, joint-national secretary of UAF, called for people to attend the demonstration against the Nazis’ “Red, White and Blue” event in August, while Dave Sewell of Manchester University Students Union spoke about the need to continue a No Platform position against the BNP.

Off to the clink we go...

There was anti-nazi representation from across the North-West, with protestors from Blackpool and Fleetwood, Lancaster, Wigan, Preston, Liverpool, Kendal, Manchester, Barrow, and elsewhere, and representation from the North West’s LGBT community.

A letter was read out from the two Blackpool MP’s, Joan Humble and Gordon Marsden, which had been sent to the New Kimberley Hotel, opposing the Hotel’s hosting of BNP events, stating “The Nazis too deceived, frightened and scapegoated people – just the same as the BNP try to do. Perhaps it’s no surprise then that many BNP activists try to deny the Holocaust.”

Unfortunately, the rally was not entirely free from Nazis. Several of them came out of the hotel to harass people. This is a new development for BNP gatherings in Blackpool and was obviously born out of a new confidence they've gained since the elections. We will have to make sure that that confidence is short lived. While many of their thugs lolling around in gangs were dressed in suits, a small group of skins sauntered over in ‘nationalist’ t-shirts and started sieg-heiling at the crowd (with a wall and cops in between, to protect themselves, obviously). Whilst this was met with fury and much shouting, no on attempted to physically attack them. Instead we slowly moved them on along the prom.

It was quite obvious that the episode was orchestrated purely to provoke us into a violent response. When the old Nazi salute didn't cause anyone to loose control and attack them, they started chanting the names of concentration camps, as a taunt. As they descended into a tirade of racial abuse the police intervened and four of them were arrested. It would be hard to find a clearer example of the fact that the BNP is a haven for hardcore, unreconstructed, Nazis.

Some of the crowd at the demo

As time went on we noticed small groups of thugs strategically positioned down the promenade. Like vultures they were gathering in order to pick people off as they left the protest. It was agreed that the best way to avoid anyone getting hurt was to leave the area outside the hotel together as a group. With the numbers involved, this became a demonstration in its own right. We marched down the prom singing and chanting.

While it was depressing to see them so confident and closer to our demo than in other years it is important to bear the following in mind: anti-fascists are by far the majority; it looks like we had far more people outside that hotel than they had inside it and while we can march through the streets, they can't. It is going to be a long, hard summer making sure that this remains the case. They've got their seats in Europe, but that does not mean we have to allow them the chance to take over our public places. As their 'Victory Rally' was such a flop, they’re likely to try again at the Red, White and Blue gathering. We need to make sure they have nothing to celebrate when they get there!

MPs slam Blackpool BNP host

Blackpool's MPs have written an open letter condemning the hotel at the centre of today's British National Party rally.

The New Kimberley Hotel, on New South Promenade, South Shore, will play host to the far-right group who are celebrating winning their first seats in the European Parliament. But Gordon Marsden and Joan Humble have today blasted the hotel for opening its doors to the party.

In the joint letter, the two Labour MPs said: "The BNP is a group that works by dividing our communities – it deceives, tries to frighten and scapegoat people. It's a group that encourages anger to new people, ideas and experiences. Your open door to them brings hate, not happiness, to Blackpool. It hinders our prosperity and welcome to visitors – especially in Armed Forces and Veterans Week. Think about the variety and different backgrounds in your own friends and families – and next time, think again."

Mrs Humble and Mr Marsden alleged some BNP members were Holocaust deniers and claimed the party created "hatred and division". They also questioned the need for a victory rally by the BNP, saying nine out of 10 voters in Blackpool had voted against them.

But James Clayton, the BNP's organiser in Blackpool, said the MPs and protesters were the ones stirring tensions. He said: "I think it would be more appropriate for Joan Humble and Gordon Marsden to be writing to the protesters. The concern over this weekend's events is created by the protesters who are known for being disruptive. If they didn't turn up, we would basically be inside the hotel and for all intents and purposes, the people of Blackpool wouldn't even know we were here. It seems like Joan Humble and Gordon Marsden, when they're not busy claiming their expenses, are trying to disrupt what we are doing and I don't think that is appropriate."

The New Kimberley Hotel refused to comment on the letter.

At least 500 campaigners, organised by the group Unite Against Facism, are expected to hold an anti-BNP protest outside the New Kimberley Hotel today. Extra police have been drafted in to keep the peace.

Blackpool Gazette

Protests at BNP's 'victory' rally

Hundreds of anti-fascist demonstrators are expected to picket a British National Party "Victory" rally.

Extra police will be on patrol as Nick Griffin, leader of the far-right party, attends the two-day event entitled Victory 09, at the New Kimberley Hotel on the promenade in Blackpool.

About 100 BNP activists are expected at the event, which has been held in the past as a party summer school but as the party now has two MEPs in its ranks, Mr Griffin said it will be a mixture of a victory celebration and a "de-brief" about their European election campaign.

Mr Griffin, one of the party's MEPs, will speak at the event just weeks after he was targeted by protesters who attacked his car and pelted him with eggs when he arrived for the Euro election count at Manchester Town Hall. He had to be smuggled in by a back door after emerging from a police van. And he was again attacked by demonstrators on the Green outside the Houses of Parliament as the BNP tried to stage a news conference the day after his election.

A spokesman for Unite Against Fascism (UAF) said he expects "hundreds" to turn up outside the hotel to protest. The UAF said trade unionists, students and ordinary members of the public had pledged support to show their opposition to the BNP.

Lancashire Police said officers will be on patrol around the area of the venue to keep the peace. Chief Inspector Karen Simister said: "A policing operation focused on ensuring the safety of the public has been put in place to ensure that the event and associated protests pass without incident."

Southport Visitor

Demonstration against the BNP in Blackpool this Saturday at 12 noon

The New Kimberley Hotel, a 'hazard to humans', so the BNP is safe

This weekend was to be the date for the BNP's Summer School - three days of party indoctrination and brainwashing - but has metamorphosed into a 'Victory Rally' for the party, Nick Griffin being eager to cash in on the unusually good spirits within the ranks of the BNP following the election of himself and fellow National Front-reject Andrew Brons to the EU Parliament.

As usual, every opportunity will be taken during the 'rally' to rip the membership off in any way possible, and that begins with the party holding this event at the ghastly New Kimberley Hotel, on Blackpool's New South Promenade (see map, left). Regular readers of the blog may have fond memories of the New Kimberley from a number of articles, not least the one which related Blackpool Council's prosecution of the hotel, which they described as 'grimy', 'filthy' and 'a hazard to humans'. It's no wonder the BNP gathers there, then.

The BNP's two newly-acquired European seats, won only because of the peculiarities of the system of proportional representation used in the Euro election, have caused a lot of anger. Newspapers and websites are full of recriminations, many against the exisiting parties but most against the BNP itself, which got in on the back of a succession of lies and bullshit which convinced many people to vote for a fascist party run by a Holocaust-denying, Islamophobic, anti-semitic nazi.

If you object to the BNP, it's time to make your voice heard. Blackpool and Fleetwood Unite Against Fascism is organising an anti-fascist rally outside the New Kimberley for 12 noon this coming Saturday (20th). Bring banners, placards, whistles, drums, megaphones and anything else to make yourself and your objections to the BNP heard (or seen), and bring your friends with you. Also, circulate any organisation you are a part of, to let them know about the demo and to help spread the word. The BNP might think it's on a roll at the moment but it's clear that the vast majority of people do not support it and do not want it in Blackpool or anywhere else.

Get down to Blackpool on Saturday at 12 noon and let the nazis know they're not welcome. The New Kimberley is at 585-589 New South Promenade, Blackpool FY4 1NQ. The demo will be directly in front of it.

BNP protester attacked in Blackpool

A man was left with a broken nose when he was attacked after leaving an anti-BNP demonstration in Blackpool. His companion suffered cuts and bruises during the altercation.

It happened after the pair had walked away from a Unite Against Fascism protest held outside the Kimberley Hotel on South Promenade where the BNP was holding its annual conference.

The demonstration itself was heavily policed and went off without any trouble, but the victims had left the vicinity of the hotel when the incident occured.

The Socialist Party, of which they are members, believes the attacker was a far right supporter. But the BNP today dismissed claims that it was someone attending their event.

Blackpool Police has confirmed the attack took place at around 2.30pm on Saturday, but said they could not link it directly with the BNP conference.

Blackpool Gazette

Over 200 protest against BNP conference

The demo arrives...

Well over two hundred anti-fascists attended an enthusiastic and lively demonstration outside the wretched New Kimberley Hotel in Blackpool yesterday, in a protest at the British National Party bringing its conference to Blackpool for the third year in a row. Demonstrators and speakers came from as far away as Oxford and speakers for the day represented numerous organisations including Blackpool and Fleetwood UAF, UNISON, Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre TUC, Barrow and South Cumbria UAF, Lancaster University SAAR, North-West UAF, the NUT, national UAF, Manchester UAF, Gay Activist's Alliance International and the CWU.

The demo began with us gathering outside the rear entrance to the Winter Gardens, where a couple of pro-BNP louts shouted abuse for no apparent reason. We heard a number of speakers there, then marched briskly along the prom, giving out hundreds of leaflets and receiving many supporting cheers on the way to South Shore, where we gathered for the demo proper outside the tatty New Kimberley Hotel, a hazard to humans though not, apparently, to members of the BNP, which tells us quite a lot about the party.

There is a reasonable report on the demo (that sadly includes a moment of Nick Griffin) which you can access by going here and clicking on Latest News Bulletins over on the right. Just select the one for Saturday and there we are.

Demonstrators arriving at the New Kimberley

To stop them making abusive gestures (as they have in previous years) and generally attempting to intimidate protestors, the BNP conference delegates (once again, about sixty of them, according to an ITV reporter who had been inside the rathole) were ordered to remain behind the closed and filthy curtains of the New Kimberley by the police. To be fair, most of them did as they were told, with the exception of bone-headed Clive Jefferson, who seems to be the current head of security and the Cumbria organiser, who stuck his ugly mug out on at least a half-dozen occasions.

According to our man in the BNP's security team, they spent most of the day concerned with the seating arrangements for lunch and dinner - at least until someone asked for a glass of water and nobody could find any. Headless chickens, was the phrase used. Here's a tip for future members of possibly the most idiotic security team the BNP has ever put together - use the tap.

Security spent a good deal of Saturday worrying about someone who was round the rear of the Kimberley, apparently taking photographs of the hell-hole from the back. This caused major panic, mostly because with the police in close proximity the heavies couldn't just go out and beat the crap out of the guy and nick his camera. Jefferson was eventually forced to order the bovine Martin Reynolds to go and speak to the police while his mates took a note of the photographer's vehicle registration number - no doubt soon to appear on Redwatch. Reynolds had no idea how to do this and was humiliatingly lectured by the appallingly arrogant Jefferson on what he should say, how to say it and told in no uncertain terms to get on with it.

Demonstrators listening to speakers outside the 'conference'

A demo is useful for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to let the BNP know (and to continue letting them know) that there is opposition to their fascism out here and that there are people who are prepared to stand up and voice that opposition despite intimidation from the lunatic element of the far-right party. One demonstrator, who was waiting to meet up with some friends after the demo, was abused and spat at by a BNP supporter. Rather than putting her off organising against the far-right party, this has added to her determination to do all she can to fight against it. Demo's are also useful for making new contacts or re-establishing old ones - a fact that was borne out when I got back and realised that I'd collected twenty-odd email addresses and phone numbers to go on our contact list.

Thank you to everyone who made the effort to turn out, particularly to our many friends who travelled from well out of the area. Many thanks also to our speakers who all did a sterling job and our great thanks to the many members of the Blackpool public who stopped to chat or who were driving past but gave us the thumbs-up. Even the weather behaved itself (for a change).

Remember, this 'conference' was the starting point for Nick Griffin's attempt to heave himself on to the European Parliament. They started their campaign for Europe at Blackpool - for no reason other than that the New Kimberley is the only rancid shithole in the country that will take the scum of the BNP for a whole three days. Saturday's demonstration should be seen as the beginning of a massive and unrelenting campaign to keep Griffin and the rest of his party out of Europe. Let's keep them out!

Caption Competition: What the hell?

We can always trust Mad King Nick's unofficial court jester Mark Collett to embarrass the British National Party in some way while the party's 'conference' is going on, usually along with his mate, the buffoon Dave Hannam. Last year, Collett and Hannam appeared at the windows of the ghastly New Kimberley Hotel in Blackpool, waving and grinning like a pair of sub-normal clowns on the demo below - despite orders from his lordship that no-one was to show their face at all. The year before, Collett and Hannam got themselves in trouble over the small matter of inviting a couple of underage girls back to the hotel, for which they were disciplined - not for anything to do with the girls being illegally young but for bringing non-BNP people into the hotel while the conference was taking place.

This year, it looks like Collett is attempting to take on a new assistant idiot and it's possible that the picture above is of the job interview or audition for Hannam's replacement. But we wouldn't know about that. All we know is that the picture is ideal for a caption competition, so go for it. Be warned: comments/captions will be deleted if we feel the cold hand of the libel lawyer on the corporate shoulder...

Grimy BNP-link hotel 'a hazard to humans'

New Kimberley Hotel 'a hazard to humans'

The Blackpool hotel used by the far right British National Party for its annual conferences was branded a hazard to humans by health chiefs.

Officers investigated after guests complained about diarrhoea and vomiting while staying at The New Kimberley Hotel, Blackpool. They were also told of guests being given uncooked food and meat which smelt bad. Officials found the kitchen of the 50-bedroom hotel on South Promenade was filthy and discovered food which was out-of-date and in danger of cross-contamination from bacteria.

Peter Metcalf, 45, of Wyredale Road, St Annes, the hotel's former-leaseholder, admitted nine offences of breaching food hygiene safety rules and was found guilty of 11 similar offences after a trial. He was fined £1,000 with £500 costs and ordered to pay the £15 victims' surcharge by Blackpool magistrates.

Victoria Cartmell, prosecuting for Blackpool Council, said there were complaints in 2006 about the hotel.

Health officers first visited the hotel in July 2006 and Metcalf was given numerous chances to clean the kitchen. Officers again visited on August 14 last year and found the kitchen was filthy. Ceilings, walls, sockets, surfaces, pipes, floors, a cooker, fryer and freezer were greasy and dirty and food debris was scattered around. Black mould was on chopping boards, freezer seals and an ice-making machine. A wash basin was dirty and there were no paper towels.

Ms Cartmell said: "Double cream in the fridge was past its use-by date. Containers of ice-cream were stored next to boxes of raw bacon which could have caused cross-contamination of bacteria."

Mitch Sarangi, defending, said at the time Metcalf's mother-in-law had been diagnosed with a terminal illness. He and his wife travelled to and from Scotland to visit her before she was transferred to a hospice and died. Metcalf had now been declared bankrupt and he no longer held the hotel's lease.

The hotel hit the headlines in November 2006 and 2007 when it twice held the BNP's annual conference.

Tim Coglan, head of trading standards at Blackpool Council, said: "The conditions were disgusting and totally unacceptable. We know the majority of premises in the town are well run but we will continue to crackdown on those that aren't. Blackpool has the most robust enforcement regime in the country."

The hotel is now under new management.

Blackpool Gazette

The BNP makes its play for young blood

Take a look at the shiny new Young BNP page and the first thing that strikes you is the sub-heading, 'the British Nationalist Youth Movement', a bunch of young people (mostly, it has to be said, female), an ad for daily news updates at £1 a minute (which appears twice on each page) and the image of the 'odel' rune, that the BNP intends to use as its logo for the British Nationalist Youth Movement, the YBNP and the Student BNP.

This rune seems to be a recurring motif in the BNP and one has to say that it seems a most peculiar symbol to use in an organisation that purports a) to espouse Christian values (to the extent of having its own sub-group, the Christian Council of Britain, run by well-known loon and fake vicar Robert West) and b) to not be, in any way, shape or form, racist. Why is that peculiar? Because the rune is acknowledged as Odinist and is used by white supremacists as representative of Aryan heritage and cultural pride. As an interesting aside, the Odal rune (the same thing) was the emblem of ethnic Germans (Volksdeutsche) of the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division Prinz Eugen operating during World War II in the National Socialist Germany-sponsored Independent State of Croatia. Yes, Croatia.

Bearing in mind that the site is targeted at 13-18 year-olds, it seems odd that clicking on the Membership link takes one to a page that includes a poll on capital punishment, though in mitigation it has to be said that the jokes page is probably at about the right level for a low-teen and low-IQ BNP supporter.

Given the history of certain officers of the BNP and their penchant for sexual shenanigans, we took a look at the Organisation Structure, just to see who was running the BNP for young people, only to discover a large empty space under the heading 'Contact details of adults involved in the organisation...' But while there may be no named personnel responsible for the youth section of the party, there is a Child Protection Policy (CPP). God only knows who it's aimed at but here it is:

As an adult involved in the YBNP you have a responsibility to ensure that young people are protected from harm. It is the responsibility of each adult in the YBNP to ensure that:

• their behaviour is appropriate at all times
• they observe the rules established for the safety and security of young people
• they follow the procedures following suspicion, disclosure or allegation of child abuse
• they recognise the position of trust in which they have been placed; and
• in every respect, the relationships they form with young people on their care are appropriate

All Adults in the YBNP must agree to put the party’s policy on child protection into practice.

Meeting your responsibilities:

• the welfare of the young people for whom you have a duty of care is safeguarded
• you avoid compromising situations or opportunities for misunderstandings or allegations

Interesting that the BNP should use that phrase 'you avoid compromising situations or opportunities for misunderstandings or allegations'. Possibly it refers indirectly to last year's BNP conference in Blackpool where the nazi Mark Collett and Dave Hannam, a married man, allegedly picked up two underage girls and brought them back to the conference hotel, the dire New Kimberley. Though it seems very odd that the CPP also includes the line '[that] they follow the procedures following suspicion, disclosure or allegation of child abuse'. Which procedures would they be, exactly? And were they adhered to at last year's conference?

There clearly isn't much to laugh at on the BNP website for youngsters, particularly on the jokes page, but there was one thing that made me chuckle. On the page in the student's section dealing with its policies, there is a question; 'What are the SBNP Policies?' The answer?

'The Student BNP is run for students. Therefore we need policies...'

No change there, then.

The Mark Collett/Dave Hannam underage girls saga gets murkier as story unfolds

A poster to the BNP-dissident blog Enough is Enough has recounted the story of the alleged visit of the two underage girls to the New Kimberley Hotel in Blackpool at the BNP's 2006 'conference'.

This story, whose repercussions are only just beginning to develop, has taken its time emerging but now starts to take on more credibility as the animosity between the rebels and the Griffinite BNP membership forces the disclosure of information that was hitherto kept quiet 'for the sake of the party'.

The latest disclosure was a response to a post by Chris Hill, Lancaster's very own dissident BNP member (who you'll recall announced his support for the rebels, promptly backed down when told off then got his courage back and supported them again) who stated;

'I believe [Collett's] story that he chatted up a girl in a disco who looked 18, and then took her back to his hotel room. His offence was to bring a guest back to the conference hotel room, nothing else! He was quite rightly given a final warning for that, which meant the next incident should have been automatic expulsion. But that’s just one of many problems with this whole Collett thing, it seems the rules don’t apply to him, he’s untouchable. Mark Collett is a nasty megalomaniac, but he’s not a sex offender.'

The response, posted by someone calling themselves 'i was there', was clear.

'With all due respect Chris you were not in the hotel bar when Collett and Hannam came in with the 14 and 15 year old girls and I was and so was Kenny Smith and several others. We all could tell they were underage as soon as they walked through led by Collett and many of us said as much to each other including the barman.

When the girls came back down complaining about the demands for sex it was even more obvious they were children and it was Kenny Smith who persuaded them not to go to the press with the mobile phone footage and promised them that Collett and Hannam would be disciplined by the party.

One of the girls bluetoothed the footage to Kenny and I believe he gave it to security (pos. Martin Reynolds) the next morning.

If Kenny hadn't persuaded them and their mother - who arrived later with a security guy - out of going to the press Collett and Hannam would have had to be expelled, but such a media furore would also have been very damaging for the party.'

There are so many questions that arise from this brief statement that it might be better to tabulate them properly.

• Why didn't Kenny Smith and the other witnesses report this alleged crime when it happened?
• If Smith and co 'could tell they were underage as soon as they walked through led by Collett', why weren't they stopped immediately?
• If the barman at Blackpool's New Kimberley Hotel could tell that the two girls were underage, why didn't he report these activities to the police?
• Matt Single, formerly one of the BNP's security team, has admitted that he knew about this incident when it happened. Why didn't he report it?
  
• Why did Kenny Smith persuade the girls and a parent of one of them not to go to the police with the mobile phone footage of the alleged incident?
• If Kenny Smith sent the mobile phone footage to Martin Reynolds, the BNP's pervert Head of Security, who was it who then sent it both to us and the Blackpool Gazette?
• What kind of political party would rather hide alleged child abuse than cause any harm to itself?

There are a lot of questions still to be answered about this incident and there will probably never be a definitive answer that will satisfy everybody but there is just one more question that we feel should get a reasonable response, even if nothing else comes to light.

• Why has Mark Collett never even been questioned by the police about these allegations?

We are assured by our correspondents, who know the nazi-loving Mark Collett rather better than we do, that Collett has never been approached by the police; nor does he expect to be. If that's truly the case, we wonder why?

200 protest against dismal BNP conference

Around two hundred anti-fascists gathered outside the ghastly New Kimberley Hotel in Blackpool yesterday to protest at the British National Party holding their conference at the resort for the second time. Protesters came from Blackpool itself, Lancaster, Barrow, Manchester, Tyne and Wear, Nottinghamshire and Liverpool, and included students and trades unionists.

Speakers included Donna Guthrie: UAF, Stephen Mullen: Blackpool and the Fylde College Student's Union, Alec McFadden: North West TUC, Jane Rogers: Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre TUC, Paul Jenkins: Barrow and South Cumbria UAF, Dan Ratcliffe: Lancaster University SAAR, Mike Killian: Manchester UAF and others.

The BNP, rather than standing around sneering at us from inside the hotel as they did last year, chose instead to hide behind drawn curtains - except for a few who appeared momentarily to snap off a picture or two, much to the annoyance of the police who had told them not to. While most of the people who choose to do this at least tried to be discreet, Mark Collett, being the BNP's most arrogant moron, pulled his curtain wide open and stood in front of it grinning down at us until ordered to stop being a prat by the police.

This buffoon craves the limelight, good or bad, and one wonders why any party leader, particularly one as paranoid as Nick Griffin, would want such an uppity and ambitious little snot standing very closely behind him. I'd advise Griffin to check for concealed knives.

Cumbria BNP's Clive Jefferson made a couple of appearances at the door for no apparent reason, though maybe he simply wanted to be caught on Granada TV's camera. While on the subject of Granada TV, there was an excellent report on the demo last night including (sadly) a snippet of Griffin followed by three of our people. Nice. If anyone managed to get a digital recording of it, please sling it across to us at lancaster.uaf@zen.co.uk

A number of people at the demo speculated on the reason for the curtains being closed and it was suggested that the most likely reason was that there was hardly anyone in there attending the conference. This was borne out an hour or so after the demo had ended, when a group of us drove past the hotel on our way home only to see that the curtains had been opened and that there was a small cluster of around fifteen to twenty people sitting around a table in the dining room apparently engaged in a discussion. Maybe they were asking where the missing accounts have got to.

Assuming that a similar discussion was taking place in the resident's lounge (though it looked empty to us) that indicates a 'national' conference attended by about forty people. Wow.

All in all, a good demo. The weather didn't get too out of control, the conference looked pretty dismal and our speakers were great.

Thank you to everyone who made the effort to turn out, particularly to our friends who travelled from well out of the area. Many thanks to our speakers who all did a sterling job despite being frozen and our thanks to the many members of the Blackpool public who stopped to chat or who were driving past but gave us the thumbs-up.

Well done everyone (and thanks to Jim B. and Phil for the pics). :-)

See you in sunny Blackpool! Demonstrate against the fascist BNP on Saturday

The New Kimberley Hotel is situated at 585-589 New South Promenade, Blackpool FY4 1NQ roughly two miles South of Blackpool Tower. There is a map showing its location here.

We're meeting on the grass area at the front of the hotel at 12 noon. However, if you would like to join the trades union march to the hotel or you intend to arrive in a coach, you might prefer to park at Starr Gate, another half-mile further South, where the police have designated an area for a meeting and parking point here. If you intend to do this, be at Starr Gate at a little before noon as that's when the march sets off.

* We'd like a lot of noise (when the speakers aren't saying anything) so bring anything you've got that will let the BNP know we're out there. Trumpets, drums, whistles and loud voices are all welcome.

* There are a lot of people out there with digital cameras. If you find you've taken some great pictures on the day that we might be able to use on the blog, let us know on lancaster.uaf@zen.co.uk

* One word of warning. As those who were at the demo last year can tell you, Blackpool is cold in November, particularly on the seafront. Wear warm clothing.

* Safety first. Whether arriving or leaving the demo, do so in a group where possible. We don't expect any problems but it would be foolish to take chances.

Having said all that, it looks like it's going to be a great demo and it'll certainly show the BNP that they are not wanted in Blackpool.

Keep warm, keep safe and enjoy yourselves!

Download leaflet/poster for BNP Conference demonstration in Blackpool

The British National Party (BNP) has announced it is to hold a conference on 17th/18th November in Blackpool at the New Kimberley Hotel. Local people including members of the council, hotels, trade unions, students , residents and anti-fascist have condemned the BNP for holding it's conference in Blackpool for the second time.

We must show our opposition to the fascist BNP and it's politics of race hate and division. We must show that there is united opposition to the BNP and ensure that Blackpool is a fascist-free zone. Unite Against Fascism calls on all those that oppose fascism to mobilise and attend this protest of unity.

HQ double-sided poster/leaflet for BNP Conference demonstration (pdf file - 2MB). Click here to download.

Please download the leaflet and poster and spread them around to your friends and colleagues.

Poster for BNP Conference demonstration

Click here to download small image for leaflet (138KB)

Click here for HQ poster (pdf file - 4.4MB)

Please download the leaflet and poster and spread them around to your friends and colleagues.

Lancashire TUC calls on public not to use Blackpool hotel

The Lancashire Association of Trades Union Councils (LATUC) is the representative body of the national TUC in Lancashire and brings together thousands of trade union members across the county. There are local TUCs in Blackburn, Blackpool, Fylde & Wyre, Burnley, Chorley, Hyndburn & Rossendale, Lancaster & Morecambe, Pendle, Preston & South Ribble, Skelmersdale (SW Lancashire).

The LATUC is calling for trade unionists and all decent people not to use a hotel in Blackpool which is the venue for the BNP conference. The hotel concerned is the New Kimberley Hotel, 585-589 New South Promenade, Blackpool FY4 1NQ.

LATUC Secretary, Peter Billington, said "we want trade union members and all decent people not to use this hotel. There are 2.7 million workers in the North West and 34% (918,000) of them are trade union members. We are writing to the national TUC and asking it to circulate the hotel's details to all UK unions so that members can avoid this place. The hotel is knowingly providing support for a group of violent, racist, criminal thugs. It shouldn't be forgotten that a Lancashire BNP member, who was also a BNP local council candidate, is currently in prison after having been convicted on bomb-making charges. Robert Cottage, three times BNP candidate was jailed in August this year for having stockpiled chemicals, bomb making equipment and a rocket launcher. Cottage is the latest BNP member to have been found guilty of criminal charges.

In the last year, another five BNP members and councillors have been found guilty of offences ranging from racially aggravated assault to attempted firebombing. The BNP is not a normal political party. BNP officials and members have convictions for rape, armed robbery, aggravated assault, unlawful wounding, firebombing, theft, issuing racially obscene publications, electoral fraud, football hooliganism, and other criminal acts.

Time to step up the campaign against the BNP conference in Blackpool

For years the British National Party has tried to convince the public that it has changed, that it is no longer racist, that it is a legitimate political party that simply wishes to take part in the democratic process - only to be shown up time and time again as a thoroughly racist group that has absolutely no interest in democracy except where it furthers the BNP's own agenda.

One of the innovations its leader Nick Griffin has brought in to try to convince the electorate that racism in the party is all in the past is to allow a clearly limited number of idiotic non-whites and Jews to join - much to the annoyance of the more hardline members - but that this is all a smokescreen becomes apparent when we read the comments of Griffin's supporters like Graham Williamson, former treasurer of the National Front and old chum of Nick Griffin and boss of the one-man PR company Accentuate, which now seems to be working for the BNP-front Solidarity, who suggested a stunt to deflect any accusations that the fake union was racist:

'The first ‘stunt’ should be a Press Conference launching the Union in Essex unveiling our first Sikh member Pramjit Sadra. This of course helps to counter the racist...accusations.'

That the racism and thuggery of the BNP is now largely covert rather than overt is demonstrated again and again as BNP members and allies, ignoring their leader's pleas to hide their hatred from the public, allow themselves to display their true hatreds either by attacking Iraqi asylum-seekers (Kevin Hughes, who earned himself two and a half years inside) or appearing and lauding Nazi Germany in programmes like the Channel Four documentary Young, Nazi and Proud (Mark Collett who, just a week later, was again sharing a platform with Nick Griffin).

Racism aside (though there is a mountain of evidence that proves the racism of the BNP beyond any shadow of doubt) there is continual thuggery and violence in the party. In just the past few weeks, we've seen David Enderby, the BNP councillor from Redditch, lose an appeal against his conviction for attacking his former wife, her mother and a fourteen-year-old girl at a party. Enderby, who claims he's ex-SAS, is not only still in the BNP but the party's recently-appointed Press Officer Simon Darby has made his views clear about the conviction:

'...the latest attempt to poison the electorate against the BNP involves our Redditch councillor David Enderby. Just a couple of weeks ago I attended David's appeal hearing concerning his ridiculous conviction for assault at Worcester Crown Court.'

The party welcomed the violent thug Kevin Hughes back too.

Another fine example of type of person the BNP wants in its ranks is former candidate Dominic Bugler, who was recently given an ASBO after subjecting his neighbours to 18 months of abuse at his family's hands.

BNP Parliamentary candidate for Hull Brian Wainwright was guilty of a campaign of hate mail against the local mosque, a Muslim councillor and a local anti-fascist activist. A letter in which he claimed, 'Muslim blood will be spilt' included 'SS' and skull and cross bones imagery. Another letter was sent to a local anti-fascist activist threatening that Combat 18 (the Nazi terrorist organisation who take their name from Hitler’s initials) would visit.

Swindon BNP activist Mark Bulman (who has used the pseudonym Bullock) was sentenced to five years after attempting to firebomb a local mosque using a BNP leaflet as a fuse. He also daubed swastikas and racist graffiti on local shops and businesses that he believed to be ‘ethnic’.

In June 2006 BNP councillor Brian Turner was found guilty of a racially aggravated public order offence. He escaped a jail sentence and was instead ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work in the community. Turner has previous convictions of common assault and police assault after he was convicted of beating up his wife Melanie Turner.Again, just a few of many, many examples.

Part of the process of pretending to be a legitimate political party is for the BNP to act as though it is one and this, in the past couple of years, has including establishing an 'annual' conference. Anyone who has ever been to an annual conference of one of the real political parties or a trades union will know that they are generally an example of democracy in action. Leadership battles are fought, rules are made or amended and proposals are made, seconded, discussed and voted upon by the delegates who are there representing the wishes of their branch of the party/union. Not so with the BNP. After the last leadership challenge, Griffin wrote this:

'It was a pathetic, pitiful, desperate attempt to cause trouble for the most modernised and most successful nationalist party in British history by a handful of cranks left over from the BNP’s most sterile past, aided and abetted by a gaggle of Hollywood Nazis, congenital losers and thieves.'

Griffin then went on to describe the challenger's supporters as 'vermin' and has spent a good deal of time since the challenge vigorously purging them from the party.

The BNP drones on about 'democracy' on every available occasion yet never, in a million years, will Nick Griffin allow a democracy in the BNP. One of his recent blog posts had this to say on the issue of those party members who have unsuccessfully attempted to push through a truly-democratic 'one man, one vote' system:

'This group must now accept that their scheme to put the destiny of the BNP in the hands of anyone who deigns to pay their membership has been comprehensively and permanently rejected, in favour of a system that gives power only to those who have earned it, and who continue to earn it. The argument is over, and anyone trying to raise it again against the repeatedly expressed will of the vast majority of the party will mark themselves out as a would-be saboteur and a candidate for expulsion.'

The BNP always has difficulty finding a venue for any event - even a pub in which to hold a small meeting. To find somewhere that was big enough to pass off as a venue for anything as large as a 'conference' must have been a real problem for them. However, according to one of our correspondents writing in the comments section of a recent post, the BNP's former Blackpool organiser Roy Goodwin is friends with the owners of the New Kimberley Hotel, a run-down dive on New South Promenade, a pretty hefty walk from Blackpool Tower. This hotel, managed by Peter and Susie Metcalfe, was not only happy to host the conference for the BNP last year but was also happy to ignore the anger of the neighboring hotel owners, local trades unions, the local newspaper and many local people at bringing such notoriety to the area.

Far from considering such a community relations disaster something that should be avoided this year, the New Kimberley is once again allowing the BNP to infest its premises to the detriment of the immediate area and of course Blackpool itself.

The local TUC, Blackpool and Fylde College Student's Union, the newspapers, the NUS, the local MPs and numerous local councillors have all condemned the hotel for hosting the conference and the BNP for having the audacity to believe that Blackpool would welcome its presence but all to no avail.

That the BNP ignores local opinion is no great surprise. After all, it has no real interest in people or their opinions. The New Kimberley however, is an entirely different matter.

Blackpool has, of late, lost some of the edge it had over its competition as a holiday and nightlife resort. With super-cheap flights available, stag and hen parties (long a staple of the Blackpool scene) are increasingly choosing to jet off to Malaga or somesuch place instead. The astonishing decision not to use Blackpool as the site for a so-called 'super casino' has also hit the town hard, leaving depression and anger in its wake. If nothing else, the super casino would have generated a massive business boom for the area. Blackpool hoteliers and tradespeople are working hard to get Blackpool back to the hugely-successful resort it was until a very short time ago and the very last thing the townspeople want is for it to be tarnished by association with the racists and thugs in the British National Party.

One would have expected the party and the BNP-supporting New Kimberley to have realised that the BNP wasn't wanted in Blackpool when all its seven candidates were rejected by the electorate at last May's local government elections - but racists have never been noted for their intelligence.

It's up to us then to drum some sense into the hoteliers who want to pollute Blackpool with this filth. It's up to us to let the New Kimberley know that the BNP is not wanted in Blackpool and that the hotel is wrong both to invite them to the town and to expect us to sit back complacently and let them get on with it.

Almost all of the senior members of the BNP have strong connections with more overtly racist or nazi groups. Nick Griffin himself is former National Front and has lost none of his hatreds over the years, even if they have been tempered in public thanks to the law.

We've seen the effects that the BNP has when it moves into any town - racist attacks increase, racist stickers appear and other racist groups move in to take any scraps that are left and stir up more hatred wherever they can. The British People's Party, a virulently Nazi group that also pretends to be a political party, has been plastering highly offensive stickers all over Blackpool recently and the National Front stickered the town pretty comprehensively just after the last BNP 'conference'.

This is what the New Kimberley has invited to Blackpool and this is why we all need to make the effort to let the New Kimberley know precisely how we feel about this. It's no good telling the hotel owners that the BNP is a racist party - they already know that after inviting them last year and if what our correspondent said its true and they are indeed friends of the former Blackpool BNP organiser Roy Goodwin, they will know precisely what the party is all about and they will approve of its disgusting views.

One of our friends called the hotel and was informed that a) the BNP conference had been cancelled, and b) that the owner of the hotel was a Mohammed Abdul - presumably the New Kimberley's idea of a joke because neither of these statements is true. We're working on finding out who the owner is (and we will) but we need to you ring the hotel and attempt to speak to the managers (Peter and Susie Metcalfe) to put them right on why they should not be holding the conference there at all and we need this done as soon as possible (particularly over the weekend though that's not essential).

If you've rung before, ring again. You can't email them because they don't appear to have moved into the 20th century yet, let alone the 21st.

We will have the demonstration outside the hotel on November 17th at midday and it will be a large demonstration that will show those inside the hotel that plenty of us are prepared to take a stand against the BNP wherever it sticks its ugly shaven head. In the meantime, the hotel needs to know that its invitation to the BNP is intolerable and that under no circumstances will we allow the conference to go ahead without continual and loud protest.

We're working on checking out suppliers to the New Kimberley, the coach companies who bring many of its guests and the trade organisations who work with the hotel and once we have the information we are seeking, we'll pass that along to you. In the meantime, let's get calling and making our voices heard.

The New Kimberley, 585-589 New South Promenade, Blackpool FY4 1NQ, is run by Peter and Susie Metcalfe and can be reached at 01253 341184.

Curiously, the New Kimberley Hotel is registered at Companies House as the address for a company called Goldprime Properties UK Ltd (Company No. 05357988) whose accounts (in a neatly ironic twist) similarly to the BNP's own, are long overdue, its last return having been required but not forthcoming on 9.3.2006. There is a proposal lodged with Companies House to strike Goldprime from the register of trading companies.

Perhaps the BNP chose the New Kimberley because the hotel's financial position so closely mirrored that of its own, both being apparently close to going under. Or perhaps it's simply the moral bankruptcy that the party and the hotel share that the BNP finds so appealing. Either way, the parallels are beginning to seem uncanny.

It's not surprising that the New Kimberley isn't doing too well. We've been checking through the reviews from guests who have stayed there. One, a person calling himself Jacks2607, wrote this back in June 2006:

'The new Kimberly hotel Blackpool, its an utter disgrace, the food was absolutely disgusting, the manager was a complete waste of time. Our rooms had holes in the walls and during our stay the rooms were NEVER hoovered, it was damn right filthy. The portable appliance tests were over a year out of date and some even 2 years!. Everyone else on the holiday with us agreed. I reccommend this hotel to NO ONE. We would have been better off in a shanty town.'

A tatty third-rate hotel hosting a fake conference for a tatty third-rate party.

It's time to start pushing this protest forward and to let the New Kimberley know that it is doing the people of Blackpool and the region around it an immense disservice by allowing this bunch of thugs, thieves, racists and trainee-terrorists to infest it.