Fish supper and a dry sherry?

Trent: Not waving - saluting!

Invites have gone out for this year's BNP AGM. I'm pleased to inform one and all that I have my invite here in front of me, but it does cause such a dilemma.

I used to go to the BNP's Red, White & Blue festivals and report back on the drunken fights, threats and Nazi songs around the camp fire. Heavens, one year I even had to report how one of the BNP's councillors attacked another member with a broken glass.

It was never quite the highlight of my social calendar, but it got me out of the house and it caused no end of upset to the BNP knowing that I had been there. One year they even stopped proceedings to demand I stand up and reveal myself. I declined, obviously.

So this year, the question is whether I should risk it all by having one last sneaky look into the party's near defunct machinery. But there is another problem, too: I'm allowed to bring a guest with me!!

Normally on boring functions I take Matthew Collins with me. He tends to liven the event, sometimes I even just send him in my place. But to a BNP AGM I don't think that would get past even the BNP's radar. Plus, Matty has been to a few of his own. His book talks about them all Nazi saluting and brawling in the bar at York Hall in London in the early nineties so I don't see him as being much use in sitting quietly at the back munching on his meal deal from Boots the chemist-no matter how much he does like the sandwich combo.

No, for this year it has to be someone quite special. if I'm going to make a weekend of it at £50 per head including a buffet lunch and a gala dinner it will need to be someone who can sit quietly and not ask any questions during the advertised Q&A session. The BNP describe it as an opportunity to "hone your political skills" but everyone knows that asking questions is a sure fire way to get yourself thrown out of the party. And we wouldn't want that. Here's what normally happens when people ask difficult questions at BNP meetings.

I'll be interested particularly in the presentation by "Operation Fightback" currently led by Adam Walker, the BNP officer who is probably more likely to be presenting "giving my car back" given his latest legal difficulties. "Operation Fightback" is, according to the BNP a "counter-attack measures against the enemies of our country, our heritage and our people".

This presentation should be good as we also have the opportunity to meet "charismatic Carlos" the BNP's London candidate for the GLA. Carlos Cortiglia, who is Uruguayan (don't ask me!) spoke out in favour of Argentina during the Falklands war. Translated from an interview given in Spanish, Carlos once said "I am Argentine East, in other words, Uruguayan by birth, and I feel very emotionally linked to Argentina. In 1982 I volunteered to go to the Falkland Islands”. Should be fun...

Then there is the update from the BNP's "number one" MEP (i.e. the only one that still talks to them). That MEP, Nick Griffin, will give an update on the "fight to take Britain out of the EU". Maybe I should take a bookmaker with me? I'll be quids in if I bet that Griffin is out of the European Parliament long before this country is. Of course, I can't take the BNP's very own bookmaker Martin Wingfield, he seems to have also fallen from favour with the party too. Bad Martin, no Argentine corned beef for you!

The real treat will be for me and many others I'm sure, the presentation by "Resistance" the BNP's "militant youth wing" who seem to have a logo very similar to that of the EDL. What with Carlos being "charismatic", I'm sure Kieren Trent will be going all out to beat Carlos with his own presentation skills. Usually these involve Nazi saluting and long winded speeches against homosexuals. I know there will be some at the AGM wanting to have a word in his ear about his other "talents", particularly after his recent attempted foray into the world of Irish republicanism from where he was apparently given short shrift.

So there you have it. Dress down for the occasion and whatever you do, do not ask difficult questions. It's not the great "British" affair of yesterday as the BNP would like to have it, but that says more (thankfully) about Britain than it does about the BNP. This year's AGM is going to be less about talk (well it would be, wouldn't it), and more about "action".

The chances are it will be court action.

Hope not hate

Five Go To The Red White & Blue Festival

“By Gum!” announced Julian; “This is going to be a simply topping weekend!”

“You're jolly right there,” added George - “and with no Jews, Moslems or other horrid inferior sorts to spoil things for we properly indigenous youngsters, either!”

“Hurrah!” shouted Anne and Dick, by way of cheery support.

The four chums (and not to forget Timmy, the dog!) walked their bicycles onto the field where their beloved British National Party were holding this year's Red White & Blue Festival.

Julian had only recently persuaded his staunch pals to join the Party, convincing them that it was necessary in order to “stem the tide of non-White immigration, and to prepare for the coming struggle against the dark forces of the Zionist Occupation Government.” “By Jove!” Dick had responded immediately; “that all sounds jolly worthwhile-sign me up!”

Anne and George had long been looking to fill the void in their lives left by the demise of Mr Mosley's Blackshirts. “Can girls join, too?” they asked.

“Yes,” said Julian - “But you'll have to stand at the back with the trays of sandwiches and do the washing up after our meetings.”

“Oh, you boys!” Laughed Anne, fondly.

“Come on!” Said Julian, opening a refreshing bottle of lemonade; “You girls set the tents up and make tea while Dick and myself find the Organisers.”

Although exhausted from the morning's arduous cycle ride, Anne and George set happily about erecting the pair of heavy canvas pavilion-style tents they had been carrying on their backs, along with installing the small-but-sturdy cast iron stove and the prefabricated, galvanised toilet cubicle they had transported on their bicycles.

The two lads strode through the field of flag-bedecked tents – more than twenty of them, they marvelled! - and soon found themselves at the door of a small caravan.

It was rocking, and strange (gasping?) noises came from within.

With some trepidation, Julian knocked.

“Who is it?” came a man's voice from within. “Is it my 11 o-clock gentleman?” called a woman.

“It's Julian and Dick of the Famous Five,” replied Julian, “We've just arrived, and we're wondering if you could show us what's what!”.

There came the sound of raucous laughter from within. “Oh yes, Julian! We can show you what's what, alright!” shouted the woman. “And as for your friend, I've always got time for a bit of ...”

The door opened. The Boys found themselves faced with a pleasant-looking, greyhaired gentleman clad in what looked to be a cardboard breastplate, a helmet fashioned from a rusting colander and a cardboard scabbard bearing a rubber sword. Which turned out, with only a cursory glance, not to be a sword after all.

Behind, in the gloom of the caravan, was an elderly lady surrounded by other, similarly-clad gentlemen; one of whom brandished a Bell & Howell Zoomatic 8mm camera.

“I say!” exclaimed Dick; “What a wizard camera! Are you chaps making a film?!”.

“Aye. Sort of...” replied the Gentleman; “What do you want?”

“We were just wondering what sort of activities you've got lined up for the weekend.”, said Julian.

The woman and her strangely-garbed companions began to laugh heartily. Their Leader stepped outside and closed the door behind him as the muffled giggling continued.

“Well, lads, it's like this...” he explained. “Do you understand what this festival's all about?”

“Oh yes!” said Dick; “There'll be healthy walks, patriotic singsongs around the campfire, hearty comradeship and fascinating talks about the countryside, local history, and the vital importance of retaining racial and idealogical purity in the face of the growing Arabic menace!”

“Aye. Something like that.” Replied the gentleman. “You came alone?”

“Oh no,” said Julian. “We left the girls setting up our tents.”

The old gentleman's manner changed. He smiled broadly.

“In that case, lads,” he said, as he ushered the pair away from the caravan (which was rocking once again - “It must have a broken leaf spring”, thought Dick to himself); “You run along and have fun, and all of you come over to see us at the caravan later tonight...”

“How exciting!” Said Julian as the chums strolled back to see how Anne and George (and not forgetting Timmy, the dog!) had got on with setting up the campsite: “Not only have we found ourselves in the most wizardly monocultural racial enclave in all of our great Nation, but the kindly old camp organisers have invited us to spend the evening sharing the warmth of their company!”

It was, indeed, going to be a topping night of high-jinks and merry laughter: Of that, the Lads were quite sure...

---------------

No-one spoke the next morning.

Silently, and making no eye contact with one another, the four faithful companions returned to their corner of the campsite.

“Going for a shower.” Said George, arming herself with a stiff-bristled scrubbing brush and a bottle of bleach as she headed for the utilities cubicle. “Bags I go next.” Said Anne, still in a daze as she rocked back and forth on the spot, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.

Julian tried to sit down, but was still feeling a little too tender.

“Come on, Julian!” Said Dick in as cheery a manner as he could muster; “Let's put our best foot forward and go for a jolly good walk!”

Julian tried to smile in response, but the pictures in his head simply wouldn't -simply wouldn't - go away. He wondered if he would ever be able to forget the events of the previous night...

“Come on, you old stick in the mud!” continued Dick – his voice cracking as the confused, disturbed emotions flooded to the surface once again - “Let's just get Timmy and go for a jolly – good – walk...”

He suppressed a wracking sob as he tried to force a smile for the sake of his dear friend.

But his plea had the opposite effect, as Julian remembered something with a growing, cold horror from the previous night...

“Oh God.” He remembered: “Timmy... TIMMY!”

Next Week: The Chums are invited to join Mr and Mrs Reynolds on a “Security Mission”

Anti-fascists claim victory as BNP festival cancelled

The BNP have announced that their annual Red, White & Blue festival (RWB) will not be taking place this year. Anti-fascists, who have protested the festival over the past 2 years, are claiming this as a victory.

According to Amber Valley BNP organiser, Lewis Allsebrook, the BNP will be trying to hold a number of smaller events across the region instead of holding one big festival. Dissidents within the BNP are claiming that the this is because few members are interested in buying tickets for this year's event.

The festival has taken place on farmland near Codnor, Derbyshire since 2007. Last year over 1,000 anti-fascists and locals marched against the festival and in 2009 militant anti-fascists attempted to block roads leading to the site. In addition, the farmer who hosts the RWB, the festival organisers and even toilets companies have been targeted for direct action. RWB host Alan Warner has cited the attacks on his property as a reason to give up hosting the event.

The RWB was the BNP's annual "family festival", usually held in August. Before coming to Derbyshire, the event was already notorious for playing Nazi marching music, hosting racist comedians and inspiring drunken violence between party members. Its image has not improved since then.

In 2007 the event passed largely unnoticed by anti-fascists, with only one lone protester turning up to express his views. By 2008 local anti-fascists Notts Stop the BNP were more organised and launched a concerted campaign against the festival. The licensing hearing was picketed and, as a result of mounting pressure, Derbyshire police imposed more serious security conditions on the event. BNP representatives withdrew their application in a huff and stormed out of the hearing.

Meanwhile, Alan Warner received a number of late night visits from activists who stole his flag, locked his gate and painted anti-fascist graffiti on his walls. STS, the company supplying the festival with toilets, also had their depot targeted.

On the weekend of the festival, a rally was held by several hundred anti-fascists responding to callouts from Notts Stop the BNP and Unite Against Fascism (UAF) who had had jumped on the bandwagon at the last minute. This was, unfortunately, marred by squabbling between the two groups. Meanwhile, a group of 100 masked anti-fascists emerged from the fields in an attempt to blockade access roads to the festival site. Fighting between riot police and this bloc resulted in over 30 arrests and led a local paper to plead for the BNP to "Never again" come to the area.

The direct action continued after the event with Warner being targeted two more times as well as RWB organiser, David Shapcott, being visited at his Burnley home.

Last year's festival was marred for the BNP by over 1,000 protesters turning up to march on the farm and the fact that an American white supremacist, who was booked to be one of the event's main speakers, was banned from entering the country. A number of festival goers were later convicted of racially abusing the protesters. Photos from inside the festival showed a pathetic turnout for what was supposed to be a flagship event.

At a meeting of East Midlands BNP organisers last weekend, whose minutes were leaked to Indymedia, the decision to cancel this year's RWB was announced. The local Amber Valley branch of the BNP have made the preposterous claim that the reason for the cancellation was worry about diverting police funds from anti-terrorism to policing the RWB. More cynical commentators have suggested that the campaign against Warner and the plummeting popularity of the festival are more likely reasons.

imc-notts-features

Leeds racism row singer loses unfair dismissal claim against police

A racism row singer fired from his day job with West Yorkshire Police has lost his claim for unfair dismissal

Gary Marsden I'Anson, of Morley, was arrested and sacked over his alleged association with the British National Party and for using work time to compile right-wing CDs and DVDs for his rock band Anglo Saxon. The police imaging officer of 23 years claimed West Yorkshire Police unfairly dismissed and discriminated against him. But an employment tribunal in Leeds has ruled against Mr I'Anson.

Deputy Chief Constable David Crompton said: "This case was significantly aggravated by the fact that force computers were being used in order to generate material which was clearly supportive of the BNP and which had content that was unquestionably contrary to the aims and values of the force."

Now jobless Mr I'Anson, 48, said: "It's a sad day for freedom of speech, artistic expression, liberty, democracy and human rights. It is a good day for political correctness."

Mr I'Anson denies any political links to the BNP and says he is not racist but an 'anti-terrorist patriot.' He said police were "talking nonsense" over claims he is associated with the BNP.

In 2007 Mr I'Anson was arrested on suspicion of possession of written material with intent to incite racial hatred. He denied any wrongdoing and no charges were brought. After being suspended on full pay he was eventually sacked in February 2009, after a two-year investigation.

Yorkshire Evening Post

Note: l'Anson is a liar when he claims he has no connection to the BNP. More details here.

'I live and breathe the BNP!!!' - School governor's vile boast

Debra Kent with Porky Griffin and Kent's partner James Clayton

Primary school governor Debra Kent is facing the axe after The People unmasked her as a racist. Kent - standing as an MP for the BNP - peddles her vile views on far-right websites. She even brags: "I live and breathe the BNP!!!!" A People probe found mum-of-one Kent, 30, has branded Britain a "multicultural hellhole" and said immigrants act "like savages".

She is part of an online group called "Stop the ethnic cleansing of Britain", has joined a campaign to ban non-white British footballers and another calling for halal meat to be outlawed. She supports a group named "If you don't like our country GET OUT" and another called "NO MORE MOSQUES". And we can reveal she went to a British National Party rally where racists torched a gollywog. Writing on Facebook, Kent later dubbed the rally "fab".

We launched our probe after parents at Latchford C of E Aided Primary School in Kent's hometown of Warrington, Cheshire, voiced alarm when she was chosen as BNP candidate for the new constituency of Lancaster and Fleetwood at the General Election. Partner James Clayton will fight Blackpool North and Cleveleys.

Education chiefs pledged Kent will be booted out because by law school governors have a duty to work for racial harmony. School head Jacqui Wightman said: "The views of the BNP go against all those we hold dear."

And Warrington education boss Pinaki Ghoshal said: "We would not support the continued presence of a BNP candidate on a school's board of governors."

Kent, who has a seven-year-old son, bragged: "I'm young, I'm successful, I'm a woman and I'm standing up for Christian values by standing as a BNP candidate. Get over it."

Sunday People

Excalibur - what's new in the world of crap?

Excalibur - rubbish for all occasions

If there is one thing that the BNP can be relied upon for, it is that it embraces the grotesque in the guise of patriotism, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the catalogue of disasters that is the Excalibur stock list.

For some strange reason (possibly to do with the recent full moon), I found myself perusing the delightful 'What's New' section at the Excalibur site. It was rather like stepping into Harrods - everything was gaudy, overpriced and on many levels deeply offensive. Yet there is a compulsion to go on looking and a feeling akin to that you had when you were a kid and you picked at a scab on your knee. You know it's going to hurt, it's certainly not going to get any better and yet the lure of mingled pain and revulsion is irresistable.

Bizarrely, I expected Excalibur to have made some small concessions to the possibility that non-whites may have suffered a complete mental collapse and joined up after the recent rule change that finally allows them to become members of the party that has been slagging them off and lying about them for years. I was disappointed (though not entirely unexpectedly). The white mug is still there, as is the 'Golly Collection'. And the interminable (and terminally boring) tomes by Arthur Kemp, proving over and over again that the white man is superior in every way to anyone anywhere of any other colour ever, so there.

The white man - in the form of the third-rate market-stall trader Arthur Kemp - is certainly superior in stocking cheap crap for his gullible bargain-hunting customers to waste their hard-earned readies on. Here's an example, and I make no apologies to the companies who produce this rubbish (which, I'm told, are Chinese).

Tudor Educational Colouring Postcards A set of 4 colouring postcards with Tudor images on the front and a postcard design on the reverse with educational information. Each pack is supplied with 6 [very short] pencils.

There's far worse. Last year's Red, White and Blue, the BNP's annual piss-up and golly-burning weekend, was a disaster for the party. Even though it was the tenth RWB and was much publicised in party bulletins, it was poorly attended and, we're told, lost a great deal of money. It was also met by a massive demonstration by anti-fascists. Thus, the party is still trying to flog off all the T-shirts and badges it couldn't find buyers for at the RWB, nearly a year later. Free badge or not - it's still shite.

Special Offer: RWB 2009 T-Shirt and Badge
£10 Size Small Buy both official RWB 2009 T-Shirt and Badge together for just £10 postage and packaging included.

Naturally, the What's New section of Excalibur has books about Spitfires, Vikings, the evils of multi-culturalism - and an idea they nicked from us and our Yearbook - Headline: The Best of BNP News. Cheeky buggers. But tat and tackiness win the day, and this little delight should win a prize for the ghastliest piece of merchandise seen this year.

Union Jack Tie A smart tie containing a pattern made up of Union flags. Eyecatching.

Eye-watering, certainly. The worst is, however, reserved for last. In the interests of, no doubt, welcoming non-whites into the party, the BNP greets them with what can only be construed as a not so subtle warning should Nick Griffin ever become Queen.

Queen Elizabeth I's Blackamoore Expulsion Order It is not widely known that between 1596 and 1601, Queen Elizabeth I ordered the expulsion of all non-indigenous Third World people, whom she called "blackamoores" from Britain. Now, for the first time ever, Excalibur is proud to exclusively offer reproductions of the original expulsion orders...Both original handwritten orders have been reproduced in full on fine quality thick paper, suitable for framing or display.

Why? Why would anyone be 'proud' to offer a reproduction of an expulsion order for blacks, even if it is four hundred years old? Only a complete moron would want to have such a thing framed and hanging in his home and only a party that is unrepentantly and blatantly racist to the core would ever dream of selling such garbage.

What's new in Excalibur's world of crap? Not a lot really - but it certainly is all crap.

No decision due on BNP festival 'until election complete'

The BNP said it was unlikely to make a final decision on whether to hold its annual festival in Derbyshire until after [this] year's general election

But party spokesman Simon Darby has dropped the biggest hint yet that a venue would be found in a different county.

Red, White and Blue was held for the third consecutive year on fields belonging to party member Alan Warner off Codnor-Denby Lane, Denby, in August. Policing this year's festival, and a protest against it, cost police £500,000 and £250,000 in 2008.

In November the Derby Telegraph reported that two or three alternative venues were being considered. Now Mr Darby has said a final decision is unlikely to be made until after the general election which must be held on or before Thursday, June 3. But he said the protests which came with the event had not been "fair on local people".

He said: "Making the final decision isn't high on our priorities list. But we have a responsibility towards the people who live in the area. Even though it wasn't our fault we are aware it has caused them quite a bit of discomfort."

Organisers of the protest, including [Notts] Stop the BNP and Unite Against Fascism, said their action was necessary. Amber Valley Labour MP, Judy Mallaber, said the festival caused noise and traffic problems.

Derby Telegraph

Salutes at BNP event 'racist act'

Nazi salutes given by two men to people protesting against a British National Party festival were a hostile act referring to genocide, a judge has found

Deputy District Judge John Miller made the point as he found Saville Davies and Hayden Gough guilty of racially aggravated harassment yesterday. He accepted that the pair were provoked by protesters at the party's annual Red, White and Blue festival, in Denby. But he said the salutes could not be seen as anything other than hostile towards the non-British and non-white people and "those associated with them" in the 1,000-strong protest group.

He said: "It (the Nazi salute) is a reference to Nazi party dogma, which, as we know, involved racial discrimination to the most extreme degree – that is genocide based on race."

Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' court heard how, on Saturday, August 15, an argument started when protesters passed a small group of people in Codnor-Denby Lane as they walked away from holding a rally near the festival entrance. Between 10 and 15 people, including Davies, 25 and Gough, 18, were asked to move out of the way by police as the protesters approached.

When the protesters arrived Davies, who had a shaved head and was wearing braces and jeans, said he got into an argument with a man he believed threatened his son. The court heard how protesters shouted slogans like "Nazi scum" and "Master race you're having a laugh" and threw objects such as fruit. Davies, who was on his way to the festival at the time, said, as he moved away, the taunts got louder and he turned to give a Nazi salute.

Gough, who claimed he was following the protest "to get his face on TV", said he gave three Nazi salutes when interviewed by police.

Both were caught on CCTV taken by a police surveillance team. Davies was arrested at the scene and Gough was arrested later that day after officers had studied the pictures. In September, Davies and Gough pleaded not guilty to racially aggravated harassment. Yesterday, they pleaded guilty to behaviour causing harassment alarm or distress but continued to deny it was racially aggravated. They were found guilty of the earlier charge.

Both said they were not members of the BNP but Davies said he been to one party meeting. Davies, of Holywell Avenue, Codnor, was ordered to pay a fine and costs totalling £315, and Gough, of Church Street, Riddings, £390. Both were bound over to pay £250 if they caused harassment, alarm or distress to the public again within two years.

Derby Telegraph

Top clubs ban Welsh BNP goods

A leading member of the BNP in Wales has been forced to withdraw ‘racist’ football merchandise following threats from top Premier League sides.

Roger Phillips, the BNP’s deputy organiser for West Wales, is the director of the online operation Patriot Products.

Launched at the BNP’s Red, White and Blue rally in August, Patriot Products, which is not currently trading, sold an extensive range of nationalistic tat and clothing, including golliwog badges with the names of clubs such as Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. They depicted a golliwog with a football holding a scarf aloft with club names and colours. The official BNP merchandising store, Excalibur, sells the same golliwog badge holding an England scarf.

The anti-racism football organisation Kick It Out alerted the English clubs involved in September. It said of the clubs involved: “Some have contacted the website direct, some have deferred it to the club lawyers.”

One of the Premier League clubs, Chelsea, confirmed they had prepared to take legal action against Phillips last month but found the offensive items had been removed before action was required. A spokesman for the club said: “We absolutely abhor the sale of any racist merchandise. We took the necessary steps to prevent it.”

Welsh Secretary and Chelsea supporter Peter Hain said: “This man is the true poisonous face of the BNP not the respectable one they pretend to have.”

A spokesman for the Football Association said: “There is no place for racism in football and we utterly condemn any organisation or individual that seeks to encourage or make financial gain from it. We help to fund Kick It Out and work very closely with other anti-racism organisations to do as much as we can to eliminate racism in football.”

Mr Phillips, 42, whose Facebook photos include one of a cornflakes box with an open-mouthed black minstrel and the doctored logo ‘Coon flakes’, wrote: “I have had my business contacted by the FA and Sheffield Football Club trying to bully me into removing Golly badges from my range. Here is my response – FUCK YOU.”

Businessman Mr Phillips, who did not return our calls, revealed in a documentary on the BNP broadcast on S4C earlier this year, in June, that he would flout employment laws to avoid employing Muslims.

“As far as Muslims are concerned, I wouldn’t be happy to employ them,” he said. “There is a reason for that. They would want time off in the afternoons to pray. You’d have to sort out prayer rooms for them. I’m not going to do that. It’s up to me how I run my business.”

On his Facebook page Mr Phillips fantasises about hanging Gordon Brown and repeats the recently regurgitated lie by the BNP that Mr Hain is a former bank robber.

Mr Hain, a vociferous anti-apartheid campaigner, countered: “I would expect nothing else from the racists and fascists who have attacked me for 40 years now. Everyone knows that in 1975 I was a victim of mistaken identity and acquitted of bank theft when I was almost certainly set up by the South African police in the bad old days of apartheid which the likes of the BNP supported.”

A BNP spokesman dismissed the sale of golliwogs. He said: “We sell golliwog toys on our Excalibur merchandise site. We market the golliwogs basically to stick two fingers up to the establishment”.

Wales Online

Campaign launched to keep BNP festival away from area

A campaign to stop the BNP holding its annual festival in Amber Valley has been started by a local anti-fascist organisation.

Amber Valley Campaign Against Racism and Fascism has plans to fight the right-wing party with a 'No BNP here, thank you' campaign, which it is hoping will be taken up by other people in the borough and around the county. The group plans on setting up a huge petition, signed by thousands of people, which it hopes will keep the event out of the area.

The group said it set up the campaign in response to the £500,000 which was spent on policing this year's Red, White and Blue festival, and the protest march of more than 1,000 people which took place in Codnor on the same weekend in August.

John Kimberley, spokesman for the group, said: "We felt most local people did not want the BNP holding its international fascist festival in our community. Talking with local people over the past few months it is clear they hate the bad name the BNP gives our area. Plus, police money could be better spent on community relations, fighting crime and supporting victims. We believe the best solution is that the BNP do not hold its festival here again."

A spokesman for the BNP said the party had discussed moving the three-day event elsewhere in the country following this year's festival, but no decisions had yet been made on the location for next year, which will be the party's 11th rally.

The petition against the Amber Valley rally, which has been held on land off Codnor-Denby Lane for three years, will be set up online within months.

Ripley and Heanor News

Police hoping BNP will move festival away from village

Derbyshire police say they hope the British National Party will confirm an alternative venue for its annual Red, White and Blue festival.

Speaking after a meeting last night, Superintendent Howard Veigas said the event, held for the past three years in Denby, led to "the same community suffering year after year" from the upheaval it brings to local residents.

Supt Veigas said: "The police do not feel it is a suitable location for the festival. We have great concerns that it is such an imposition and a huge disruption to the local community. But if it has to come back we will have to take on the organisation."

His comments came after BNP councillor Lewis Allsebrook told the meeting at Denby Church of England School, in Church Street, that the party was looking at "two or three alternative locations" for the event. Mr Allsebrook, who represents Heanor West on Amber Valley Borough Council, reiterated that the party may move its festival away from Derbyshire.

He said: "The BNP is looking at alternative sites. The decision would be made at a central level. We came here to listen to what everyone has had to say and we are going to take on board their views."

Around 20 villagers turned up at last night's meeting. Almost all praised the police for the way they handled this year's event, which saw 18 people arrested – four supporters of the BNP and 14 protesters. One man, who did not wish to be named, said: "It was a fantastic job by the police. I felt very secure knowing they were there."

Another resident told the meeting: "I think the police response was absolutely excellent in the way they handled the different interest groups."

Villagers at the meeting, which was organised by the police to seek residents' views on the way the force handled the event, were shown video footage taken from a police helicopter. It showed demonstrators, marshalled by officers and police on horseback, as they marched down Heanor Road to a designated protest point on Codnor-Denby Lane. Police formed a cordon but were pushed back twice as the protesters shoved their way through.

Chief Superintendent Garry Sherwood, Commander for the Constabulary's A Division, which covers Amber Valley, told the meeting: "It reminded me of when I started policing more than 20 years ago – a thin blue line with arms linked."

Derby Telegraph

BNP legal bid cost taxpayers £5,000

The borough council spent almost £5,000 in taxpayers' money pursuing a legal injunction to stop caravans being parked at the British National Party's annual festival in Denby, it has been revealed.

The right wing party held its controversial Red, White and Blue bash on land owned by party member Alan Warner off Codnor Denby Lane in August.

Amber Valley Borough Council wrote to Mr Warner in July warning him that using his land as a temporary caravan park for the weekend was contrary to the Town and County Planning Act and obtained an injunction. Mr Warner says he refused to sign the injunction as it did not specifically say how many caravans would be allowed and as soon as the number was confirmed as three he agreed. However in the meantime the council pursued a case in the High Court against him.

Now a freedom of information request by the BNP has revealed council solicitors' fees amounted to £4,373 plus VAT of £626.25 for the case.

Mr Warner said: "The only reason I didn't sign their injunction was because it said a 'small number' of caravans would be allowed. That could be ten, it could be 20. When the police confirmed it was three I signed up straight away but Amber Valley jumped the gun. It is unbelievable really, costing the ratepayers all this money."

Mr Warner says he has now submitted an application to Amber Valley Borough Council applying for permission to site 40 caravans on his land next summer.

Amber Valley Borough Council has defended its decision to pursue an injunction against the number of caravans permitted at the festival. A spokesman for the council said: "Do we feel the costs of the High Court injunction were a constructive use of public money? Yes."

More than 1,000 people marched in protest against the festival on August 15 and police made 19 arrests as well as issuing two cautions and two fixed penalty notices. In September, a BNP member, 66-year-old John Jones, was fined £146 by Derby magistrates for making a Nazi salute at protesters.

Ripley and Heanor News

BNP member pleads guilty to making Nazi salute in Codnor

A BNP member has been fined for giving a Nazi salute during clashes with protesters marching against the party's annual Red, White and Blue festival. John Jones was one of a small group who argued with anti-fascist campaigners as they moved along Codnor-Denby Lane, Denby. Police told Jones, 66, to leave the scene but as he did so he made the gesture.

The three-day Red, White and Blue festival was held on fields off Codnor-Denby Lane for the third consecutive year last month. About 1,000 left-wing activists were involved in the march on August 15, at the time when the argument broke out.

Yesterday Jones, of Curtis Road, Epsom, appeared at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court. He pleaded guilty to using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour which was racially aggravated. Fernando Rodrigues, prosecuting, said the group including Jones had been walking along the road when police told them to move into a field, as the protesters approached. A police cordon was formed and, as the march went past, the two groups exchanged words.

Mr Rodrigues said: "The offender raised his arm in the air in what was described as a Nazi salute. During his police interview, he stated he had come to Derbyshire from London the previous day to attend the festival. He (Jones) openly stated he was a member of the BNP and showed his membership card."

Jones, who was not represented, told the court that he was threatened with words such as "Kill the BNP" and pelted with fruit. Speaking after the hearing, Jones said he had been a party member for about 20 years but had been unable to go to the festival because of his arrest. Jones was fined £71, with £60 costs and a £15 Government surcharge. Presiding magistrate Anthony Stanley said the salute was a "serious offence". However, Kirit Mistry, executive director of Derby Racial Equality Council, which was involved in organising the protest, said the fine was not enough.

He said: "He should also have been told to complete a cultural awareness programme as part of his punishment."

BNP spokesman Simon Darby said Jones would face a disciplinary hearing to decide his future with the party. Two other men, Saville Davies, 25, of Hollywell Avenue, Codnor, and a 17-year-old, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty to the same charge as Jones. They will appear for trial in December.

This is Derbyshire

Police investigate racism claims at BNP event

Derbyshire police has launched an investigation into allegations of racist behaviour at the BNPs Red, White and Blue Festival.

The allegations - made in a national newspaper - involved claims that a 12-year-old girl burned a golly doll at the annual event. A spokeswoman for Derbyshire police said officers will be contacting the newspaper, which alleges that an undercover reporter witnessed unlawful activity while at the event.

Red, White and Blue was held for the third consecutive year on fields off Codnor-Denby Lane, Denby, earlier this month.

An article in the News of the World said it had sent an undercover reporter to the event who saw evidence of racist behaviour.

The BNP said it had launched an investigation into the claims.

This is Derbyshire

Angel-faced racist aged 12 - Girl burns golly at BNP's Red, White and Blue

A little girl grins with glee as she holds a golly over a fire . . . while a jeering BNP politician finds the doll guilty of BEING BLACK during a vile mock trial and execution. The baying crowd cheers when the toy - dubbed Winston - is condemned and dropped on to the flames to "die". Goading on the assembled adults and kids, the politician, a local council candidate, yells out these chilling words: "Let's get a real one . . . in the town we'll find one or two."

The sickening stunt was staged at the British National Party's annual FAMILY festival last weekend - yet the BNP insists it is NOT racist as part of its successful ploy to attract votes in elections. Around 1,200 members converged on fields at Codnor, Derbys, for the Red White and Blue "fun" weekend. Our undercover reporter, posing as a supporter to gain entry to the members-only event, secretly filmed racism everywhere.

(Left, GUILTY: Golly 'Winston' is held by girl before being dropped on the fire)

For £1 a go, people were throwing wet sponges at a man in a Barack Obama mask locked in stocks. Elsewhere stalls were selling T-shirts with slogans like It's A White Thing and books such as Race, Evolution and Behavior - which insists whites give birth to larger-brained babies and blacks are prone to crime. Supporters gave Nazi-style salutes and shouted Sieg Heil.

And in the "political tent", party chairman and MEP Nick Griffin, 50, was setting out how his party would deal with proposed anti-discrimination laws forcing the BNP to change its whites-only membership policy. He said: "Since if we want to survive we will be forced to let them in, the key will be before we do so to change the party - to ensure that whoever's coming in doesn't have any control."

Saturday night was the climax of the festival - and when the vileness reached its peak. Firstly, around 50 skinheads took part in a PAGAN ceremony to summon occult powers for their cause. They chanted incantations as they passed around and drank from an animal horn filled wth mead.

(Left, JUDGE & JURY: Coombes (seated), Hamilton (top left), and a BNP mate)

Two hours later, local council candidates John Coombes, of Maidenhead, Berks, and Dick Hamilton of Marlow, Bucks, were sitting with others around a brazier. Hamilton's ghettoblaster blared out songs supporting Hitler and attacking "niggers". Then began the "trial" led by Coombes, 45.

A 12-year-old girl there with her dad (we are protecting her identity) held a golly called Winston over the fire as Coombes "charged" him with "mugging, rape, drug dealing". He sneered: "Right Winston, you're about to get cooked. Anything else to say? Says he ain't a drug dealer. He thinks he's not black. He's charged with being black. Now get on there."

Skinhead Hamilton chipped in: "If he jumps off he's innocent." Coombes went on: "He's guilty, guilty as charged. Let's get a real one - in the town we'll find one or two. They'll also be guilty of the heinous crimes I charged him with - may God forgive your horrible soul." Coombes repeated the charges then added: "He may have appeared innocent to you lot but I'm sure he done lots of things wrong."

During the weekend the party's other MEP Andrew Brons used his stint in the political tent to compare Muslims to SMALLPOX during his speech. He declared: "I'm less concerned about the presence of mosques than the presence of the people that use them. Being worried about the presence of a particular mosque is almost like looking at a disease like smallpox and saying it's a problem with spots."

Ex-BNP cultural officer Jonathan Bowden, 47, also attacked Islam, and dubbed Jewish Israel as "cancer". He bleated: "The only way this (Muslim) problem will be solved is if they go back - go back to their civilisation. (But) we must renounce support for Israel. Israel is the cancer that lies at the heart of much of this."

(Left, SICK SALUTE: Party supporters make the Nazi sign and yell out 'Sieg Heil')

And Greater London Authority member Richard Barnbrook joked about BLACKING himself up. The deputy opposition leader of Barking and Dagenham council boasted: "I've got balls made of steel. In my own ward, if I go around naked, and put boot polish on my face, they'd still love me."

In the evenings, supporters sat round campfires venting hate. During one chat, Stockport area organiser Duncan Warner explained to our reporter in sick twisted logic why using the word "Paki" was OK.

"Paki means pure. So why do you get offended when all that they're doing is calling you pure?" he whined. "You get called a Paki, how can you get offended by that?"

Elsewhere party supporter Danny Marshall, of Cotmanhay, Derbys, and his girlfriend Bev boasted of using intimidation tactics to rid the village of foreigners who'd moved there. Bev said: "Where I live is National Front. It's BNP. There's this black family that's just moved in from Nigeria. An hour later they were out...They were coming to nick our jobs. They had an hour to get out of their premises - from us people, ourselves."

Marshall said: "The Lithuanians and Czechs are sneaking in because they're white. You find the fuckers on the doorstep."

Bev added: "These guys from Poland came into Cotmanhay and did a car wash. Somebody wrote BNP on their sign - once that was there they were gone...guess who that was? Me and Danny. I wrote BNP."

Elsewhere another man moaned: "If things don't become any better, and I become older, so I'm 70 or 75, I'll take a GPMG (machine gun) - seriously, I'm not joking here - and I'm going to fucking destroy lots of people.

On one occasion shouts of "Reds, reds" broke out. BNP members grabbed hammers and axes then charged to the perimeter fence. A lone anti-facism protester trying to get into the festival was stopped by police before the thugs got to him.

During the weekend police arrested 19 of the protesters outside - and one BNP member. Meanwhile, half an hour after the sick golly burning the BNP's London organiser Bob Bailey arrived. With him was Griffin - who stated last October "the BNP is not racist". Together they warmed themselves on the embers.

NoTW

BNP considers festival site move

The British National Party has said next year's Red White and Blue Festival (RWB) could be moved from Derbyshire. The party said it was concerned about the disruption caused to local people and the licensing restrictions imposed by the council.

Last weekend 19 people were arrested during anti-BNP protests near Denby in a policing operation estimated to have cost £500,000.

A BNP spokesman said no decision had been made on any alternative sites. The event faced restrictions on music, alcohol sales and the number of caravans it could host.

Protest vow

The centre of Denby, where most of the protests took place, was heavily policed and some residents needed an escort to leave the town.

Deputy leader of the BNP Simon Darby said: "There is a school of thought that says we have had RWB in Wales, in the Midlands, in the North, in the East Midlands and we have never had it, for instance, in Scotland, the South West or the South. So I think there will be a lot of competition, there are several sites which want us."

Protesters said they would follow the festival no matter where it went and added they hoped councils would carefully consider any application from organisers.

BBC

Of crap sharks, DoSsers, deserts and life

Well well, good news for a change. Great White Records is back. There, I knew that'd make you happy. The downside is that the master of incompetence Dave Hannam, Mark Collett's schoolgirl-hunting mate, has got the boot. A real pity, as Hannam is almost as good a target for utter stupidity as the idiotic Dicky Barnbrook.

There are consolations though because the manager of the new and squeaky-clean GWR is the young and squeaky-voiced Joey Smith, who is such a moron that he might prove to be even more amusing than Hannam. Let's hope that he can better Hannam's stupendous record, at least. Great White Records was formed in 2005, submitted its only set of accounts in 2006 and finally dissolved as a company because of almost non-existent takings in June of this year.

The 'nationalist' music scene isn't exactly setting the world on fire, is it.

Was it a 'DoS' attack or just a disgruntled schoolboy taking his ball home in a sulk? The latter, it seems. Simon Bennett, the 'webmaster' and James Bond-wannabe who took the BNP's simple but usable website and changed it into the terminally slow and gaudy rubbish that it is today, was apparently sacked by Nick Griffin just before the Red, White and Blue boozefest.

Bennett promptly locked the party out, being the petulant child that he is, but was persuaded to hand back the keys by South African white supremacist Arthur Kemp and it's intended that control of the website will pass back into the hands of one of the other South Africans in the party, school-bomber and former BNP webmaster Lambertus Nieuwhof.

There was, according to all the information we can gather, NO DoS attack. But then, we never thought there had been.

The Red, White and Blue was a failure. Attended by something between five and seven hundred people (including kids), the whole thing was a washout from beginning to end, surprisingly, for this was the tenth anniversary of the RWB.

If you take a look at the images (link provided by the ever-vigilant irishtony) you can see precisely what the RWB was - a car boot sale set up in tents on a very big field. All that was on sale was tat from the BNP's rubbishy Excalibur scam. Of course, if you got bored, you could always go and take a look at the mock-graveyard. A fine way to entertain the kids over the weekend.

Remember those old cowboy films with the sagebrush being blown across the desert at the edge of the town? The soundtrack always featured a dog howling off in the distance and someone blowing listlessly on a harmonica, as the camera focused on on the distant figure of the stranger as he rode wearily into the outskirts, not entirely sure of what to expect, only certain that none of it would be good. That was last weekend's RWB.

And so we come to Nick Griffin's ever-more desperate attempts to make money while carefully avoiding giving away even a penny of his own - or not to the BNP at least. Yes, the gullible and long-suffering members of the BNP are being asked to cough-up some more cash but this time there's something of a twist that might prove to be of interest a year or two down the line.

A paid membership of any organisation, particularly something as long-term and stable as a political party, provides a regular and guaranteed income, within limits of course. Core membership will, after several years, become apparent, and the money from those members can be used as the basic budget for the party. There are plenty of people who will join for a year and never be seen again but the core money is always there and always reliable.

The new Life Membership scheme, in which the member pays a lump sum (£395 at the moment but rumoured to be going up to £800) looks, on the face of it, like a good idea for those who wish to show some commitment to this party of thieves, but is it just a typically short-sighted attempt to grab money now at the expense of not having it tomorrow? Well, yes. The BNP, as we all know, is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. The Euro elections - fought solely so that Nick Griffin could get a well-paid sinecure before the party collapsed altogether - were rumoured to have cost the BNP around £400,000, leaving absolutely nothing in the piggy bank for the General Election, which will probably have to take place in May next year.

Donation fatigue is setting in with a vengeance. The constant stream of begging letters from Welshpool is annoying even the long-term loyalists within the party, who see no return for their cash and continuously find themselves having to ignore that fact that they are being conned all along the line. Hence the life membership gamble - and it IS a gamble. With a reasonable take-up, the party might survive and get over the present financial hump but I can't imagine many people have £400 to throw away and those who do are not going to be paying their regular £30 membership fee for years, possibly decades.

The life membership scheme smacks of a last gasp - a game of Russian Roulette, where the risk is huge but the rewards could possibly be enough to get through the current mess. But what about the next mess, and the one after that? Because with the BNP, you can always guarantee that there will be a financial disaster just around the corner.

Three charged over racial taunt at BNP rally

Three people have been charged with racially aggravated public order offences after a group heading to a far-right British National Party camp on Saturday taunted anti-racism protesters, police said.

Derbyshire police arrested 19 people during the mainly peaceful anti-BNP rally near a farm outside the village of Codnor where the BNP's Red, White and Blue festival was held over the weekend.

The three were among a group who crossed fields to get to the camp on foot under police escort as hundreds of demonstrators waving placards saying "the BNP is a Nazi party" blocked road access to the site.

The BNP, which campaigns to halt immigration and repatriate immigrants voluntarily, won its first two seats in the European Parliament in June.

Although it has no representatives in the British parliament, the party has won support from white voters angry about unemployment and access to public housing and other services during the worst recession in generations.

Reuters

BNP targets children as recruits for party's youth wing

YBNP annual training camp 2008 - Mirror story
Inside the tent adorned with the Union Jack and St George’s flag, Peter and Anthony are on a recruiting drive. They hand out leaflets telling potential converts that their organisation is not racist, merely “helping to resist the racist colonisation of Britain”.

Their table is scattered with postcards of young, white women draped in the Union Jack, holding placards with the reminder that “nationalism is for girls too”. The pair tell The Times that the British National Party is great for the country and that they are proud to support it.

However, they are unable to articulate why they are attracted to the far-right party, and they squirm in their seats when asked about their understanding of issues such as racism, nationalism and discrimination. They may be simply too young to appreciate such concepts: Anthony is 14 and Peter just 12 years old. Nevertheless, the pair spent the weekend recruiting for the youth wing of the BNP at the party’s annual gathering in Derbyshire, which attracted several hundred families.

Peter, whose mother brought him to the event, said: “Young BNP is just about making sure that we are going to have a good place in the normal BNP when we’re older, and that’s what we want. It’s cool, we play lots of sports and stuff.” Several events at the Red, White and Blue Festival, which was picketed by protesters, were geared towards youth in what anti-fascist groups said was “disturbing indoctrination” and an attempt to create a new generation of nationalist sympathisers.

Young children’s faces were painted with the Union Jack and many sported BNP T-shirts and fake tattoos of crusaders and the St George’s flag. They were encouraged to throw wet sponges at a man in the stocks, who was dressed in Islamic clothing and wearing an Osama bin Laden mask. Even infants were exposed to the nationalist cause, with toys and blow-up furniture in the children’s tent being decorated with the Union Jack.

Simon Darby, the deputy leader of the BNP, told The Times that the younger generation was “very important” for the future of the party. “We don’t think short-term, we think long-term,” he said.

Mr Darby denied that the party was indoctrinating youth: “We’re just pointing out another side of things — that it isn’t a good idea to completely destroy our own culture. We are making sure they know that white people aren’t inferior, because that’s what they are being taught in schools.”

However, anti-fascist groups whose blockade of the event, near Denby, resulted in 19 arrests after clashes with police, said that the BNP’s approach was “very dangerous”. Weyman Bennett, joint national secretary of Unite Against Fascism, said that the BNP was actively trying to recruit the young in a new drive because so many of its members were from older generations. “It’s really dangerous. They are trying to normalise their politics among young children. It is very concerning — do we really want this to be going on in our playgrounds?”

Alongside Peter and Anthony, Tristan Simekins, 18, had travelled from Corsham, Wiltshire, to recruit for the BNP’s student wing. His leaflets explained that the movement provided advice to young people on dealing with “anti-white discrimination”. He said: “My problem is with the indoctrination of Islam. I admit not all Muslims are evil, but I feel Islam is.”

Times Online

Tea and mugs at the BNP garden party

An English village, a summer festival – what could be more agreeable? But beneath the traditional trappings lies an air of menace.

Showing their true colours - an Obama effigy comes in for a soaking at the RWB

A man wearing Islamic dress and an Osama Bin Laden mask poked his head through wooden stocks and was pelted with sponges for his trouble, while a neighbouring stall did a roaring trade in golliwog mugs and Union flag badges. This was not your average summer fete. A bouncy castle and ice-cream van did little to lighten the mood at the British National Party's festival yesterday.

BNP members, huddled under tarpaulin and shivering in their shorts, appeared less than thrilled by the grey Derbyshire skies and chill breeze that heralded the start of their annual summer gathering.

Listed in the Domesday Book, the sleepy village of Codnor in the Amber Valley district is a former mining community, with a population of just under 5,000. Only 12 miles from Derby and 14 from Nottingham, Codnor (chillingly for those who live there) is regarded by the BNP as "the heart of a rural district whose ancient history and cultural heritage exemplify all that is steadfastly and typically Anglo-Saxon".

The "Red, White and Blue" festival was billed as a family event. In this case the "family" extended beyond mum, dad and a couple of sticky-fingered children. One cousin from out of town was missing: a US white supremacist was banned from entering Britain for the festival last week. But others had rallied and speeches were scheduled from Roberto Fiore, leader of the Italian far-right Forza Nuova and a friend of the BNP leader, Nick Griffin.

And, of course, there were members of the BNP "family" from closer to home. "It is nice to speak to people from different countries who share our views," said Dave Clarke, 56, who has attended the event for the past five years. Like many at the festival, Mr Clarke wore his political allegiance on his chest: a T-shirt bearing the St George's Cross and a row of BNP stickers decorating the brim of his hat.

Most who attended yesterday came with their children, and in this Mr Clarke was no exception. He brought his 16-year-old daughter, Rebecca, hoping she would "learn about her culture and heritage, things that are being forgotten".

Along with family, British culture and heritage were high on the agenda. When Mr Griffin picked up the microphone in the "Political Tent", it was not to speak of the party's political future but about researching his family's history. He encouraged others to do the same.

Numerous posters celebrated British soldiers who fought in the First and Second World Wars, while in one corner of the field a group of white wooden crosses commemorated "people who have died as a result of anti-white violence". It was one of many surreal touches in an event that both fascinated and appalled in its apparent normality: a Ford Ka was up for grabs in a raffle, while a coconut shy featured images of Tony Blair, Jack Straw and Gordon Brown, offering festival-goers the chance to "knock a traitor off the stick".

Amid makeshift cafés selling tea and cakes sat marquees run by local BNP branches. At the Manchester stall, "Then and Now" displays contrasted photographs of white 1960s schoolboys with modern schools in the city's multicultural Moss Side area, beside slogans claiming that schools have been "dumbed down" to meet the needs of immigrants.

Media entry was tightly controlled. All but the most like-minded journalists, myself included, were assigned two minders; some publications were denied access altogether.

Things were getting a little ugly on the other side of the iron gates and thick hedgerows – not to mention countless security guards and policemen – that separated BNP members from about 1,500 anti-fascist protesters. The Derbyshire force put the cost of policing this year's protest at some £500,000, and reported a score of arrests as demonstrators hurled missiles, including eggs and flour, in frustration at being unable to get to the BNP members. Many had travelled to Codnor with groups such as Stop the BNP, Unite Against Fascism and the Trades Union Congress.

"We know they have a hardcore neo-Nazi membership, but in holding events like this they are trying to secure new members," said 43-year-old Dean Ryan, from London. "We're here to remind those people that this is not just a fun day out. I'm planning to protest peacefully, but I've seen the BNP be violent and as far as I'm concerned self-defence is no offence."

Snippets of chants from the protesters drifted across the site. Refrains such as "What shall we do with the BNP? What shall we do with the BNP? String them up like Mussolini" created a sense of unease, although the voices were frequently drowned out by the constant whirring of a police helicopter circling overhead.

The BNP professed itself happy with the way the day had turned out. "We've chosen a very secure site here," said Mr Griffin. "We're tucked away, so we're not in people's faces. It is discreet. We haven't done much marketing this year, but I'd say we've got more than last year."

The people who live nearby were considerably less happy. For them, the gathering had been as much of a nuisance as they had predicted. With roads closed and hundreds of protesters chanting, local residents do not look forward to the festival, which has been held in the town for the past three years.

Kevin Grant, 50, who lives less than a mile from the festival site, viewed the whole thing as an irritant: "Last year I was called a neo-Nazi by protesters, and I don't even vote for the BNP. This year we've been told to stay in our houses all day."

Independent