Islamophobic attack on Luton mosque

A mosque was vandalised in an Islamophobic attack in Luton in the early hours of July 23. They smashed windows and spray painted ‘EDL’ and a swastika on the walls of the mosque.

The incident is the latest in a chain of arson and vandalism attacks on mosques and the property of many Muslims in Luton – a town where the English Defence League (EDL), anti Muslim, anti Islam group - is largely active.

Imam Shahid Ahmed from the Medina mosque related to The Muslim News about the attack. “When I locked the mosque up at 11pm everything was okay. When I returned at 4am for morning prayers I found two windows smashed and the words ‘EDL’ and a swastika painted on the walls.”

Ahmed said the “racists who attacked the mosque are ignorant.” He added, “This is a place of worship. They have no understanding for people of any religion.”

Maqsood Anwar, a member of the mosques’ committee and a local, describes the attacks as “disgusting” and told The Muslim News that this was not the first time a mosque in Luton has been attacked. “Last year, petrol bombs were thrown into a local mosque causing considerable damage. Many cars have been scratched and spray painted with words such as ‘EDL,’ he said.

A spokesman for Luton Council told The Muslim News that the Council “is appalled by this action and condemns it in the strongest possible terms.” The spokesman said they will be looking into having “additional lighting in the area – to help provide further reassurance to everyone.”

A Bedfordshire Police spokesman told The Muslim News that investigation “is still on-going as we take these kinds of crimes very seriously indeed and we know that all communities find them offensive and frightening.” However, the police refused to to say whether the attack was Islamophobic. “At this stage, there is no evidence to suggest who is responsible for this incident or what the person's motive may have been,” the Spokesman said.

The Muslim News

EDL tried to take advantage of looting

Throughout the looting/riots, the EDL attempted to capitalise on the situation, and use it as an excuse to promote themselves and as an excuse for some violence.

Cambridge saw EDL vigilantes clear Mill Road (an important road in the town centre) of imaginary looters, only to be told by local traders that they were not welcome. Meanwhile a senior Met police officer warned of more attempts by the EDL to hijack local communities defending themselves, with places like Enfield being hit.

Nor did the EDL stick to its alleged belief of only being anti-Islamic extremism. An EDL gang attacked a bus with black youths on it in London, whilst EDL posters online flooded forums with racist language directed primarily against blacks:

The English Defence League have reverted to type, with torrents of sickening anti-black racism on their divisional Facebook walls, peppered with the N-word, and description of black people being “monkeys” and “apes”. Since their existance, the moderators have tried to brush all of their non-Muslim racism under the carpet, pretending that the EDL have only one enemy, Muslims, but since the rioting began in London, the far right group have switched tack to virulent anti-Black racism of an extreme and disturbing nature.

Now graffiti is going up condemning the riots, signed by the EDL. Compare and contrast such behaviour with how many victims of the looting reacted. In Birmingham, Tariq Jahan, the father of one of the three men killed by looters, called for calm:

Today we stand here to plead with all the youth to remain calm, for our communities to stand united. This is not a race issue. The family has received messages of sympathy and support from all parts of society … I lost my son. Blacks, Asians, whites – we all live in the same community. Why do we have to kill one another? Why are we doing this? Step forward if you want to lose your sons. Otherwise, calm down and go home – please.”

Others held vigils or banded together to clean up the area. If there is a silver lining in all this senseless violence and destruction then it will be the renewed bonds that now exist between many people in the worst affected areas, which is what a healthy society depends on.

Pickled Politics

Thanks to NewsHound for the heads-up

MoD investigates EDL soldiers

The Ministry of Defence confirmed last month that an investigation is underway concerning photographs of eight soldiers standing next to a flag of the anti-Islam English Defence League (EDL) at a homecoming parade for the Duke of Lancaster Regiment.

One of the photographs shows soldiers from regiment, which recruits in Cumbria, posing next to the flag of the EDL at a homecoming parade for the regiment in Blackburn last year. Eight soldiers are seen standing next to the flag, bearing the words: “EDL supports Duke of Lancaster Regiment.” Another more controversial photograph shows a uniformed solider, allegedly in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, his face hidden by a black scarf as he brandishes a pistol and stands in front of the EDL flag.

A spokesman for the MoD told The Muslim News: “Individuals are free to join political parties but they’re not permitted to take an active role in political campaigning and must abide by our values and standards in all they do. Instances of unacceptable behaviour in the armed forces are investigated, and appropriate action taken up to and including dismissal.

“An investigation is already underway into allegations that individuals have breached army regulations through their involvement with the EDL.”

Former Chair on the Commons Counter Terrorism Sub-committee, Patrick Mercer, urged servicemen to steer clear of the EDL. He said the photographs could be used as propaganda by extremists in Afghanistan. “That could only damage our cause,” he said.

Muslim News

Thanks to the many people who sent this in

Carlisle man arrested after 'Koran burning' in city centre

A police officer next to the burning book

A man has been arrested after he allegedly burned the Koran holy book and made an anti-Islamic speech yesterday in Carlisle city centre.

One eye witness who spoke to the News & Star described seeing the man standing in the city centre, near to the market cross, loudly making anti-Islamic pronouncements in front of a large crowd. He then set fire to the book he was holding, which said the witness was a Koran, before discarding it and hurrying away.

Police arrived at the scene a short time later and are now investigating. A spokesman for the force confirmed that a man has been arrested.

The incident came just a day before a controversial American preacher, who had threatened to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in new York, was told he would barred from visiting the UK.

A spokesman for Cumbria police said today: “Just after midday on Wednesday, January 19, police received reports that a Koran was being burned by a man in Carlisle city centre. Police have seized the remains of the book and a 32-year-old male has been arrested on suspicion of using racially aggravated threatening words or behaviour. The man remains in police custody where he is helping officers with their inquiries.”

Police confirmed that the man was arrested at his home address in Carlisle.

A woman who saw the book burning incident said: “There was a big crowd gathered in the city centre and he was basically burning the Koran in the middle of town. He was carrying the book around while it was burning and then threw it on the floor for a second and then left. He was shouting anti-Islamic comments. People were horrified. It was a bit shocking to see that in Carlisle city centre. The whole thing lasted about three or four minutes.”

Meanwhile, Pastor Jones said today that he was disappointed to be barred from the United Kingdom, describing his exclusion from the country as “unfair”. Speaking after the Home Office announced it would not allow him to enter the UK, he insisted he was not against Muslims or Islam, only the “radical element of Islam.”

News and Star

ESSEX: Right-wing group English Defence League setting up new division in county

A controversial right-wing group linked with violent protests across the UK is setting up an Essex division.

Members of the English Defence League, who often wear masks or balaclavas, publicly protest against militant Islam, with many of their protest marches ending in violent clashes. The group, which stirs up anger through racist chanting and inflammatory placards, has already been banned from several towns across the UK.

Organisers recently met in Chelmsford to discuss plans to expand the group by setting up a new division in Essex – and an online forum has been launched, which is already recruiting members. However, despite repeated attempts to contact the EDL leader, no one from the group, who often keep their identities secret, was willing to talk to the Chronicle to put forward their point of view.

The group claims it is not anti-immigration and has no issues with moderate Muslims, but it has been blamed for damaging community relations in areas where it is active.

Chelmsford police chief inspector Joe Wrigley told the Chronicle he had heard whisperings of the EDL setting up locally and had informed Special Branch, the police unit responsible for national security and the threats of terrorism and extremism. He said: "A group with such racist views is not welcome in Chelmsford and we will work hard to protect the public, and particularly minority groups, from such extremism."

The EDL started life in Luton as a reaction to radical Muslim groups chanting anti-war slogans during a homecoming parade by the Royal Anglian Regiment.

At a demonstration in Birmingham last August, EDL fanatics clashed with left-wing members of Unite Against Facism, with 35 people being arrested. The EDL was later banned from marching through Luton by police, who feared their presence would be damaging to race relations.

Chelmsford MP Simon Burns said: "Fortunately, Chelmsford is a reasonable place where there is no significant polarisation and the community lives in harmony together. I do not think it is necessary or helpful for the establishment of an organisation of this nature, which has the potential to upset that harmony."

Faheem Akhtar, a Muslim who has lived in Chelmsford since he moved from Pakistan in 1959, and worked as a senior engineer at Marconi for 48 years, said: "These people have the wrong idea about Islam. Extremism is not a part of Islam and our religion tells us that when we live in a foreign country we must obey the laws of that country."

The group is shunned by fellow right-wingers in the British National Party, which claims the EDL's confrontational tactics are not compatible with the BNP's attempts to position itself as a legitimate political party.

The EDL did not respond to the Chronicle's requests to speak about their plans.

Essex Chronicle

Thanks to NewsHound for the heads-up.

British National Party activist tried to 'stir up racial hatred' in Barnoldswick

A BNP activist tried to stir up religious hatred of Muslims in Barnoldswick by handing out contoversial leaflets, a court heard.

Anthony Bamber, 54, printed and then distributed documents entitled ‘The Heroin Trade’ which allegedly claimed followers of Islam were responsible for the sale of the drug on Britain’s streets, Preston Crown Court heard. The leaflet said the trade was a 'crime against humanity' and demanded that Muslims 'apologise and pay compensation' for the flow of heroin from Pakistan and Afghanistan, the court was told.

Bamber, from Preston, went with a friend to Barnoldswick in March 2008 and hand delivered the leaflets to a number of homes. One resident alerted police and officers arrived to speak to Bamber. He claimed he was trying to promote a group called Preston Pals, named after a First World War battalion who recruited from the city.

Bamber is also accused of delivering similar material across the north west and sending leaflets to a Cumbrian school and two Manchester barristers.

David Perry QC, prosecuting, said: “The defendant distributed leaflets and letters by hand or by post which were threatening and he did so with the intention of creating or stirring up religious hatred, and the religion he directed the hatred towards was Islam. This case is about hate speech. That is speech designed to arouse hatred against members of a social group identified by a particular characteristic. In this case the social group is Muslims and the characteristic they share is religion, namely Islam. The objective of the letters and leaflets, the prosecution say, was to provoke hatred of Islam. The hatred was not directed just at the concept but at the followers of Islam - Muslims.”

Bamber, who is representing himself in court, denies seven charges of distributing material designed to incite religious hatred.

Mr Perry said: “They (the Preston Pals) have got nothing whatsoever to do with the BNP and nothing whatsoever to do with the hatred of Islam. Why that name was being used is not really known."

Lancashire Telegraph

Dutch poised to elect rightwing liberals as economic fears dominate

Polls suggest VVD win but raise questions over inclusion of anti-Islamic Geert Wilders in possible coalition government

Dutch voters are expected to elect their first liberal prime minister in almost a century tomorrow in an election dominated by the age of austerity looming over Europe.

As in Britain and Germany, the liberals are tipped to prosper at the expense of the two big parties that traditionally command the centre-right and the centre-left in the Netherlands: the Christian Democrats (CDA) and Labour (PvdA). Opinion polls indicate a triumph for the VVD, rightwing free-market liberals campaigning for swingeing public spending cuts, tighter rules on immigration and pragmatic scepticism towards the EU.

The election was called a year early after the collapse of the Christian Democrat-led coalition in February over the presence of Dutch troops in Afghanistan. But neither the Afghan war nor the explosive issue of Muslim immigration has played a prominent role in the campaign, meaning the anti-Islamic populist Geert Wilders has failed to capitalise. Wilders and his Freedom party are nonetheless predicted to double their share of seats to 18 in the 150-seat second chamber in The Hague, while coming in fourth. Only a few months ago, he was being tipped to win the election.

There was little doubt in The Hague today that Mark Rutte, the VVD leader, would be the new prime minister. In a highly fragmented proportional representation system, however, he will struggle to cobble together a coalition of the right. [Today's] vote will be followed by weeks, perhaps months, of horse-trading over possible coalitions.

One big question is whether the maverick Wilders will be offered a cabinet seat for the first time. Rutte's party is predicted to get 36 seats. His logical coalition partner, the CDA, are polling at 24. They need 76 for a majority. Wilders' seats would enable a majority for a rightwing coalition. Unlike in neighbouring Flanders, in Belgium, there is no cordon sanitaire erected by the mainstream around the extreme right, but the Dutch centre-right remains reluctant to go into government with Wilders.

The Islam-bashing leader wants a total stop to Muslim immigration and mosque-building, and a tax on Islamic headscarves. He has offered tacit support in parliament for a VVD-CDA minority government in return for tough immigration policies. A similar arrangement exists in Denmark, where the far right props up a rightwing government.

While Rutte looks certain to be the big winner, the main loser is expected to be the prime minister, Jan-Peter Balkenende. The CDA leader has headed three governments since 2002, all of which fell. The polls suggest a heavy defeat for his party, from 41 seats to around 23. The PvdA, under the new leadership of Job Cohen, the former mayor of Amsterdam, is also expected to lose a couple of seats.

The election is the first national ballot among the 16 eurozone countries since the eruption of the Greek debt crisis, which then escalated into a full-blown single currency emergency. The campaign has highlighted the degree to which voters' economic worries have hijacked the agenda. Rutte is promising spending cuts of €20bn (£16.5bno) euros to balance the budget over four years from a deficit currently of almost 7%.

In what has become almost routine in Dutch politics, he is also bashing Brussels, demanding, British-style, a slimming down of EU powers and their repatriation to member states, the possibility of British-style "opt-outs" from areas of EU legislation and a British-style big fight over the EU budget when it comes up for review from next year.

Guardian

Anti-Islam website written and run by schoolboy, 16

An extreme right-wing website calling for the closure of all mosques and warning of the threat to “the white man” is the work of a 16-year-old Welsh schoolboy, Wales on Sunday has learned.

Website ‘The Carmarthenshire Front’ – named after the far-right National Front – features videos of BNP leader Nick Griffin talking about the “Islamification” of Europe, and describes the dangers facing the “white man” from the “tsunami of immigration” coming into Britain. It also features a section called “How and where to spread propaganda” which tells people to “hit” libraries, residential neighbourhoods, supermarkets and schools in order to pedal the sinister material.

But rather than a large-scale organisation, the website is written and run by a GCSE pupil at Queen Elizabeth High School in Carmarthen. Wales on Sunday is not naming the youngster. The school immediately sought to distance itself from the website, emphasising that they go out of their way to have an inclusive policy towards students. There is no evidence that the pupil worked on the website during school hours.

The “about us” section on the website reads: “Carmarthenshire Front is a collection of nationalist friends and comrades from various groups and organisations. We are here to promote racial awareness in the county of Carmarthenshire, amongst all classes. We do not promote anything illegal.”

The website fights against mosques, saying: “Say NO, Vote NO, Mosques must GO!”

It particularly attacks plans to build a mosque near the site of the 9/11 massacre in New York, saying: “This is the sickest thing I have ever heard, and it’s perhaps no surprise when we note that Obama is a Muslim himself, which I would say must go a long way to explaining why this evil plan has been passed.”

The website goes on to attack the media for “failing to report on racist attacks against whites” and also lays into the British Government for sending aid to foreign countries. It says: “Only the nationalist parties have called for an immediate halt to all foreign aid programmes, and the reallocation of that budget to pressing internal problems inside Britain.”

It claims to have links with other “fronts” across the UK, including Liverpool, Stoke-on-Trent, York and Newcastle. The website also features a page dedicated to printable posters and stickers showing masked protestors with their fists in the air under the banner “National Resistance”. There is also a picture of former UK PM Tony Blair and Barack Obama standing underneath a giant figure wearing a gas-mask and wielding a giant grim reaper-like scythe.

A member of the senior leadership team at Queen Elizabeth High School said: “We have got no control over what an individual writes in their spare time. The school has been recognised for, and has an ethos of, inclusiveness for everyone. We completely and totally disassociate ourselves from anything of this nature.”

A statement from the Carmarthenshire Local Education Authority read: “Queen Elizabeth High School completely disassociates itself from this website and its contents.”

“This is not a school matter,” it said.

Wales Online

Thanks to Old Sailor for the heads-up.

Extreme right on the march in Europe's most tolerant nation

Geert Wilders speaks to supporters in Almere, where his
far-right Freedom Party was declared the surprise winner in local elections

Geert Wilders triumphs in Netherlands local elections

The anti-Islamist party led by Dutch firebrand Geert Wilders has triumphed in municipal polls in The Netherlands, opening the way for a political breakthrough for the far-right in general elections in June. Mr Wilders, known for his blond mane and due in London today to show his anti-Islam film in the House of Lords at the invitation of a Ukip peer, has campaigned for an immediate freeze on immigration and a ban on the wearing of Muslim headscarves in public. His Freedom Party was declared the surprise winner yesterday in Almere, a city just east of Amsterdam with a large immigrant population. It came second in The Hague, the only two cities where it chose to participate in the polls.

Wednesday's vote, in which the two main parties in the ruling coalition, the Labour Party (PvdA) and the Christian Democrats (CDA), suffered heavy losses, was the first electoral test since Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's government collapsed last month.

Tensions between the two sides and the recession played into Wilders' hands, while he refused to depart from his uncompromising stance on Muslim immigration or engage in mainstream political debates. If the local results were to translate nationally on 9 June, 46-year-old Wilders, who faces criminal charges for inciting hatred, could emerge as a kingmaker. An opinion poll yesterday also showed that the Freedom Party could take most seats in the national parliament in June.

Many Muslim residents in Almere were deeply shaken by the outcome, which gave the Freedom Party 21.6 per cent of votes. "I will stand here until my toes freeze," said Ayse Bayrak-de Jager, a Muslim student taking part in a silent protest outside the town hall. Her friend, Zaitoon Shah, added: "It's just appalling to think that I might not to be able to go to the library soon."

Kadriye Kacar, a 35-year-old IT student of Turkish origin, said: "I don't normally wear a headscarf but I decided to today as a sign of protest. Others are doing the same, until Wilders leaves. It's terrible. People are looking at us differently today, as if to say 'we won and you're going to leave'."

Celebrating in a rowdy local café late on Wednesday, a beaming Wilders told the city's Muslims not to be afraid "as long as they don't break the law", but he insisted that his party would refuse to go into talks with any parties that did not support his views. "We've always maintained that it would be unthinkable for us to work with them. We can talk about a number of policy issues like education and finance, but upholding the basic rights of all the people living here is non-negotiable," said Labour councillor Alphons Muurlink.

Many shoppers at the local market told Dutch television they felt ashamed for their city. "It's a big black stain, I don't even want to talk about it," said one elderly woman. The Dutch Muslim Party, which failed to gain any seats, said it was "a sad day" for the country. Leader Henny Kreeft said Wilders had traded on "baseless fears".

The collapse of the Dutch government was triggered by a deadlock over whether to keep some Dutch soldiers in Afghanistan after December, when a parliament decision to withdraw from the country comes into effect. The debacle was the last in a series of crises to have plagued the coalition, with the Christian Democrats locking horns with their Labour colleagues over retirement age and budget reform.

Independent

Hatred on our streets

The far right, anti-Islamic Scottish Defence League is about to march in Edinburgh. But just how much support do they have?

For a man who claims to represent a silent majority, he is coy about being seen and heard. Don refuses to meet in person, talking only over a mobile phone and answering questions by e-mail. The self-styled leader of the Scottish Defence League (SDL) is being ultra cautious. Given the incendiary nature of his views, and the depth of anger they provoke, perhaps this is not surprising.

Next weekend, the embryonic SDL, whose stated aim is to oppose the spread of militant Islam and Sharia Law, will hold its second event in Scotland, when supporters of the British nationalist movement descend on Edinburgh for a demonstration.

The event in the capital follows a protest in Glasgow last November, which descended into violence when balaclava-clad SDL supporters clashed violently with anti-racism marchers. Five arrests were made and part of the city centre was brought to a standstill.

This Saturday, the SDL will again target Scotland, which it believes is a fertile recruiting ground among young, white males. Don, who has an English accent, claimed the SDL had more than 800 members and would mobilise to fight their cause.

One target would be radical Muslim preachers, who were "actively spreading hatred within Scotland", he said. "The SDL started in 2009 because we could see the dangers caused by militant Islamic activity and we could see areas becoming Muslim. We have evidence provided by Muslims, who have spoken to us as they are scared of these people. We believe there should only be one community and not areas separated by religious or cultural differences."

Opponents, of which there are many, believe the SDL, despite its protestations, is indistinguishable from the openly fascist British National Party and that many of its so-called recruits come from a background of football casuals violence. Merchandise on sale to promote the movement includes clothes and badges emblazoned with slogans such as "Ban the Burqa" and "No Surrender".

Another badge available over the internet says "Asylum – Don't Unpack You're Going Back", while one of the organisation's websites hosts a video of Enoch Powell giving his infamous 1968 "Rivers of Blood" speech.

But while the SDL embraces the language of the far right, it insists it is a multi-racial, peaceful protest organisation.

Another senior SDL supporter, who uses the moniker "Tony Mowbray" – obviously not his real name but some sort of football joke – declined to meet but agreed to answer questions by e-mail. He, too, denied the group had links to extremists.

He said he was a 40-year-old married man from Glasgow who comes from a professional civil engineering and management background and that he became involved with the English Defence League (EDL) after an incident involving his son.

"It (the story] involves Strathclyde Police, my ten-year-old son and a much older Pakistani kid who was bullying and hitting him. There were lies and false accusations and I had to watch a 6'4" Strathclyde Police officer tower over my 4'2" son and read him his rights. My son was beaten and called 'white trash'.

"This led me to embark on my own personal research and this is what led me to the EDL. When I started my research, it was based primarily on false accusations from people who use the race card to their advantage. As I read deeper, my research progressed down a very different and altogether more troubling path towards Jihad and Islamisation, " he said.

The man, who says he liaises directly with EDL leaders in London, also denied the movement had links to the far right and said the SDL had been demonised by the press. He said he attended the demonstration in Glasgow to prepare a report for the national leadership and was pushing for a change in strategy.

"Targeted demos, for example, rather than demonstrating in faceless city centres," he said. "I'm pushing for a change and/or a splinter cell which will target specific locations like the BBC studios. Why are they reporting false news? And the Saudi Embassy. Why is it funding UK mosques and education while perpetrating the most appalling religious intolerance and human rights violations on the earth today?"

The violence at the SDL protest in Glasgow followed major disorder in English cities, where the EDL has taken to the streets 20 times to protest against militant Islam. More than 200 people have been arrested at EDL protests, which began last summer after soldiers of the Royal Anglian Regiment were verbally abused by radical Islamists as they paraded through Luton after a tour of Afghanistan. Anti-fascist counter-demonstrators have been among those detained.

The SDL is an off-shoot of the EDL, as are the Welsh and Ulster Defence Leagues, and while they have different leaders in a fluid, ad-hoc structure, they work closely together. The EDL/SDL, despite stressing its "peaceful movement" mantra since its inception, has been roundly condemned for its antagonistic tactics.

John Denham MP, the UK Communities Secretary, has compared them to Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists who ran amok in the 1930s, while Unite Against Fascism has accused the SDL of being intent on inflaming racial tensions.

Deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon, who spoke at the counter-protest in Glasgow, said: "To the BNP, to the Scottish Defence League, to the English Defence League, to any racist defence league, you are not welcome in Glasgow. You are not welcome anywhere in Scotland."

In England, the movement is expanding. About 1,500 supporters attended a recent EDL protest in Stoke-on-Trent, by far the largest gathering to date. Some 600 police officers were on duty, violence erupted and 17 people were arrested. Four policemen were injured.

Football hooligans from Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers fought each other, despite being fellow EDL supporters, and a video on YouTube showed vehicles being attacked and a police officer being kicked by a mob after he fell to the ground. Claims the SDL is intimately linked to gangs of soccer casuals in Scotland are hard to confirm. Don disputed allegations by the anti-fascist magazine Searchlight that football hooligans were pivotal to the formation of the SDL, as they have been to the EDL and WDL.

Yet Mickey Smith, a member of the WDL and frontman of an umbrella group of hooligans called Casuals United, said some fans of Rangers were pre-eminent in setting up the Scottish group. When Casuals United emerged last summer to protest against radical Islam around the same time as the EDL, hooligan gangs across Britain set up a Casuals United Facebook page, which listed the clubs they followed. Rangers were the only Scottish team listed.

Later, after complaints by football clubs over the use of their club crests on the Facebook page, the firms morphed into EDL "divisions" using names such as London, Midlands and Scotland.

As the EDL gains support across the UK, Muslims have been targeted in unprovoked attacks. In the worst incident, a mob of 30 white and black youths is said to have surrounded Asian students near City University in central London and attacked them with metal poles, bricks and sticks while shouting racist abuse. Three people – two students and a passer-by who tried to intervene – were stabbed.

Neo-Nazi groups such as the British Freedom Fighters and Combat 18 have been attending rallies and their members later posted videos of themselves on the internet. Tinderbox cities such as Bradford and Oldham – places that witnessed race riots in 2001 – are stated EDL targets for 2010, and there is growing concern over the possibility of serious civil disorder.

In response to these fears, the National Extremism Tactical Co-ordination Unit, a countrywide police team set up to combat domestic extremism, has been investigating the EDL. It is hard to predict how many people will attend the SDL rally in Edinburgh, but Lothian and Borders Police said plans were in place after discussions with other UK forces. Assistant Chief Constable Iain Livingstone, the officer in overall command of the operation, said no permission had been sought by the SDL for its event.

"We are making efforts to engage with the SDL. There will also be a counter-rally and march by the Scotland United group, for which permission has been granted by City of Edinburgh Council. We are working closely with the organisers of the Scotland United march and the city council to ensure the march passes off peacefully. Should any problems arise, then we will respond in a robust manner to ensure that order is maintained and the rule of law upheld."

Edinburgh Anti-Fascist Alliance hopes to disrupt the SDL's usual tactics and has written to some 100 pubs in the city, asking them to ban the SDL from their premises. Football grounds have also been targeted, with supporters being leafleted and asked not to support the SDL.

Last week, posters from the Unite Against Fascism group, protesting about the SDL plans and with slogans such as "Nazis not welcome here", appeared around the main university areas and across the south of the city.

City councillors urged restraint on both sides. Conservative Cameron Rose said: "If the Scottish Defence League do turn up, that is a matter for the police to take action. The prospect of Unite Against Fascism creating a confrontation will simply make the situation more complex for the police, who are the proper authorities to deal with public order."

Nina Giles, the director of Edinburgh & Lothians Racial Equality Council, said the SDL was a violent, extremist group, and called for its demonstration to be halted. "Any individual that holds that kind of hatred towards any group is not healthy. If the march does go ahead, it's quite worrying that these type of views would be given a platform." A spokesman for Scotland United said: "It is time to stand up for multicultural Scotland."

Scotland On Sunday

BNP signs its first non-white member...

Rajinder Singh, who has appeared on the BNP's internet TV channel,
blames Muslims for the death of his father during the Partition of India in 1947

...but he's only joined because he hates Muslims

An elderly Sikh who describes Islam as a "beast" and once provided a character reference for Nick Griffin during his racial hatred trial is set to become the British National Party's first non-white member.

Rajinder Singh, an anti-Islam activist in his late seventies who blames Muslims for the death of his father during the Partition of India in 1947, has been sympathetic towards Britain's far-right party for much of the past decade even though he currently remains barred from becoming a member because of the colour of his skin. But last weekend the BNP's leadership took their first steps towards dropping its membership ban on non-whites after the Human Rights Commission threatened the party with legal action. The move will be put to a vote of members soon.

Martin Wingfield, the BNP's communications and campaigns officer, has already put forward the case for Mr Singh's membership, telling members on its website: "I say adapt and survive and give the brave and loyal Rajinder Singh the honour of becoming the first ethnic minority member of the BNP."

A BNP spokesman said last night: "He is perhaps the kind of immigrant you want if you are going to have them."

Mr Singh, a former teacher from Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, says he would be "honoured" to become a card-carrying member of the BNP. Explaining his motives, Mr Singh said: "I am a retired teacher, living a quiet life. I got in touch with the BNP on certain core policies that appeal to me. I also admire them since they are on their own patch, and do not wish to let anyone else oust them from the land of their ancestors."

Mr Singh and another Sikh from Slough who goes by the pseudonym Ammo Singh have previously co-operated with the BNP and have been used by the party's leadership to try to woo Asian supporters, particularly Hindus and Sikhs living in areas where tensions with Muslims run high. The party has had little success, however, with all mainstream Sikh and Hindu groups widely condemning the BNP.

But Rajinder Singh and Ammo Singh – who keeps his identity secret but is thought to be an accountant in his late thirties – have answered Mr Griffin's call, thanks to the BNP's staunchly anti-Islamic rhetoric since September 11. In December 2001, Ammo Singh claimed he had helped the BNP distribute thousands of anti-Islamic leaflets in Southall, west London, but recently he has kept a low profile. Rajinder Singh, on the other hand, has begun to appear in BNP literature more frequently, writing for the party's newspaper, Freedom, and appearing on the internet television channel, BNPTV.

His intense dislike of Islam appears to stem back to his father's death during the Partition of India, which led to the deaths of an estimated two million Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus. "I come from partitioned Punjab that saw a lot of bloodshed in 1947," he said. "Anyone escaping that genocide would pray to God, [say] never again and vote for BNP."

Mainstream Sikh groups said they were appalled. Dr Indarjit Singh, director of the Network of Sikh Organisations, said: "Sikhism stresses equality for all human beings. Therefore Sikhs who are true to their faith, will having nothing whatsoever to do with any party that favours any one section of the community."

Independent

Note by LU

Rajinder Singh is well known to Nick Griffin and has been dodging around the BNP for some time. It was Singh who spoke up for Griffin as a character witness when he was in court at Leeds back in 2006, bizarrely claiming that Griffin wasn't racist. On that occasion, the BNP paid for a top hotel for the night for Mr S, and treated him to lunch at a pub - a fact that was heavily criticised at the time by the Sikh community, many of whom were demonstrating AGAINST Griffin outside the courtroom.

Singh has also addressed the Kirklees branch of the BNP, speaking about his hatred of Muslims. He was also in the BNP's 2004 election broadcast. He has been roundly condemned for his long-standing connections to the BNP and Nick Griffin.

The Observer had an excellent report on Ravinder Singh back in 2001, regarding the distribution of thousands of CDs, tapes and leaflets claiming that Islam poses a threat to Britain. The article is here.

Back in 2006, there was a bit of a fuss on the Stormfront nazi forum when it was announced that Singh was to attend the Kirklees meeting as the BNP's ethnic liaison committee leader. At that time, the likes of Arthur Kemp, who then ran the BNP’s indoctrination programme for voting members, openly posted on Stormfront, but along with the change in image over the past couple of years went a withdrawal from such places (at least under names that clearly identified the poster). This meant that Kemp went through Stormfront and carefully deleted most, if not all, of his posts. Fortunately, some of them are referred to in quotes.

'Originally Posted by Arthur Kemp
Anyone who cannot see the political and propaganda advantage to be gained by having an ethnic demonstrating that the BNP is not a "race-hate" party, has absolutely no understanding of practical politics and should stick strictly to hobbyism.'

Clearly, Rajinder Singh is nothing more than a 'propaganda advantage'.

BNP caught reporting rubbish (as usual)

A report currently topping the main page of the BNP website claims that police in Brussels smashed up a birthday party that was 'to celebrate a Flemish patriot’s birthday'. The 'Flemish patriot' is Filip Dewinter, a leader of Vlaams Belang, a Belgium-based Islamophobic far-right group that was formed from the ashes of Vlaams Blok, which disbanded in 2004 after it was convicted of 'repeated incitement to discrimination'. Vlaams Belang is the almost identical successor to Vlaams Blok though it has, in the exact same way that the BNP has, cleaned up its act, cosmetically at least.

Some of its views may sound familiar to those who follow the varied machinations of the British National Party. It calls for a return to 'traditional values', the woman to be returned to the home, the end of the multicultural society, opposition to the law enabling same-sex marriage, and opposition to the proposal enabling adoption by same-sex couples, the removal of the right to abortion except in the case of rape or for medical reasons, the repeal of anti-racism and anti-discrimination legislation on the dubious grounds of free speech and (in something of a giveaway that the BNP has managed to avoid) full and unconditional amnesty for people convicted for collaboration with Nazi Germany in World War II.

The birthday party wasn't a birthday party at all, of course. A few weeks ago an anti-Islam demonstration was proposed which was to take place in Luxembourg Place in the centre of Brussels. The Mayor, Freddy Thielemans, banned the demo on the grounds that the organisers, a coalition of far-right groups (including Vlaams Belang) calling itself Stop Islamization of Europe (SIOE), was deliberately inflammatory and that the demonstration was a threat to public order. The demo was planned for, surprise-surprise, the eleventh of the month - the sixth anniversary of the Twin Towers attacks.

The demonstration, which SIOE claimed would pull in up to 20,000 protestors, only managed 200 - but even these couldn't stay out of trouble for the mere thirty minutes that the illegal demo took place. The birthday champagne was hardly open before the police piled in to close the whole event down, arresting Filip Dewinter and Vlaams Belang Party Secretary Luk Van Nieuwenhuysen after scuffles began.

Rather than attack Vlaams Belang for going ahead with an illegal demonstration (which it certainly would if it had been organised by Muslims, liberals, gays or 'reds'), the BNP simply expresses its forlorn hope that 'Europe looks set for more of these kinds of protests as decent European patriots become more and more frustrated and angered...'.

If you'd like to read a report of the demo without the BNP's bizarre bias, there's one here.

The latest Ebanks tirade against the BNP - revelations or rubbish?

As we all know (to our cost) Sharon Ebanks, former BNP activist and Griffin-favourite until a major fall-out last October has been posting on our comments sections in increasingly strident tones for the past week or two, claiming to have revelations that will be guaranteed to bring down her Nemesis, Nick Griffin.

Despite offers of space to air her accusations against him, Ebanks refused to pass on the information about Griffin, choosing instead to keep her information to herself until she decides the moment is right. She now seems to have made that decision, having posted a series of badly-written and completely unreferenced statements and accusations against Griffin, the BNP and other BNP-linked operations in the comments section of a 'nationalist' blog. Assuming these to be the revelations, we'll take a quick look at them.

'Griffin certainly has become untouchable since Darby became Deputy Leader and Griffin spoke with Barbara Amiel.'

Strangely, Scott McLean is still listed on the BNP's website as the Deputy-Chairman of the party, despite the fact that everyone knows he's gone and precisely why he's gone. As far as we know, Darby has never been Deputy Leader, though Griffin did designate him as de facto leader should he have been jailed during the trials in 2005/6.

The reference to Barbara Amiel, former director at The Spectator and wife of Conrad Black is presumably a nod towards a Martin Webster allegation of April 2006 that Griffin had been in telephone contact with the Jewish Amiel, this conversation rapidly being followed by a major shift in the public stance of the BNP indicated by a much-criticised article ostensibly written by the party's legal head Lee Barnes (August 2006) in which he stated, 'As a Nationalist I can say that I support Israel 100% in their dispute with Hezbollah. In fact, I hope they wipe Hezbollah off the Lebanese map and bomb them until they leave large greasy craters in the cities where their Islamic extremist cantons of terror once stood.'

Whether the conversation between Amiel and Griffin happened or not is, as far as we're concerned, irrelevant. The shift away from anti-semitism (at least publicly) to anti-Islam has been going on over a number of years and is simply one of Griffin's weak attempts to make his party more appealing to the general public, who he clearly regards as being more likely to fall for his line on Muslims than they are that on Jews. Griffin is a populist, prepared to change his public image in a moment if he feels a change will gain him some power.

The fact that he has apparently shifted his viewpoint has not made him untouchable, or at least more or less untouchable than before. He was done for inciting racial hatred nearly a decade ago and the government tried (twice) to have him done again last year. The fact that he wasn't convicted was due to the jury in the case, not to the allegation that he is 'untouchable'. Presumably, Ebanks is trying to suggest that Griffin's new pro-Israel stance allows him to say or do anything without fear of retaliation but the evidence, such as it is, doesn't really support that statement.

'Why indeed did the press not print Simon Smiths resignation when under any other circumstances they would have leapt at the opportunity for blasting across their front page "BNP COUNCILLOR ACCUSES BNP OF FINANCIAL IMPROPRIETY". Why did the press remain silent on Websters accusations and why has the press, the police and the Electoral Commission and Silvers and Co not done anything about my complaints regarding BNP money?'

There are a lot of questions in that small paragraph but we'll take a look at them one at a time. Regarding Simon Smith's purging from the party, which was turned into yet another resignation, the Birmingham Post reported the party line on the resignation with a report including quotes from Simon Darby but obviously didn't want to drag the story on with Smith's own version of events that appeared in his letter which we reprinted here. Nevertheless, we do agree that the press missed out on an opportunity to generate discussion of Croatia, Solidarity and the BNP's lucrative Trafalgar Club, which were all mentioned in Smith's letter and could have reaped large rewards. Being charitable, we can assume that the potential was either missed by a busy sub-editor or that the general embargo on BNP-related rubbish forced it to hit the bin. In either case, it was an excellent opportunity for good copy that was missed.

The answer to the complex question 'Why did the press remain silent on Websters accusations and why has the press, the police and the Electoral Commission and Silvers and Co not done anything about my complaints regarding BNP money?' is that while many people suspect and there is mounting evidence to support the ever-growing claims of financial impropriety, there is little hard evidence - patently not enough to generate a police enquiry or an enquiry by the Electoral Commission, for the moment at least. Once the BNP's accounts have been submitted, we may find the evidence we already have suddenly becoming far more valuable.

If Ebanks felt she had enough evidence to take to the EC, the BNP's auditors and the police, there must have been something relatively substantial to present to them. If so, Ebanks needs to put this information where it can do some good. At the moment, her only options appear to be to place the evidence before the public via her own New Nationalist Party, which one suspects doesn't want to get involved, to post on a forum like Stormfront, where the BNP-allied moderators will probably delete it instantly or to take us up on our offer to publish it - though that offer has a limited life-span and it's rapidly running out.

'Why does Griffin allow idiots at the top when he claims from a platform on a daily basis that he wants some semblance of Britain back? Why are thieves and cranks promoted through the ranks and decent honest people ignored? These are not the actions of a political party and certainly not the actions of those wishing a winning one.'

We couldn't agree more and we suspect, like Ebanks and many others, that we know why the scum rises to the top in the BNP - simply because they will assist Nick Griffin to achieve what he aims to achieve (the personal enrichment of Nick Griffin) and/or they have something on him. The more we and other observers look into the BNP and the more that is exposed about the internal workings of it, the more we tend to regard it as less a bona fide political party and more of an undernourished Mafia - a low-grade criminal organisation with pretensions of grandeur and less murders (though probably not if Tony Lecomber had his way).

'Why is Griffin ditching local politics in favour of Europe, a place where nothing can be achieved for British people at grassroots level?'

Because Griffin and his pals at the top of the BNP have absolutely no interest in doing anything for anybody except themselves. The European elections are where Griffin sees his opportunity to sneak a seat and rake in the money, incidentally making lots of connections all over Europe via the group of far-right MEPs, which should be handy for Griffin when we wants to buy more land abroad with his ill-gotten gains.

'Where are the BNP accounts? Why is GWR trading without filing accounts for 2yrs when it has made thousands of pounds?'

We've no more idea than Ebanks why the BNP's accounts are so late in being submitted to the Electoral Commission though we suspect it has a lot to do with cooking the books and concealing the drop in membership in some way that it won't cost Griffin and co any money. Regarding Great White Records, the BNP's musical wing - we're told that the idiotic Dave Hannam has less than six months to get it making a profit or he's out on his ear. The lack of accounts simply indicates that financial disaster is pending but being concealed - for now. Griffin is juggling all the BNP's financial cock-ups in the air at the moment but he's rapidly losing control and we firmly expect the whole lot to collapse in the very near future.

'Why does the BNP PayPal line empty into several different numbered accounts instead of remaining static and traceable?'

We have to wonder how Ebanks could possibly know that this is the case? We'd welcome some evidence...

'Why has Griffin hijacked the money and members of Solidarity?'

Presumably because he sees it as yet another potential scam, where he can rip off members of his own party ad nauseum. It's always worth remembering Griffin's own quote from way back in Spring 1999's edition of Patriot magazine; 'In increasingly hard economic times, a group of people the size of the BNP and its support base can provide a significant assured market for a variety of small businesses.' Oh boy, has he taken that to heart.

'Why is Civil Liberty allowed to commit fraud and nothing is done?'

We reported that the Electoral Commission had launched an investigation into Civil Liberty after the Guardian had provided information to Scotland Yard last April. Since then, no-one has heard anything about either the possible investigation or indeed, Civil Liberty itself.

'Why are decent people resigning only to be rubbished by morons after their personal sacrifices?'

One assumes Ebanks is referring to herself here though one would expect her to be aware that it's an old trick of the far-right to attack those who have left acrimoniously, just to discredit anything they might say about the party before they say it.

'Why is the BNP swiping money from peoples credit cards without them knowing? Once again this is fraud perpetrated against those who have joined online and entrusted them with their details and trusted them full stop.'

If this is the case and if Ebanks has any evidence to support this statement, she should see it as her duty to go straight to the police. Credit card fraud is criminal and if the BNP can be shown to have committed it, heads will roll. This is probably the one line that really means anything in her post. If she has the proof, she has the party by the throat.

'A party cannot exist without intellect and activism but the heads of the BNP do everything in their power to repel such people.'

This is probably a reference to Jonathan Bowden, who seems to be much admired by Ebanks. We don't really care but we'd assume that the last thing Griffin wants around him is someone with intelligence who might see through him and tell the rest of the BNP what a fraud he actually is.

'And last but not least, why was one of Britains most dangerous criminals contacting me 2 weeks ago with the police claiming to know nothing and do nothing but Simon Darby knew everything even the bogus name that the man was using? If the police couldn't figure it out how the hell could he?'

Unless she's referring to Tony Lecomber, Nick Griffin's favourite terrorist, we have absolutely no idea what Ebanks is going on about here. We'd like to know more though so if anyone has more information, feel free to provide.

So there you have it. Sharon Ebanks' most recent attack on the BNP - revelations that could damage the party beyond repair or rubbish that can be shrugged off as the ravings of an embittered former favourite?

Outrage over BNP leaflets

BNP leaflets about Muslim extremism have been slammed as an "abominable distortion of Islam" by Croydon Mosque leaders.

The leaflets - claiming that Islam is a "threat to us all" and calling on people to join the party's "crusade against Islamification of Britain" - were sent to residents in South Norwood last week, shortly after the attempted terrorist attacks on London and Glasgow.

After getting one of the leaflets resident Mahmood Tufail said: "There's a lot of lies in the leaflet and I got the impression people are trying to stir up trouble - especially with what's been going on in the past few weeks."

Mr Tufail said people were now feeling "very nervous".

"I've spoken among my friends," he added, "We don't know what to do about this. I just hope the leaflets won't inflame non-Muslims against us. With all that is going on, people are very nervous. This leaflet creates the wrong stereotypes. The people who carry out these extremist acts are a tiny, fringe minority. Unfortunately, this backfires on everyone else."

A spokesman for Croydon Mosque called the leaflets "inflammatory" and said: "The vast majority of people will recognise it for the blatant scare tactics that it deploys and which have become the hallmark of the BNP."

He said the mosque in London Road, Thornton Heath, had been working hard to promote community cohesion.

"Although leaflets such as the ones being distributed by the BNP in South Norwood have the potential to be divisive, our firm expectation is that the leaflets will be ignored as the local community is ethnically diverse and vibrant, and furthermore benefiting from the very social and community harmony that the BNP seeks to destroy," the spokesman added.

A BNP spokesman said: "All we're trying to do is raise the issue that Islam is not compatible with the British way of life. We are a Christian country and Islam is destroying democracy."

Ealing Times

Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker trying to ban burqas

A Dutch rightwing anti-Islam politician on Thursday submitted new proposals for a law banning burqas after an earlier attempt failed.

In a letter to parliament, Geert Wilders, who heads the Freedom Party which has nine of the 150 seats in the lower house, wrote that “the burqa and the niqab are a symbol of the oppression of women” and are “in defiance of the democratic constitutional state”. It is not known how many women in the Netherlands wear the face veils but estimates are a few dozen.

Nearly two years ago, in October 2005, a majority of the Dutch parliament voted in favour of a motion by Wilders to ban burqas in public places. However, the then minister of integration, hardliner Rita Verdonk, did not craft the law for a burqa ban after an advisory committee said such a ban could be unconstitutional because it violated the right to equal treatment for all residents of the country.

Now Wilders, known for his harsh anti-Islam rhetoric, has submitted his own law proposal and hopes parliament will agree. It is unlikely that he will get another majority as the November 2006 elections put an end to a centre-right majority in parliament that backed the plans.

Wilders wants to specifically ban burqas and niqabs in public places including stations, stadiums, shops, restaurants, museums, hospitals, cars driving on the public roads and public transports. He proposes a maximum sentence of 12 days in jail or a fine of $4,619.

If the law were passed, it would be a world first. No national government has yet banned the use of face veils in public places although some Belgian municipalities, including Antwerp, have introduced local bans. In his proposal, Wilders also cites Turkey and France. Turkey bans the wearing of veils and headscarves in public buildings while France has banned the use of obvious religious symbols like Islamic headscarves and veils in government buildings including schools and hospitals.

ICARE

Muslims under attack at centre

Muslims are being pelted with eggs and stones in anti-Islamic attacks on the South Woodford Muslim Community Centre seven years after it was destroyed in a petrol bomb attack.

"A few weeks ago there were people throwing eggs at children leaving the centre," said Qaiser Malik, secretary of the Qurani Murkuz Trust behind the centre in Mulberry Way. "People have thrown eggs and stones from the flyover. They spit on our doors and have left ham and bacon on the doorstep. Apparently the same things are happening to people at bus stops in Woodford."

Redbridge is the ninth most diverse borough in the country with 28,487 Muslim residents, however racist Islamaphobic attacks are not uncommon and the Redbridge Racial Equality Council is addressing Islamaphobia in the community with a new myth-busting pack.

Dr Mohammmed Essam El-Din Fahim, head Imam and chairman of the South Woodford centre, said Islamic hatred has been stirred up by BNP leaflets being distributed in the area condemning Islam and the mosque.

David Landau, racist harassment co-ordinator at Racial Equality Council, who has compiled a myth-busting pack, said he was not surprised by recent attacks on the mosque.

"We do not know that this is to do with the BNP and it may very well be racist Islamaphobic behaviour that is happening anyway. These events happen because of the potency of these myths so it shows how important it is to have a pack like this."

The information pack contains impartial facts about Islam to help people challenge negative misconceptions about the religion, and is aimed at community organisations and young people. Mr Landau said: "The image people tend to have if Islam is either of a fundamentalist religion or of moderate Islam with fundamentalists rocking the boat as if that is unique to Islam. Actually this runs through religions, it is not that Islam is an especially aggressive or fundamentalist faith, you get that in pretty much every religion."

Mr Malik said the pack shows a good effort to clear up common misconceptions, adding: "A lot of people don't have any knowledge of Islam and there is a lot of misconception and ignorance."

If you would like a copy contact the Redbridge Racial Equality Council on 08514 0688.

Your local Guardian

The BNP's very quiet revolution

The far-right BNP's incursion into the roots of British politics - parish councils

Following the successes of the British National Party in the local elections last May, new instructions were sent out from the BNP bunker in preparation for the next round - the local government elections that will be upon us in three weeks time.

These instructions were simple and to the point - to conquer the media by overwhelming it with constant letters, emails and pro-BNP reports and to fight the council elections that very few people would bother to oppose and most don't even seem to know exist, the parish council elections.

Commentators (including us) have written about the former offensive on a number of occasions - pointing out how nazi forums are used to spread the word when there is an anti-Islam petition to be signed online and when email responses to anti-BNP articles are required, these being two of the simpler ways the BNP's increasingly sophisticated propaganda machine makes use of new technology.

We've pondered on the BNP's grasp of using the likes of Altermedia (a right-wing alternative to Indymedia) and other news sources to spread the far-right word. But everyone seems to have managed to miss or ignore the way the far-right party has sneaked in through the back door and begun very quietly to undermine us from within. Thus the BNP was able to report on April 5th that SIX new BNP councillors have been added to its list 'without a single ballot paper being marked'. So much for the party that purports to stand for democracy then. One of those new parish councillors, by the way, is Carol Collett, mother of the Hitler-admirer Mark Collett.

So, what precisely are parish councils? The National Association of Local Councils has this to say:

Parish councils are statutory bodies. Members are elected for a term of four years and councils are funded principally by an annual precept. Income and expenditure for the next financial year are calculated in the form of estimates. The net amount (the precept) is added to council tax, collected by the county, borough or district council (principal authorities) and paid to parishes in two six-monthly instalments. Parish and town councils can apply for other funding such as grant and funding awards, but they do not receive funds direct from central government, as principal authorities do.'

Nevertheless, they do receive funds and they do have a certain amount of power. One of their powers, for example, is to create or initiate local by-laws. And here we have six BNP parish councillors walking into office completely unopposed...

Another considerable power given to parish councillors is to be the first (though not final) arbiters in locally-based planning applications. One wonders how far an application for the conversion of, for example, a dairy to a mosque, would get when a parish councillor representing the rabidly anti-Islam BNP was thrown into the equation. Although parish councillors are intended to be apolitical, any councillor who has attended a parish council meeting will tell you that politics is just as much a part of parish life as it is in the city.

There is however, a Code of Conduct to which parish councillors supposedly have to adhere. According to The Parish Councils (Model Code of Conduct) Order 2001: Section 2, a member must:

(a) promote equality by not discriminating unlawfully against any person;
(b) treat others with respect; and
(c) not do anything which compromises or which is likely to compromise the impartiality of those who work for, or on behalf of, the authority.

We'd be willing to bet the new influx of BNP parish councillors ground their teeth at those.

Anyone who works at ground-level in any form of politics will tell you that there is where the real work is done. Certainly it's where previously unknown faces can make their mark and spread their names around, and parish councils are frequently the springboard on to district or city authorities. The fact that opposition to the BNP becomes apparent the moment a candidate stands in a district council election and that any opposition has an inevitable effect on the results of elections has obviously not been lost on the BNP. Nor can the party have avoided noticing that a huge percentage of its councillors are a complete washout in the job. Perhaps it sees the lower-stress parish council, with its general lack of opposition and more informal approach to business, as a training ground for its district councillors of the future - they certainly need some training in being useful and worthwhile.

Whether that's the case or not, the BNP is sneaking in by the back door, and will use any method it can find to worm its way into mainstream political life in the UK. It's up to us to stop it, whether it's at parliamentary level, district or parish. For the safety and security of all of us, we have to keep an eye on the back door as well as the front. If we don't, we might find Nick Griffin's mother (a former National Front parliamentary candidate) our next parish councillor. Wouldn't that be fun.