BNP attacks minority group

The British National Party, has launched a scathing attack on an organisation set up to support the region’s ethnic minorities

The extremist right wing party claims to have “exposed” the council for allocating £222,000 to Dumfries and Galloway Multicultural Association (DGMA). And the BNP’s local organiser, Ian Murphy, branded the people DGMA support as “alien minorities” and said they were anti-British.

Their news release comes at the start of diversity week and was yesterday condemned by John Dowson, an associate member of the multicultural association. He said: “This is just sad stuff from sad little people and we should have no time for them. We need to take these people on politically and condemn them as much as we can at every opportunity. I consider myself to be an associate member of DGMA and we are there to support them.

“There are a lot of Scottish people who support them and they are making Dumfries and Galloway a very cosmopolitan place. They were given £40,000 from the council for this year and I do not think that is enough to support their work throughout the whole of the region. There are thousands of Scots all over the world who are welcomed by other countries and we should do the same to the people from those countries who visit here.”

In a BNP story released on their website on Sunday, Mr Murphy said he submitted a Freedom of Information request to find out what had been given to DGMA. He said: “It’s disgusting that a quarter-million pounds of taxpayers’ money is being squandered on careless and wasteful politically correct spending in a region which has one of the smallest ethnic populations in the country. Everyone here is engaged in a financial battle to stay alive, and the council is considering scrapping school meals because of financial constraints. But, it seems, they have money to spend on ethnic-only organisations. Frankly it’s a disgrace that the needs of alien minorities, who have paid less into the system, are put ahead of the welfare of our own children.”

Among the spending Mr Murphy said £5,899 was spent on citizenship ceremonies – a system which allows people to become UK citizens.

A spokesman for the council responded to the claims by saying the money awarded to DGMA represented only two-per-cent of their third sector budget. He said: “The council is committed to the community planning principle of treating people equally and respecting them, whatever their social or cultural differences. The council’s values and principles were developed in consultation with the people of Dumfries and Galloway and reflect their views on the type of region that they want to live in. For this money the council obtains a number of services that help us to meet our statutory requirements. DGMA also delivers free English language classes, helping people to integrate into life in Dumfries and Galloway. Membership of Dumfries and Galloway Multicultural is open to all.”

Yesterday, the local authority’s diversity champion, Councillor Andrew Wood, said: “This sort of attack by the BNP is unbelievable. DGMA do an excellent job by integrating people into society and they also boost our local area.”

Dumfries and Galloway Standard