Anger as BNP targets town with racist video

Local politicians have slammed a disturbing British National Party (BNP) video that is using Horley as a focal point to win support.

The notorious far-right party has been blasted for "frightening people with factually incorrect information" by posting a four-minute film on video sharing site YouTube. They say it exploits serious issues surrounding the Horley Master Plan in an attempt to justify its bigoted policies, with the film itself featuring shocking racist terminology. And Councillor Mike Miller, ward councillor for Horley West, condemned the video as "a load of rubbish".

He disputed the party's claims that 1,500 homes would be constructed in the northwest sector of the plan, and 1,100 homes in the north-east sector. Mr Miller said the actual figures are 1,400 and 700 respectively, with an additional 500 homes to be built on brownfield sites within Horley. And he added the party's views on race were "best ignored".

A BNP activist unashamedly uses the phrase "white-flight" in the film, an inflammatory term used to describe the migration of Caucasians from multi-ethnic inner-city areas.

Mr Miller said: "I'm not in favour of right-wing parties like them. They want to eradicate anything but the English and we don't live in that sort of world and that sort of society."

Town councillor Mike George condemned the BNP, led by Nick Griffin, for "mischief-making" and playing the "race card". He said: "The Master Plan is controversial on the issues of planning and flooding.The race card has not entered into any of the discussions that we have had. It's purely speculation on their part as to who are going to fill the houses."

And Mr George, chairman of the Court Lodge Residents' Association, also accused the party of political opportunism. He said: "They are a bit late in the day. The plan has now been fully discussed, it has been consulted on, so it is a bit late for them to say this is an issue they are concerned about. I would say: 'Why now, and why Horley?'."

Mr George's accusations of opportunism appear justified, with the BNP only now adopting the pretence of concern about building on floodplain and green-belt land, despite the Master Plan having been in the pipeline since 1994. Instead, the film provides a disturbing insight into the party's bigotry, with activist Steve Horne claiming much of the development in Horley will house so-called "white-flight".

He says: "Undoubtedly some of the people in Horley will live here,or move here. But I believe most of the people who are going to live here will come from London, what's known as white flight - people that aren't happy with what's going on in London at the moment and want to escape to the countryside. It's towns like Horley that have to suffer this in the long term."

When consulted about the video, Simon Darby, press officer for the BNP,was disarmingly honest about the party's racist stance, saying that "people liked to live among themselves". He said: "With more and more people coming in and more and more people wanting to get out and live in semi-sub-urban areas, there's really no escape from liberal multi-culturalism. Whereas people used to think they could live in a nice area and send their children to a predominantly white school, that sadly is no longer the case."

Surrey Mirror