November 01, 2007

All the King’s men

Nick Griffin, the BNP leader, has surrounded himself with a group of trusted lieutenants, of whom all but one appear not to be party members. At the same time he has reduced the powers of the party’s Advisory Council, which now meets infrequently. BNP members should be concerned at how Griffin, fresh from seeing off the challenge to his leadership in summer, is trying to consolidate his power and change the party.

Arthur Kemp

Nick Griffin has always believed in forming a political elite. In the 1980s he called them his “political soldiers”. Now they are the BNP’s “voting members”, the only people allowed to attend the party’s annual general meeting and vote on resolutions. Activists have to meet several conditions to qualify as voting members. One is to attend ideological training to ensure members support the right policies, and it is Arthur Kemp whom Griffin charged with its delivery.

Born in what was then white-ruled Southern Rhodesia, Kemp studied and worked in South Africa, where he became a state intelligence agent and played a role in the run-up to the murder of the prominent ANC leader Chris Hani in April 1993.

Kemp regards himself as something of an expert on race and is famed in white supremacist circles internationally as the author of March of the Titans, a monumental tome which contends that civilisation collapses when “swamped” by “racial aliens”. His sources for the book, which is also vehemently antisemitic and questions the veracity of the Holocaust, include hardline nazis. He attends Holocaust denial and hardline racist conferences in the US and contributes to journals in that field.

Lee Barnes

The BNP’s “legal eagle”, though not a party member, Lee Barnes’s unpopularity in the BNP grew after Griffin put him in charge of moderating the BNP’s internal forum, to which only party members are allowed access. The row led to the forum’s temporary closure just when Griffin’s second trial on race hate charges opened in November last year. Although Barnes’s name is no longer on the BNP’s list of national officers and his column has disappeared from the party website, Griffin recently commended Barnes’s blog describing it as “an intensely argued, intellectually inventive thing”.

Inventive is right. As for intellectual, recently he described a well known musician as “Junkie scumbag piece of shit worshipped by scumbag UAF fuckwits and NME wankers”. And writing about BBC reports on education he said: “They find some ugly geeza bird with hairy legs called Miranda who then bangs on about …” and claimed schools were run by “boring left wing assholes”. When Barnes does try to be intellectual he rapidly becomes incoherent, drawing implausible conclusions from dubious evidence using ever lengthening words and sentences. Several people have described Barnes as very eccentric.

Emmanuel Brun d’Aubignosc

One of the least known of Griffin’s new clique, Emmanuel Brun d’Aubignosc runs the Altermedia “white nationalist” news network and provides web services to the BNP as well as managing several leading European hate websites, according to his own postings on the international nazi Stormfront forum. A wealthy Belgian in his thirties, he claims Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the French National Front, personally tasked him with creating a pan-European white nationalist web presence.

He also acts as webmaster to David Duke, the former US Ku Klux Klan leader who now plays a leading role in the international extreme right. Duke, d’Aubignosc and Griffin met in Germany in summer 2002. D’Aubignosc designs, manages and updates Duke’s official website and also does business with Chris Evans, a former unit commander of the US nazi organisation the National Alliance and marketing director for its hate-music company Resistance Records.

D’Aubignosc holds hardline antisemitic views. In May 2004 he wrote on Altermedia: “Our enemies are the vicious people who hate black people so much they have been using them to destroy us by miscegenation or ‘racial mixing’ which is a form of genocide for us. They are the people who lie, lie, lie to drive America into wars of Israeli conquest. They are the people who deny every nation the right to its own secure living space, while, at the same time, they demand that same space for their own people. They are the ones who plunder American and European taxpayers to subsidise their own terrorist state. They are the ones who poison our children’s minds with MTV. They are the people who sell our women on the meat markets of forced prostitution and pornography on the streets of Jerusalem.”

Patrick Harrington

Not only is Patrick Harrington not a BNP member, he is one of the leaders of a rival political party, Third Way, which also cavorts under the name National Liberal Party.

Harrington is also a longstanding political comrade of Griffin from their days in the National Front in the 1980s and notably accompanied Griffin to Libya in 1988 in a failed attempt to obtain financial support from Colonel Gaddafi. A year later their NF political soldiers group had split, with Griffin forming the International Third Position and Harrington setting up Third Way a few months afterwards.

Harrington reappeared at Griffin’s side in 2006 when he was brought in as general secretary of Solidarity, the BNP’s trade union front. At first it seemed he was there to maintain the fiction that Solidarity was independent of the BNP. But when a row broke out between Harrington and the two BNP members on the Solidarity executive, which quickly led to a split in the union, it quickly became clear that Harrington was the only man Griffin could trust.

Since then Harrington has brought in two more Third Way activists, Graham Williamson and David Kerr, to help run Solidarity. Third Way’s political philosophy would appear to differ considerably from that of the BNP. Its website features an equal opportunities statement and it claims to welcome “guest workers … to fill gaps in the country’s infrastructure”. It seems that Griffin’s desire to build a political elite along the lines of the political soldiers overrides any superficial ideological differences.

Alan Goodacre

The BNP’s economics guru, Alan Goodacre has come from nowhere to command a key role in the formation of BNP policy as a member of the party’s Policy Forum. His influence can readily be detected in the economics section of the party’s 2005 manifesto and several articles by him appear on the BNP’s website.

According to John Bean, editor of the BNP’s magazine Identity, Goodacre is also the editor of Jihad Watch, a BNP subscription email bulletin. Griffin has become increasingly Islamophobic and Goodacre helps fuel this obsession. In a letter to the Jewish Chronicle he claimed that the BNP had genuinely repudiated antisemitism and no longer denied the Holocaust, while appealing to British Jews to understand that the BNP “are the only party in Britain that is truly serious about fighting the Islamofascist threat”. His views received short shrift from the Jewish community.

Goodacre has also been at the forefront of a prudish demand for a return to Victorian sexual values as the only way to attain an imagined morale high ground over Islam.

Simon Darby

The only BNP member among Griffin’s new cabal, Simon Darby was recently appointed the BNP’s press officer after the abrupt departure of Stuart Russell who, rumour has it, was told to go away by Arthur Kemp. Darby was already, and remains, the BNP’s deputy leader, a fact that emerged during Griffin’s first trial on race hate charges early in 2006, when everyone assumed it would be Scott McLean, the BNP’s deputy chairman, who would take over had Griffin been convicted and imprisoned.

Darby, who has also been the BNP’s West Midlands organiser and director of information technology, demonstrated his ability at dealing with difficult questions when he took part in a studio discussion after the screening of a documentary on nazi hate music early in 2006. He was totally demolished by Lord Lester, QC and after evasion, lies and an eruption into antisemitism, he seized the opportunity of a commercial break to disappear.

Like many BNP members these days, Darby is a keen blogger. Coincidentally his blog started two days before the sudden resignation of his predecessor as BNP press officer, Stuart Russell. It is an eclectic mixture of twitcher notes, political musings and attempts at developing his technical skills with video, sound recordings and camera. One clip of a recording of a telephone conversation last month attracted several complaints from readers who were unable to play it. He has now expressed a desire to upload a recording of the deep grunt of a fallow deer at the start of the rutting season.

Tony Lecomber

Although Tony Lecomber was removed from BNP membership in summer after he assaulted Eddy Butler, the BNP elections officer, he still acts as a behind-the-scenes adviser to BNP officers and rumours continue to circulate that he remains close to Griffin.

Formerly Griffin’s number two, Lecomber was convicted and jailed on five charges under the Explosives Act after he tried to bomb the headquarters of a political organisation in the 1980s. He received another three-year prison sentence when he assaulted a Jewish teacher. Lecomber ran Griffin’s campaign for the party leadership in 1999 and has acted as his enforcer, much to the resentment of many party members.

More recently, in 2006, Lecomber tried to encourage Joe Owens, repeatedly named by Searchlight as a gangland hitman, to carry out a “hit” on a Cabinet minister. Nevertheless Griffin was reluctant to ditch him. Griffin even kept Lecomber on the party payroll while telling party members that links had been cut.

When Lecomber attacked Butler outside Loughton tube station, Griffin was only able to prevent Butler from going to the police by promising to expel Lecomber. But unlike other people removed from the BNP, Lecomber was not “proscribed”, which meant party members were allowed to associate with him socially. A very mild notice to members described Lecomber as “a long-term, devoted and very valuable key official in the BNP and a genuine nationalist” and recognised his “sterling work for the cause in the past and his selflessness in stepping away in order to avoid compromising the future”.

If Lecomber is part of Griffin’s new cabal that would leave Butler, architect of the BNP’s elections strategy, in an invidious position.

Searchlight

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Goodacre has also been at the forefront of a prudish demand for a return to Victorian sexual values as the only way to attain an imagined morale high ground over Islam."



30% of the female London population were gin sodden drunks and prostitutes.

Men could pick up little boys for the price of a meal.

Young girls and women were regularly raped and beaten behind closed doors.

When you take into account the sexual antics of the BNP, I'd say it had already achieved those "Victorian Sexual Values"

Regards

SE

Anonymous said...

How come these idiots arent asking why their party is being run by people who arent even party members? What the hell is the matter with them?

Anonymous said...

Slobibob said..."How come these idiots arent asking why their party is being run by people who arent even party members? What the hell is the matter with them?"


Because we trust Nick. If Nick has got these people helping to run the organisation he must have a reason. Nick has made the BNP what it is today...

Anonymous said...

Because as you can see the BNP is becoming the cult of Nick Griffin rather than a political party.

Like many other cults, it's about "trusting Nick" and giving him your cash.

Anonymous said...

Williamson was hardline nazi nutter before swinging sharply towards the Third Way in the 80s.

He first popped up in the NF's Blackpool Branch in the late 70s together with his skinhead brother Stewart. The pair of them were resolutely bourgeois and came not from Blackpool but from the far posher nearby seaside town of Lytham St Annes.

G Williamson then went off to Keele University and on his return to Blackpool got himself a paper shuffling managerial job at a building society. Blackpool NF Branch at that time was a notorious den of knuckle dragging lumpen proletariat halfwits - it spawned the horrific Ian Stuart -, so it wasn't long before Williamson shinned up the internal greasy poll. Having a degree (even from Keele..arf arf) made him into the local intellectual.As well as this he was the branch's Number 1 Stakonovite uber-activist who would have given any SWP Central Committee member a run for their money in any 'dogmatic devotion to the cause' contest.

However, he was also more than able to mix it up with the knuckle draggers. On one occasion a Blackpool NF papersale got some well deserved grief from a small group of local residents (not activists from what I heard) and Williamson (together with his goon squad which included at least one serving squaddie) responded by following the hecklers (which included a couple of women) to a parking lot and dishing out a vicious beating to them.

This got him nicked but somehow the charges didn't stick. No CCTV in those days and no witnesses apart from his fellow fash and the boxed-up locals.

A little bit of research digs up plenty of info which sharply contradicts his current nice- neighbor Third Way nonsence and shows him to be an unreformed violent hard core racist. I may post more about him soon.

Anonymous said...

"Not only is Patrick Harrington not a BNP member, he is one of the leaders of a rival political party, Third Way, which also cavorts under the name National Liberal Party."

Actually the Third Way is now gone back to being a 'Think-tank'. It supports/sponsors a political party named the National Liberal Party. The Third Way also supports the Solidarity Trades Union and accepts that BNP members will be involved amongst others. Being 'libertarian' it doesn't have an ethical problem with that although there are some strong ideological differences but the need for an effective 'patriotic' trade union right now takes precendence. Patrick Harrington is its General Secretary and was supported by Nick Griffin and others over an attempted 'purging' of him by some BNP members because Harrington was in the right and a thousand times more effective in running the Union.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said..."Because as you can see the BNP is becoming the cult of Nick Griffin rather than a political party... Like many other cults, it's about 'trusting Nick' and giving him your cash."

I was being ironic, of course, but you are absolutely right.

Nice exposé of Williamson too. Elevated to NF Deputy Chairman in 1986 after he switched sides in a factional dispute. "30 pieces of silver" was how fellow fash Andrew Brons referred to his sudden change of heart at a Directorate meeting at 50 Pawsons Road, the old NF HQ.

At least his missus was getting a good ferreting while our Graham was away on fash patrol.

Anonymous said...

"Third Way’s political philosophy would appear to differ considerably from that of the BNP. Its website features an equal opportunities statement and it claims to welcome “guest workers … to fill gaps in the country’s infrastructure”. It seems that Griffin’s desire to build a political elite along the lines of the political soldiers overrides any superficial ideological differences."

Doesn't seem very superficial to me. I think its a mistake to believe that anyone who meets Mad Nick is used by him, perhaps the other way round? I'm more interested in what the Third Way 'liberals' think they can get out of the Union particularly when it allows members of the far-right to join?

Anonymous said...

"Doesn't seem very superficial to me. I think its a mistake to believe that anyone who meets Mad Nick is used by him, perhaps the other way round? I'm more interested in what the Third Way 'liberals' think they can get out of the Union particularly when it allows members of the far-right to join?"


Dream on Patrick, Griffin has always had the beating of you in the political acumen stakes. You are just useful to him at the moment and he's gotten away with suckering you by appealing to your notorious vanity. Tell SID? Ha ha, what a knob.

Anonymous said...

"Tell SID? Ha ha, what a knob."

Whose Sid?

Anonymous said...

The NF's old Security and Intelligence Department (Patrick Harrington wearing sunglasses).

Anonymous said...

Tell SID? Ha ha, what a knob.

Understand the nuemonic but not the context. You wouldn't be using this site to re-fight ancient pesonal vendettas would you Mr. Anonymous?

Anonymous said...

No, Harrington is using it to tell you how wonderful he thinks he is. A relentless attention seeker him and not very bright with it.

Anonymous said...

not very bright with it

Too right! Just because he is highly qualified doesn't mean he is that bright!

His Third Way is like a cult. They all speak with one voice, they are fanatics. They remind me of the Borg of Star Trek!

Anonymous said...

This got him nicked but somehow the charges didn't stick. No CCTV in those days and no witnesses apart from his fellow fash and the boxed-up locals.

Is anonymous actually saying that there was in fact no evidence? We have only his (anonymous) assertions about any of it. Can he back any of it up?

Anonymous said...


Slobibob said...
How come these idiots arent asking why their party is being run by people who arent even party members? What the hell is the matter with them?


In the case of Harrington you have shown that he is General Secretary of Solidarity but not that he has any input into the "running" of the BNP which as you say is a rival to the Party of which he is a member.

Anonymous said...

"His Third Way is like a cult. They all speak with one voice, they are fanatics. They remind me of the Borg of Star Trek!"

At least they don't fight amongst themselves like the BNP or to be frank like many antifa who should no better!

Anonymous said...

"I'm more interested in what the Third Way 'liberals' think they can get out of the Union particularly when it allows members of the far-right to join?"

Looking at their website they have been promoting the idea of there being three rather than one nationalist traditions. A Conservative one (UKIP, English Democrats, CDA), a Socialist/working class one (BNP) and a Liberal one (their sponsored NLP). Whilst each will be rivals and have disagreements (such as amongst the three main parties) their perceived threat to the nation state will force them to co-operate mainly through bodies such as Solidarity. Putting aside differences whilst co-operating on issues such as CND and anti-war campaigns has an historic pedigree amongst the left. It seems we might be about to experience a similar development on the right.

Anonymous said...

"Looking at their website they have been promoting the idea of there being three rather than one nationalist traditions. A Conservative one (UKIP, English Democrats, CDA), a Socialist/working class one (BNP) and a Liberal one (their sponsored NLP). Whilst each will be rivals and have disagreements (such as amongst the three main parties) their perceived threat to the nation state will force them to co-operate mainly through bodies such as Solidarity. Putting aside differences whilst co-operating on issues such as CND and anti-war campaigns has an historic pedigree amongst the left. It seems we might be about to experience a similar development on the right."


Thank you Patrick, very interesting...(not!)

Anonymous said...

"Thank you Patrick, very interesting...(not!)"

I think we should be interested as it gives an insight into an apparent re-alignment which will see Harrington's cult like Third Way backing-up the beleagured Griffin on certain campaigns/issues.