And Now: The Made–Up News...

The Police have decided against charging John Prescott with threatening to kill Labour Party Leader Harriet Harman and Chief Fundraiser Jonathan Mendelson in the run – up to May's General Election.

Citing “lack of evidence”, even though a tape allegedly exists of Lord Prescott saying “I am going to kill you, Mr Mendelson, you bugger – and then I will kill Mrs Harman all to death. Aye. That I will.”, the CPS have issued a statement that the recording is inadmissable, given that it contains only clumsily edited excerpts of a longer tape intended for a listening audience of the particularly gullible, and not grown - ups who look at evidence for a living.

In other news, opponents of Leadership Contender David Miliband have released a video recording of the MP for South Shields supposedly discussing his intention to spend the night in a brothel. The recording, in which Chief Whip Nick Brown is heard repeatedly saying “So, you're going to visit this brothel, are you, David Miliband MP? You want to do all rude things with ladies with no blouses on and that, in the brothel, Mr Miliband? Do you?”, has been widely condemned as a transparent and insanely childish attempt at entrapment designed to wreck Miliband's chances in the upcoming contest.

Mrs Harman has already courted controversy by changing the Party's Constitution to demand that all who stand against her for the Leadership must first obtain the nominations of 20% of Labour Party Members of at least two year's standing; an estimated 20,000 signatures. A series of suspensions from the Party of influential Miliband Supporters have led to accusations of dictatorship and gerrymandering against the controversial Party Leader.

The further, disastrous attempt of Mrs Harman to garner headlines in May's election campaign by featuring the image of a Pukka Pie in the corner of an election webcast, and then attempting to deflect the inevitable legal action by blaming it on former Director of Election Communications Peter Mandelson has also led to accusations of Leadership incompetence.

Controversy has grown also about the state of the Labour Party's finances. Following their failure to submit annual accounts, yet again, to scrutiny by the Electoral Commission, rumours persist of financial irregularity on a massive scale, criminal mismanagement and Party Staff at Victoria Street going unpaid: The clear inference being that the Labour Party are insolvent and verging on bankruptcy.

Mrs Harman is currently on holiday, and unavailable for comment...

Do you see what I did there?

As the above fantasy illustrates, if even a fraction of the goings – on we've heard from the BNP over the last few months had happened to a REAL political party (take your pick which one), the Papers would be reporting little else. It would be getting wall to wall TV coverage and writer Peter Morgan would, even now, be rushing out a riveting screenplay based on the events to be filmed starring Michael Sheen (giving an uncanny impersonation of Harriet Harman).

The BNP Fora (benefit of a classical education, I'm afraid...) are currently buzzing with impassioned pleas to their Members to keep details of the infighting away from those outside the Party, on the basis that it's no – one's business but their own.

On the other hand, the BNP are forever banging on about how they are a “Legitimate and Respectable” political party. Indeed, they've taken to describing themselves, as “Britain's Fifth Largest Party” (mind you; after the Lib Dem's there's a pretty massive drop – off down to UKIP, and a further steep falling away to the Nazzers...).

Well, if you're going to be a Real Political Party and not, say, just a bunch of thugs, oddballs and disenfranchised racists, you have to expect to ACT like one. And there's no use in moaning about all the nasty people out there (i.e: Us and Just About Everyone Else in the Anglophone World With an Internet Connection) chuckling like contented babies when you bring disaster after preventable disaster upon yourselves.

When all of this is over and done with, there may still be a BNP and there may not. But whatever survives, under whatever leadership, they have left behind a catalogue of such breathtakingly crackbrained behaviour and the record of so many acts of idiocy, ineptitude and barely – concealed criminality that we will have ammunition, come Election Times, for years to come.

Michaela Mackenzie sticks the boot in once more.

I'm getting the feeling that Griffin & Dowson Enterprises might have made a monumental cock up when they unlawfully sacked Michaela Mackenzie.

A couple of weeks after she released her Employment Tribunal Statement which can be found here she went a step further yesterday in her utter condemnation of Dowson and his business practices within the BNP.

In a speech lasting over 20 minutes at an Eddy Butler leadership campaign meeting she outlined her sacking and the incompetence of Griffin and Dowson and the three videos are worth watching.

Paul "Green Arrow" Morris: A Hearty Appreciation

As any parent will tell you, toddlers do a very good line in selective deafness. My own boy, in his younger days, could manage blank indifference to a level that would foil a brainscan if asked to come and have his dinner, or put his toys away, yet could detect the music of an ice cream van or a rustling sweet wrapper in another town.

Such is the case with Paul “Green Arrow” Morris. A windy old blowhard who will drunkenly shout the virtues of his beloved BNP while portraying a suspiciously homoerotic fixation on its wonky–eyed leader, and yet will conveniently retreat into a world of Carthusian silence whenever an inconvenient truth emerges that might shatter his world view.

Like the fact that the Party have failed to submit their accounts on time. Again.

Over on Morris' blog today, for example, we have a bizarre rant on the usual theme of Europe about to be invaded by hordes of Muslims with their funny curved swords and their penchant for white women; a piece about how Idealogical Tory David Cameron is actually leading a Marxist government dedicated to the overthrow of the White Race, and an aside (from Morris himself) about how Mark “Naziboy” Collett may THINK he's got away with his dastardly plot to assassinate the Dear Leader, but you can jolly well bet your boots that the ones he “threatened” will – even now – be getting ready to launch a private prosecution against the would–be murderer and so drag him through the courts after all.

Because obviously the BNP Leadership would love to have the opportunity to air their internal wranglings in open court, and never, ever pass up such a chance. (Cheap sarcasm there.)

Whether or not the much–quoted story about Morris boiling cans of cheap lager in order to “increase the alcohol content” is true, he's clearly a man with issues.

The failure to submit accounts is serious. It demonstrates, yet again, that the BNP are NOT a “serious, legitimate” political party. It shows that they can't even fulfil the most basic requirements of playing with the Big Boys. It might even suggest (to all but the most naïve supplicant) that the Leadership are in a blind panic, have something to hide, and that Butler and the anti–Griffin factions might just have a point, after all.

Not so with Morris, though. Like a toddler who doesn't want to eat his broccoli, the old fool ignores it in the hope that the whole nasty business will go away.

As with the accounts, so with wrongfully dismissed BNP staffer Michaela Mackenzie. Despite the fact that she was offered a financial settlement by Griffin who has since reneged on the deal, and is currently on the verge of beginning bankruptcy proceedings, there's no mention of this minor detail of Party affairs from the fearless Morris.

Morris is happier living within a fantasy world (as beautifully outlined in an astonishing piece some time ago where he – with childlike innocence – portrays himself and his dim bulb mates as “The Three Welsh Musketeers”). A fantasy world in which He, the sagacious and respected old military commander, sits tirelessly at his keyboard, marshalling the dwindling forces of Light and Decency in his neverending struggle to defend his beloved Nation from an onslaught of Orc–like Darkness.

In Morris World, too, the fact that I'm writing this piece serves only to illustrate the righteousness of his stance: Lefty Morons like myself only attack him because he's right, and we're terrified of his intellect and his fearless warrior bearing.

Sorry, G.A., I actually write this piece because I – along with all of the anti–fascists I know and (judging by the chatter on far–right talkboards) most of your own side - think you're absolutely bloody hilarious: The kind of self–deluded old keyboard warrior who does nothing but good for your enemies' cause.

Carry on, Old Boy! Pip, Pip!

Woe is Nick - accounts late, Collett charges dropped, Decembrists return from the grave

Despite promise after promise that this year it would be different, the BNP has yet again failed to submit an annual statement of accounts to the Electoral Commission, incurring an automatic minimum £500 fine. The party's Regional Accounting Unit has also failed to submit accounts and will be fined a minimum of £100.

In a statement made earlier today (Thursday) by the Electoral Commission, Chief Executive Peter Wardle said:

Most parties and accounting units submitted their accounts on time; one [the SDLP] made what we hope will prove to be a one-off mistake and will face a fine for late submission. But two parties have repeatedly failed to put information about their income and expenditure into the public domain on time.

That is not acceptable, and as well as fining these two parties for late submission, we will be monitoring them closely to try to ensure they meet the same standards of reporting as the others. The sanctions we currently have available to deal with this sort of non-compliance are limited, but we look forward to Parliament giving final approval to a wider range of sanctions, before the end of this year.

Joining the BNP in the doghouse is the tiny Christian Party.

Should the BNP fail to submit its accounts within the next three months the fines levied on the party will double, as they did last year when the party played fast and loose with the EC's patience (and its own members' subscriptions and donations).

Ever since the spotlight fell firmly on the BNP's finances post-general election, Nick Griffin has been going out of his way to give an impression that all is well and that this year the accounts, now - allegedly - under the management of a professional accountant, would be submitted as required. Griffin must have been aware for some time that this would not be the case.

Cynics dissecting the series of self-serving treatises put out by Griffin post-election, forecast that the BNP accounts would again be late, since Griffin continually harped on about the complexity of the party's financial operations and the difficulties inherent in keeping them in order, and seemed to be laying down an advance trail of plausible excuses.

This may also explain why a clearly uncomfortable David Hannam, the party's national treasurer, has been pushed to the fore in the past week, being chivvied, we strongly suspect, into making a video for the BNP website and issuing a statement on behalf of his treasury department which promises much but clarifies little. The emailed version is "From Chairman Nick Griffin", and while we don't suppose he did more than outline what he expected the statement to contain, it's also difficult to believe that Hannam's is the only hand involved.

Nick Griffin having conveniently departed the country for a holiday, explanations for the lateness of the BNP's accounts will be sought from Hannam, who may be wondering if he hasn't been set up for a fall.

(For a fuller examination of this matter, see Sonia Gable's HNH/Searchlight article, republished here.)

In the meantime...


Humberside Police have dropped charges against sacked BNP publicity director Mark Collett (above, with Griffin), according to a post on leadership challenger Eddy Butler's blog. Collett was arrested on April 1st after Griffin had contacted the police claiming to have received death threats. A police statement made after Collett was bailed said: "This investigation was initiated as a result of a complaint by a member of the British National Party and inquiries are ongoing."

Clearly, no, or insufficient, evidence existed upon which a charge could be sustained.

At the time Nick Griffin sent out a hysterical email linking Collett not only with the utterance of alleged death threats but with financial impropriety and of being part of a "palace coup" about to be staged against his leadership. Despite claiming that he was unable to discuss the matter due to rules of "sub judice" (which was untrue), Griffin (ignoring sub judice as it suited him) instigated a widely ridiculed "inquiry" that was held on Easter Monday (April 5th), in which twelve dupes were sent off to "authenticate" a highly edited recording of the "death threats". Naturally, they gave the required answer.

Along with Collett, Eddy Butler and Emma Colgate were dismissed from their posts, and it is now apparent that the entire saga relates not to "death threats", the misappropriation of BNP monies on Collet's part or to "palace coups" but to allegations of serious financial wrong-doing at the top of the BNP, of which the trio had become aware.

News of Collett's arrest was deliberately leaked to the media from within the BNP just as the party's general and local election campaign was set to launch. How much damage was done to the BNP's vote as a result, and how much it was responsible for the loss of so many BNP councillors is difficult to tell, since we believe the BNP was always on course for a hiding at the ballot box.

It is self-evident to all but the most blind and sycophantic of Griffinites that the dodgy "death threat" episode, played out in the press and on television, was an enormous own goal on the part of the leadership, far more damaging than the fleeting loss of the party's website just before polling day. People may go to political websites in their hundreds, but they read newspapers and watch television in their millions.

With the charges dropped and any loyalties he might have held for Nick Griffin shattered, Mark Collett may well end his prolonged silence on the affair, an eventuality that on the surface can only benefit Eddy Butler. Butler is closer to Collett than he cares to admit, and thus far the Nazi Boy has been a peripheral, almost invisible figure, with very good reason. Collett is so widely reviled within the BNP that any open association between him and Butler would seriously damage Butler's leadership campaign. His open involvement in the campaign would almost certainly kill it. Collett, then, is of limited use to Butler, no matter how innocent he may be of the charges levelled against him by Griffin - though he may yet damage Griffin to the favour of Butler in an apparently independent "off stage" role.

The weight on Griffin's mind has been added to by news that the final part of the case he instigated (and has so far roundly lost) against the December Rebels will be heard at the High Court in Newcastle on November 29th.

Kenny Smith, one of the leading Decembrists, has reactivated the derelict Enough Is Enough website to announce that "Judgement Day is coming!"

Remarking that Griffin and Simon Darby "have tried every trick in the book, and indeed continue to invent new ways of delaying proceedings, to prevent the case they instigated at the Party's expense coming to trial", Smith gleefully adds:

Sadly for them, but happily for those who want to see justice done and the truth finally revealed in full, the trial has been fixed to start on Monday the 29th November 2010 at Newcastle High Court.

Kenny, Nicholla, Steve and Ian are all looking forward to their days in court and finally being able to expose Griffin and his cabal for what they are!

The Decembrists, somewhat pre-empted as Griffinite bugging of their private conversations led to the exposure of their intentions, launched the last serious attempt at unseating Nick Griffin, but the campaign soon floundered through indecision and the want of firm leadership. Then as now, Griffin began expelling or suspending individual Decembrists on eminently challengable grounds. At the time we observed that just one challenge to Griffin's worthless writs of expulsion would stop him in his tracks and galvanise support for the rebels as hesitant individual members lost their fear of the Leader's edicts. It is a lesson Eddy Butler's supporters have failed to learn, as they allow themselves to be picked off one by one.

Griffin's smothering tactics worked at the time but disguised the extent of latent discontent within the party. Seemingly united for the Euro election campaign, the cracks soon began to show as the false foundations on which the Euro success had been built were exposed by ever worsening votes which reflected the BNP's true electoral position, and by Griffin's inept approach to the EHRC case. The awful Question Time appearance, the dislodging of PPCs in favour of party "names", the wild allegations against Collett, thuggish behaviour towards journalists and others, the needless courting of Unilever litigation, the general and local election rout have all done for Griffin what the Decembrists never could.

He did it all himself. And if he really were a leader of vision, the genius of strategy he is so frequently claimed to be, then he would have known that cutting off the Decembrist head while smothering Decembrist sentiment would leave hundreds within the BNP to brood and bide their time.

That they have done, for what else is Eddy Butler's campaign but the second coming of the Decembrists, with new leadership, bigger and badder than ever?

BNP faces fines for third accounts failure.

The British National Party has failed to submit its 2009 accounts to the Electoral Commission, the third time the fascist party has been late.

The Electoral Commission said today: “The British National Party and the party’s Regional Accounting Unit were both granted an extension to the deadline for submitting their statements of accounts. Both have failed to deliver their accounts within the extended deadline so the party will be fined a minimum of £500 and the accounting unit will be fined a minimum £100, this figure will increase if the accounts are more than three months late.”

The 2008 accounts, which were submitted nearly six months late, remain under investigation by the Electoral Commission because the auditors reported that they did not give a true and fair view and did not “comply with the requirements of the Political Parties Elections and Referendums Act 2000 as adequate records have not been made available”.

At the time, Nick Griffin, the BNP leader, described the accounts as “inadequate”. In his introduction to the 2008 accounts Griffin claimed that “the task of maintaining central office accounts had become too big for any one individual”. However, he continued, the problem had now been solved because the job had been “outsourced” to “an independent Chartered Accountant and Accounts Technician with the aim of presenting acceptable accounts for the accounting year 2009”.

The independent chartered accountant was John Thompson, a close business associate of Jim Dowson, the man whose web of financial links with the BNP is such that he in effect “owns” the BNP.

The failure to submit accounts will add to Dowson’s unpopularity with many BNP members and plays into the hands of Eddy Butler, who is currently trying to collect enough nominations to challenge Griffin for the party leadership. Butler’s response was: “Nick Griffin has brought disgrace upon the BNP yet again. There is only one way that you can change this. Sign the nomination form and vote for change.”

That the accounts have not appeared was no surprise to Searchlight. Given the BNP’s huge liabilities as a result of Griffin’s long list of reckless legal actions, the party’s independent auditors are likely to have had difficulty certifying that the BNP is a “going concern”.

In recent years, although the party has been insolvent, the auditors have assumed it can meet its liabilities by raiding the funds of its groups and branches, something with which many local officers are unhappy. Now, the liabilities are so big that branch funds are not enough, and many branch treasurers have adopted measures to keep head office’s hands off their money.

An organisation that is not a “going concern” cannot operate unless it pays for all goods and services in advance, something the BNP does not have the money to do.

Many party members are beginning to realise that although Dowson has raised unprecedented sums in donations, Griffin has been spending far more on madnesses such as using an image of Marmite on a BNP election broadcast, which attracted an injunction from Unilever, defending indefensible unfair dismissal claims from former employees and dragging out his response to the Equality Commission’s action over the party’s racist constitution to the extent that the legal costs are believed to be running at £300,000 so far.

Another problem the auditors might have had is that the party apparently no longer owns any of its assets. One of the sections of the new BNP constitution that Griffin slipped in without telling anyone states that all the party’s assets belong to the so-called Founders’ Association. That body is not defined in the constitution but it is understood to be all BNP members who joined before the new constitution came into effect in February and are still members. If the party does not own its assets, they cannot correctly be included in its accounts, which would greatly increase the party’s insolvency.

The BNP, however, is hoping its members will keep their heads firmly in the sand. The day before it emerged that the party’s accounts were missing, Dave Hannam, the party treasurer, sent out an email listing all the party’s financial achievements but admitting that he had been forced to implement new stringent financial controls and submit to monthly inspection of his “treasury office” by “an outside accountant”.

According to Hannam the party lacked “financial stability”. One reason was: “the large number of court cases launched at this party in a deliberate attempt to derail us,” skating over the fact that almost all the legal costs were entirely the fault of the BNP. Another reason was “a general lack of accountability with regards to the National Treasurer and his office”. And it had been “discovered that some officials has incurred expenditure that was both unauthorised and previously unknown to the Treasury department”.

In other words, Hannam had been as incompetent as most people, other than Griffin, Dowson and their sycophants, always knew he was from the time he first became the party’s deputy treasurer.

The email said nothing about the 2009 accounts being late, appealed for new regional treasurers – in other words new people Hannam can blame the next time it all goes wrong – and ended with a “donate” button, in the hope that the party’s stupid supporters will throw more money into Griffin’s bottomless pit.

Searchlight / HOPE not Hate by Sonia Gable

Friends and other enemies

While most trade union leaders have of late found a good deal to occupy their minds and their time as draconian government spending and job cuts loom, the general secretary of at least one alleged "fighting union" has other concerns that he clearly feels to be far more pressing than such bothersome trivialities as protecting and promoting the employment prospects of his members in the hard times to come.

These, after all, can be quickly disposed of in a few stock cod-radical phrases posted on the website of his "one big union" and regurgitated in a press release that will (for a fee payable to his friend Graham) then be posted on a free PR website, where it will attract its customary level of feverish disinterest and disappear without trace.

Patrick Harrington/Sharp, general secretary of Solidarity, director of the Third Way "think tank", newly-coined BNP employee and fantasist par excellence has been extremely busy on Facebook just lately, patiently scanning his list of "friends" for any who link to the numerous enemies of the Very Important trade union leader and Political Thinker - a man so Important that he maintains his own Wikipedia page as a reminder to the rest of the world of just how Very Important he is.

Should Harrington discover the name "Simon Bennett" lurking amongst the friends of his Facebook friends, then the general secretary of the "fighting union" will employ some of his ample spare time to send a message warning that Bennett was responsible for "crashing" the BNP website on the eve of the general election and might use the personal details of those who link to his Facebook page in unspecified but detrimental ways. It would therefore be "unwise" to maintain a link to Bennett.

Mark Walker, also with more spare time on his hands than is healthy, performs the same service as the sneaking Harrington, but goes a little further in his "friendly" advice, warning that retaining Bennett as a Facebook friend might be "construed as disloyalty".

Things must be getting desperate when trade union general secretaries and leading Griffinites begin to act like pre-adolescent school children and are driven to scour the pages of something so shallow as Facebook looking to rubbish their enemies - but then, Harrington and Walker both possess the type of mind that eminently suits them to such infantile activities.

Having made no secret of his support for Nick Griffin, and having openly attempted to exercise a negative influence upon the nomination gathering process on which a challenge to Griffin's leadership depends, Harrington appears to have forgotten that his Third Way and National Liberal Party websites were hosted gratis by Bennett, who also owns the domain names. Not unnaturally, given the vitriol pouring down upon him from the Griffin camp, Bennett revenged himself by pointing the two domains at his YourBNP website.

Harrington, being Harrington (and sometimes being Sharp), thinks this most unfair, and so, while other trade union general secretaries devote their time planning for the difficult political and industrial struggles to come, the general secretary of the "fighting union" scrabbles about in the nether reaches of the Internet pursuing yet another of the personal vendettas that have peppered his less than illustrious career.

While Harrington gets on with what Harrington does best (which is not very much at all), the man he induced to undertake electoral spoiling duties at the behest of Nick Griffin flounders.

Richard Barnbrook, much pitied but largely abandoned to his own devices, appears to have been thrown into the laps of the Walker brothers, who are humouring him hugely. It was via Barnbrook's Facebook page that Mark Walker sent out some of his ominous "friendly advice".

Ultimately doomed by his initial association with the Butler camp, Barnbrook is the pliant prisoner of the Griffinites who captured him, painfully eager to please the guards set to watch and control his every move, cushioned from the reality of his humiliation by the carefully maintained illusion that he really is mounting a serious independent leadership challenge.

Doubtless the Walkers have difficulties in preventing a matching pair of sly smiles from stealing across their lips as they listen to the wretched Barnbrook's plans and make approving nods in all the right places. Their job as his wards includes that of keeping Barnbrook busy, and to that end the GLA member is in County Durham to help in the campaign to have Adam Walker elected to Spennymoor Town Council.

For the occasion Walker has produced a cheap word-processed leaflet in which he says that a path he helped to clear was "drastically needed", and seems, as BNP people are prone to do, to elevate the influence of the lowest and least influential tier of governance well beyond its bounds, asking: "Why do we need to produce council, benefits, medical and police documents in umpteen different languages and provide and pay for expensive professional interpreters?"

Why indeed, since this is not something likely to trouble Spennymoor Town Council?

How well Walker's campaign is progressing might be gauged from a post made on Monday evening by Richard Barnbrook on his new blog, presumably in an unguarded Walker-less moment: "I have to laugh, or I would 'Cry'.... So fare today 3 people turned out to canvas in Spennymoor!" (sic).

Not very well at all, then.

Still, while at least some microscopic BNP activity is taking place in the north-east, elsewhere

BNP activity flourishes according to the BNP website, which seems to report a fresh outbreak every other day. The trouble is that the bulk of these "activities" appear with a suspicious regularity to be concentrated in the north-west, the home turf of regional organiser, tall tale teller and Griffin goon Clive Jefferson.

These reports are invariably accompanied by photographs of a very few people who have apparently sold a very large number of BNP newspapers and delivered impossible quantities of BNP literature to an adoring public. New members are just falling out of the heavens, and talk of breakthroughs and successes to come abounds, much as it has for the past several fruitless years.

Breakthroughs and successes require money and activists, both of which are in increasingly short supply as donors are loath to throw good money after bad and members walk away in disillusionment or entrench themselves in the rival leadership camps. But no matter,

Nick Griffin has signposted the road to electoral heaven on the BNP website in a mini-manifesto entitled "What Is Going to be Done", coincidentally (and wisely) decamping to France for his holidays before anybody can ask, "Exactly How Is It Going To Be Done?".

A screed of praise to Jim Dowson intermingled with the same hopelessly unrealistic but fine-sounding plans that have been thrown at the jaded membership of every failing political movement since time began, I don't propose here to discuss at length that which Griffin and the BNP cannot possibly achieve.

"What Is Going to be Done" may sway the gullible, as it is intended to do, with its magic vote-winning computers, mobile homes that dispense iced water and suncream on hot days, and a 30-acre BNP place in the country, but all of this requires money, and huge amounts of it. But money is something the BNP does not have - in fact it does not have it to the extent that it owes ever increasing quantities of the national currency to an ever growing list of unpaid creditors.

Unless Griffin has found for the BNP a sugar daddy, one who pays the rent rather than one who screws the party and departs in the morning without leaving so much as a discreet farthing on the mantelpiece, then his plans for the BNP will need to be retitled "What Is Not Going To Be Done". As

Honest Eddy Butler points out, the needless EHRC case has so far cost the BNP £300,000 with more to come, both Michaela Mackenzie and Mark Collett are in a position to bankrupt the party, as are any one of a "frightening" number of creditors not as emotionally bound to the BNP as Mackenzie and Collett.

By way of example, according to Butler, who we have no reason to doubt, the party's Midland depot is now four months in arrears with rent and council taxes, and the telephone, gas and electricity bills have not been paid. These debts alone must already amount to something between £5,000 to £10,000, and there is no obvious way in which they can be met.

The recent spate of hysterical postal appeals, as we know from other sources, have brought in desultory returns even when backed up by emailed variants, not even enough to cover the £5,000 cost (Butler's figure) of each appeal.

So the grand plans of "What Is Going to be Done" are so much stuff and nonsense, as its author is well aware, since the BNP will be lucky to own a rubber stamp by the end of the year, let alone contemplate moving into a 30-acre complex somewhere in the Midland countryside.

Since throwing down the gauntlet, Eddy Butler has presented himself as the "honest man" candidate, one interested in financial transparency, the guy who's on the side of the members, yet his remarks at a campaign meeting held in East London on July 20th would suggest there are limits to his more agreeable traits, and there are circumstances in which he would turn a blind eye to corruption at the top.

Here we must stress, as Butler repeatedly stresses, that what follows is hearsay - though it is hearsay he frequently returns to, and it is the same hearsay which underpins his campaign to unseat Nick Griffin. Butler clearly gives far more weight to it than he is prepared to admit to in public.

The story, as told by Butler, is that in mid-March the then BNP staff manager Emma Colgate visited treasurer David Hannam at his new office. While Colgate was there Hannam received a call from Nick Griffin, which was overheard by Colgate (Butler is hazy as to how, suggesting that Hannam had the speakerphone switched on). Griffin, it is alleged, asked Hannam to pay off his personal credit card in a sum, Butler says, that amounted to six figures. Hannam apparently demurred at the idea of using party money to pay Griffin's personal debts, but Griffin "had a bit of a go" at Hannam and ordered him to pay.

Hannam then said to Colgate that there were "all kinds of bad things going on in the party, to do with the party's finances - serious stuff".

Serious stuff indeed. Serious criminal stuff, if any of this is true.

Colgate then told Eddy Butler, at that time the BNP's national organiser. Publicity director Mark Collett became aware of the allegations, and soon after Hannam forwarded a recording of a private conversation he had held with Collett to Griffin, who then sacked Colgate, Butler and Collett from their positions, and, just as the BNP election campaign opened, ran to the press and police with wild tales of death threats which were to dog the BNP until polling day.

Explaining this at his campaign meeting, Butler says: "In discussions I said, look, if this is true ... we're in the run up to a general election campaign. If we don't do well and we don't get all these seats, and we haven't got all the momentum with us - which would make up for everything, frankly, wouldn't it? - then we'll have to raise the issue..."

This seems a fairly clear indication that before his sacking, Butler was minded not to press the matter of the alleged credit card payment provided the BNP did well in the general election, and would have happily kept his inside knowledge of the alleged transaction from the membership in those circumstances.

This strange ambivalence does not sit well with the "honest man" image Butler is at great pains to project. Misuse of funds for the alleged purpose recounted by Butler is common or garden corruption. There is no sense in which corruption can be vindicated, no situation in which suppressing knowledge of it will "make up for everything".

It is noteworthy that the mental circumlocutions afflicting Eddy Butler seemed also to afflict the audience to which he recounted his squalid little tale. He had, after all, just told them that their money had allegedly been stolen, but that would have been made up for if only the BNP had performed better in the general election. Not one member of the audience took issue with him.

And finally, those of you of strong constitution who flock every Sunday morning to listen to the latest instalment of the Green Arrow's "Voice of the British Resistance" may have been alarmed to learn from the constipated-sounding Voice that the "growth of babies born to foreign women has doubled."

The Voice does not enlighten us as to the cause of this unparalleled phenomenon, but we're fairly certain it is related to the heavy ingestion of alcohol on the part of an amoebic intellect seized by a compulsion to record dotty internet podcasts in the darkness of a coal bunker situate somewhere in South Wales.

Perhaps a friend - or even an ex-friend, if, courtesy of Harrington, he has one or two to spare - should have a word?

The Internet: Just Made for Irritating the Far Right

More internet - based mischief.

“Razorcuts” are a Salford – based punk/skinhead band. They've set up an account on Midge Ure's excellent Tunited Community Music service (logline: “Make Love Share Music”), and have proudly announced that “10p of every download goes to support patriotic organisations in the UK”.

Hmm... “patriotic organisations in the UK”. Could they mean the National Trust? Or maybe English Heritage? Perhaps they're talking about the Royal British Legion? And who could begrudge anyone donating to these outfits? Even my own local – as trendy lefty an enterprise as you could imagine – has a fundraiser every November for the Normandy Veteran's Association and the RBL.

But no. Predictably enough, and duly explained by a helpful post on one of the Nazi Forum sites, they have “offered to donate 10p to the British National Party for every tune downloaded from this site! So let's all get on there and download some great tunes and help get our country back! TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW!”

Tell everyone you know?

No problem, chum! I started by telling Tunited.

They weren't happy.

In fact, I got the feeling from the Managing Director who replied almost immediately that Razorcuts had better start looking for a new outlet.

Hey ho! Little victories...

(By the way: Hodson & Minion (“Bringing Silent Film Entertainment to the Quality Since the Twentieth Century”) are presenting An Evening With Buster Keaton and a screening of “Steamboat Bill Jr” at the Quad Cinema in Derby on Thursday September 9th. We'll give 30p to Love Music Hate Racism (a Patriotic Organisation, in my book)for everyone who turns up.)

EDL - a shocking truth

A message from Nick Lowles at HOPE not hate:

Day by day the violent and racist English Defence League are becoming more dangerous. This shocking video exposes the truth behind this self professed "peaceful" group. Watch this video and then share it with everyone you know:


The EDL exists for one simple reason: they want to spread fear and hatred throughout the UK - and it's only going to get worse.

In a few weeks the EDL will be invading Bradford for what they're calling "The Big One." Once again they plan on attacking the Muslim population.

We've been down this route before - the riots in Bradford in Oldham were sparked by small groups of violent racists attacking the local community.

We simply can't let that happen again. I'll be in touch about Hope not Hate's plans to combat the EDL in the next few days - but for the moment please watch this video, share it with your friends and get as many of them as possible to sign up to our campaign.

http://action.hopenothate.org.uk/EnglishDefenceLeague

We've really got our backs against the wall on this one - we're all going to need to take ownership of this issue.

Please email a link to this post to everyone you know.

Best wishes,

Nick

HOPE not hate

Bradford, by ‘Malatesta’

This article (slightly amended for publication) was submitted by one of our anarchist readers, ‘Malatesta’, and does not necessarily reflect the views of Lancaster Unity or its contributors. We welcome any contributions from our supporters (as long as those contributions conform to the law and are in reasonably good taste). Please send your articles to us via email.

Bradford

In spite of their varied misfortunes, it appears that the English Defence League (EDL) are still set on turning up in Bradford on August 28th for the ‘bloodbath’ they have been blethering on about for the last couple of months, heralding their arrival by making provocative assaults on internet forums like the Bradford Telegraph & Argus, as well posting their usual misinformation and tedious posturings to Indymedia.

The EDL have recently been under pressure from the police, and despite their continued claims to be ‘non-racist’ recent revelations have not helped the EDL’s PR profile.

EDL/BNP

Fading Führer Nick Griffin of the BNP still denies any links with the EDL, but then again he denies the Holocaust, his alleged homosexual past, and the fact that the BNP are falling apart post-election and pre-leadership challenge. (Incidentally leading horse Eddie Butler is currently being smeared by Griffinites as ‘Bitler’). The EDL continue to deny any connection to the BNP and continue to claim they are not racist.

BNP members have often been filmed at EDL demos, but it is the recent exposure of now ex-leader ‘Tommy Robinson’ (a.k.a. Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) as a former BNP member that scuppers any of the usual claims. Following his exposure, Yaxley-Lennon has handed over the leadership of the ‘peaceful’ EDL to Kevin Carroll, who has just been convicted of violent disorder in Luton. Even Tommy has realised how untenable the ‘we ain’t BNP’ claims have become and has buried his membership card in the garden.

Admittedly, not all EDL are BNP but it is this broad right wing spectrum that is causing trouble for them. As we have seen, those at the demonstrations range from known neo-Nazis and football hooligans prevented from battling at matches to more moderate elements, many of whom have been put off by the violence and open racism displayed at EDL gatherings. Following the Stoke debacle there was considerable acrimony on the EDL’s own forum over the fighting and vandalism, and after the recent Dudley fiasco the Exeter division leader resigned in disgust. Despite their 'thousands' of paper members on Facebook, Dudley saw a decline in on-the-ground numbers. The last few EDL demos have all kicked off and the hardcore racists, hooligans and Nazis remain. Like most far right groups, the EDL rely on quantity not quality and this means all manner of scumbags have found their way into their ranks.

Opinion on the far right remains divided. On the various Nazi forums several contributors admit to attending the violent demonstrations despite much opposition from pro- and anti-Griffinites and dissident fascists. The EDL’s development of a gay division, their support of Israel and perceived ‘multi-culturalism’ has the mouldy old posters frothing at their toothbrush moustaches with righteous indignation.

The EDL constantly refer to their tiny handful of Sikh and mixed-race members, which actually clarifies their position considerably. In the same way that fascists use criticism of Israel as a smokescreen for vehement anti-Semitism, the EDL employ the same tactics using ‘Militant Islam’ as an excuse to attack any Asians they come across. This is borne out by their random attacks on shops, houses and cars without any idea of whether the victims are ‘militant’ let alone Muslim. Any person of Asian appearance will do, and this exposes the EDL as clueless ‘Paki bashers’. This is also bolstered by their chants of ‘I’d rather be a Paki than …’ etc, as well as the BNP links.

Heavy Manners

The EDL’s relationship with the Old Bill has resulted in a good deal of speculation. After the ‘leadership’ were nicked and taken to Sheffield police station (Malatesta postings, passim) during the ill-fated Scottish excursion, Plod was seen to get heavy with anti-fascists, especially in Bolton. Rumours flew that the EDL leadership had done a deal with the cops and were passing on information, but this remains unsubstantiated. What could have happened is that the EDL ‘leadership’ passed on info about the activities of hard-core hooligans before the World Cup, and also on neo-Nazis who the top nobs dislike anyway, following the hilarious Combat 18 fight in London last year. The stepping down of Yaxley-Lennon could be the result of heavy manners police pressure. The cops got heavy in Dudley and the EDL are aggrieved over the sudden turnaround of events.

Now that the World Cup is over the Nazis are being marginalised, and many on the EDL demos have been filmed and identified, so there is perhaps no longer a need for the cops to uphold their side of the bargain. The reaction of the police in Bradford on August 28th will shed further light on this.

The EDL are useful to the state in several ways. They help inflame the anti-Islamic sentiment which shores up the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Both of these wars are deeply unpopular across the political spectrum but the end is not in sight. The EDL’s riotous conduct helps the state argue for tighter laws on public order, and conveniently brings together hooligans and political extremists who can be easily monitored by the state in exactly the same way as the radical Islamic groups opposed by the EDL. EDL? Naïve? Or state?

Conclusion

Concerned citizens of Bradford are calling for the scheduled EDL demo to be banned, and Hope Not Hate are backing this call on their website. If the demo does go ahead, the police - relations with the local community in mind - will no doubt be worried. Local Asian youth have proved they are more than capable of looking after themselves, and they will present a serious physical opposition to the EDL. As anarchists we cannot rely on the state to fight against fascism and there is an urgent need for a militant broad based organisation like Anti-Fascist Action to physically as well as ideologically oppose fascism in our communities, and to link up with militant local youth if they are up for it. The EDL think that we support Islam. We do not support any religion. We are against fascist bootboys being bussed into our communities to cause trouble and division. No Pasaran!

‘Malatesta’

EDL members arrested over Bournemouth mosque bomb plot fears

ARMED police opened fire during an operation to arrest members of the controversial far-right English Defence League, who were feared to be masterminding an attack at a Bournemouth mosque.

Marksmen shot the tyres out on a van belonging to John Broomfield, who describes himself as Dorset EDL head, as he drove alone through Corfe Castle. He and six others were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause an explosion at a Bournemouth mosque. All seven, including at least six EDL members, have since been released without charge.

Armed officers pounced from an unmarked car close to the Norden roundabout as 27-year-old Mr Broomfield, from Swanage, drove home from work around 5pm. They used special rapid tyre deflation rounds, fired from a shotgun, to disable his vehicle. Officers, including specialised forensic experts, then swooped on his Bell Street home, removing clothes, computer equipment, mobile phones and passports.

The suspects were held at Poole police station and a police station in Southampton, following last Thursday’s arrests.

The English Defence League is a contentious group that has been leading “anti-Muslim extremism” demonstrations around England since 2009. Thousands of people have attended its protests – many of which have involved racist and Islamophobic chanting. However, organisers insist it is not a racist organisation.

A number of violent clashes have also taken place at EDL demonstrations since the group first emerged in Luton last year.

In a statement to the Daily Echo, Mr Broomfield said: “While travelling home from work I was stopped and arrested by armed police. I was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause an explosion at a Bournemouth mosque. Five other members of the EDL were also arrested and held for 24 hours for questioning while searches of their homes took place. Then all of us were released without charge. There has been no conspiracy. There has never been any conspiracy. The EDL is not a terrorist organisation.”

A spokesman for Dorset Police said: “Dorset Police can confirm that as part of an investigation surrounding threats to a Bournemouth mosque a total of seven people were arrested for conspiracy to cause an explosion. Following an investigation police can now confirm these people have been released without charge. We can also confirm that one of the people arrested was detained safely by armed officers in the Corfe Castle area.

“We’ve been working very closely with the Muslim community since last Thursday and our local safer neighbourhood teams have been providing advice and reassurance throughout. At this stage there is no indication whatsoever that any of the mosques in Dorset are under threat of attack.”

Bournemouth Echo

Join us in persuading the Home Secretary to stop a planned demonstration.

Today the Telegraph & Argus is launching a campaign to keep hatred and violence off the streets of our beloved city.

We are asking T&A readers to join us in persuading the Home Secretary to stop a planned demonstration by the English Defence League in Bradford at the end of August.

Quite simply, it is something that this city does not need, want or welcome.

We believe that if this march were to go ahead it could only damage community relations and threaten the prosperity and harmony of the city and district.

More than in any other city, those of us who lived through the riots of nearly ten years ago know only too well what devastation displays of hatred and intolerance can cause.

The EDL claims to be a “grass roots social movement” which represents, in its words, “every walk of life, every race, every creed and every colour; from the working class to middle England”.

The truth is very different. It is an organisation which thrives on fear, untruths, rumours and hatred and one whose message is divisive to the point where it is dangerous It will argue that its march is to highlight issues relating to radical Islam but it is impossible to see it as anything other than an attempt to stir up hatred against all Muslims.

Do not doubt that the appearance of its members in huge numbers in Bradford could be a disaster for the city and the district.

Bradford is a city rich in many cultures – something of which we can be justifiably proud.

Why should we invite people into our community whose very presence would be a huge insult to part of that community and even put a strain on the good relations between people of different backgrounds?

No doubt some people will say that to stop the EDL from demonstrating would infringe their human rights.

What about the human rights of all of us who live here peacefully and do not want these unsavoury characters anywhere near our city?

Some will doubtless claim that the EDL’s freedom of speech is being curtailed.

They are wrong, because when that speech is dripping with venom and designed purely to stir up hatred then a stand must be taken.

Wherever and whenever the EDL has mounted demonstrations across the UK there has been violence, vandalism and hatred.

That is a fact which cannot be disputed – and we do not want that on the streets of our city.

Bradford has come a long way since the dark days of the riots and that is a credit to all of its people.

No one should be allowed to put that progress at risk.

No one should be allowed to jeopardise what we have in this city for an agenda of hate and intolerance.

A group of organisations has united under the Bradford Together banner and is calling for the Home Secretary to ban the demonstration.

A ban on public gatherings is not something that should be entered into lightly, and a lot of thought has gone into whether such a restraining move would play into the hands of the EDL and their supporters.

But when the peace that has largely settled upon Bradford since the disturbances of 2001 is threatened, then sometimes the tools of last resort must be investigated.

That is why we urge you to sign the petition, in the paper and on our website, to add your voices to those who do not want the EDL and its hangers-on ruining our city and damaging community relations for years to come.

The fact that most of those EDL supporters who plan to descend on Bradford on Saturday, August 28, will come from outside the district speaks for itself.

These are not local people voicing local concerns, they are agitators and trouble-makers for whom Bradford is a place to exploit.

The message from us all to the EDL should be loud and clear: Bradford is not your battleground, and we don't want you here.

Telegraph & Argus

NF Caught Out in Norse God Blunder

Click on image for full-size

The thing about your typical Nazi, it seems to me, is that they aren't particularly bright when it comes to certain aspects of the law.

Copyright law, for one. Last year we had the enjoyable spectacle of Paul “Green Arrow” Morris having to change the masthead to his horrible little blog under threat of legal action from DC Comics – and now there are copyright problems for the National Front. Remember the NF? Once the brand leader for Far – Right nutcases (Prop: John Tyndall); long since fallen on hard times.

Well, times may get a little harder yet.

While doing my daily trawl of the internet sewer yesterday, I came upon an exciting offer to purchase “Thunderbolt - The Quarterly Political Magazine of the National Front” (above). It was helpfully subtitled “White Nationalism for a new Millennium!” in case I missed the point, and featured a lovely painting of the Norse God Thor, dressed only in helmet, oil, sandals and a thong, and just caught in the act of going into a Muscle Beach posing routine to try and impress some passing giants.

Let's face it; It's not great art. But more to the point, it's not the NF's art, either. It's a detail from a painting by Boris Vallejo, who's been the Illustrator of Choice for muscular adolescent fantasies involving well – built chaps and ladies with no blouses on since the 1960's.

The internet's a wonderful thing, etc, etc, and it only took a few minutes to verify the authorship of the painting, find a contact email for Mr Vallejo and drop him a few lines (with links) about his latest magazine cover.

A reply came just as quickly: “This is not only a violation of my copyright but also my principles...if you can tell me where to write to these people I will be happy to let them know.” Easily done. Gratifyingly, Mr Vallejo (along with most of his colleagues in the U.S Fantasy / Comic scene) guards his copyright jealously, and employs lawyers who possibly (I like to imagine) dress like Mr Thor and have muscles in their very earlobes.

It may not be something that will bring the NF tumbling down, but it's certainly going to be an irritant for them. Something they could well do without and easily avoidable if only their “Thunderbolt” Editor had shown the slightest bit of sense.

BNP boss Nick Griffin to open office in Burnley

BNP leader Nick Griffin has set up a base in Burnley.

The highly-controversial politician officially opened his "Euro office" on Saturday in Yorke Street where he will spend time in his role as a Member of the European Parliament for the North-West.

Mr Griffin believes Burnley holds a "special place" in the party's history and it is thought he will hold surgeries at the address in the coming months.

Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle said democracy meant Mr Griffin was entitled to set up stall in the town. "The office has been there for a number of years and it has done nothing in the past. I would suggest it won't be doing much in future either.

"Nick Griffin is one of our MEPs and a pretty insignificant one at the moment as he doesn't seem to be doing a lot. However, if he wants to come and sort the problems any Burnley people are having with the European Parliament then so be it. I hope he does hold surgeries there and helps deliver what the people of Burnley want," he said.

"The office is important as it will bring local people closer to their MEP," said Mr Griffin, who was dramatically refused entry to the Queen's Garden Party at Buckingham Palace yesterday where Mayor of Burnley Coun. Tony Lambert and his wife, Brenda, were guests.

"Burnley has a special place in the history of the British National Party as it was here we made our political breakthrough when winning three seats on Burnley Council in 2002."

Mr Griffin was elected to Brussels last year even though the BNP polled fewer votes in the region than it had in 2004 – winning a seat through the system of proportional representation used in the European elections. He promised then he would be opening an office in Burnley in the near future.

The BNP has used an office within the Yorke Street building since 2002 but recently moved to two new offices within the same complex.

Leader of the Burnley BNP party Coun. Sharon Wilkinson said: "When Nick first got elected as MEP he said he was going to set up an office in Burnley and he's kept his word. It will be funded with Nick's European funding. We will be getting some of the Euro staff here as well which means we will be able to help more local people with their problems."

Burnley Express

Peter Tatchell confronts BNP's Nick Griffin

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has confronted BNP leader Nick Griffin, calling him a "gutless coward".

Mr. Griffin was emerging from BBC studios at Westminster when Mr. Tatchell approached him and asked him to apologise for what he called the BNP's long history of anti-semitism, homophobia and anti-islamic views.

Two of Mr. Griffin's entourage then grabbed and pushed Mr. Tatchell as the BNP leader left the building.



BBC News

BNP leader Nick Griffin banned by Buckingham Palace

BNP leader Nick Griffin will be denied entry to a garden party at Buckingham Palace "due to the fact he has overtly used his personal invitation for party political purpose through the media".

In a statement Buckingham Palace said: "This in turn has increased the security threat and the potential discomfort to the many other guests also attending."

Mr Griffin's personal invitation to the garden party on Thursday was issued to him as an elected member of the European Parliament. The palace statement said: "The decision to deny entry is not intended to show any disrespect to the democratic process by which the invitation was issued. However, we would apply the same rules to anyone who tried to blatantly politicise their attendance in this way."

The BNP leader was set to attend last year as a guest of a BNP London assembly member but pulled out after an outcry. In an e-mail to supporters sent on Wednesday, Mr Griffin said he would be representing "a million British patriots who vote for this party".

"This event shows just how far this party has come in the last few years but I won't be at the Palace for myself or my family. No! I will be there to represent the patriots who made this possible; I'll be there for you."

He asked them to suggest what he should say to the Queen if they spoke at the event.

He was set to attend the party with wife Jackie and fellow BNP MEP Andrew Brons. It is not clear whether Mr Brons will attend. The BNP leader was expected to be among the 8,000 guests at the event which will be hosted by the Queen and also attended by the Duke of Edinburgh.

Other members of the Royal Family who will be mingling on the Palace's lawns include the Duke of York, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent.

BBC

BNP leader NickGriffin defends decision to attend Queen's garden party

Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party, today defended his decision to accept an invitation to the Queen's garden party despite previously claiming his attendance would "embarrass" the monarch.

The far-right politician is expected to be among the 8,000 guests at the event, which will be hosted by the Queen and also attended by the Duke of Edinburgh.

Griffin is due to attend this afternoon's event with three family members.

Buckingham Palace said he is automatically eligible for a garden party ticket in his capacity as an elected member of the European parliament, but his invitation has caused outrage among anti-fascists.

Other members of the royal family who will be mingling on the palace's lawns include the Duke of York, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent.

Griffin pulled out of the event last year following a public outcry, claiming he had "no wish to embarrass the Queen".

He was due to attend a palace garden party as a guest of his BNP colleague, Richard Barnbrook, who is a member of the London assembly, prompting London mayor Boris Johnson to protest and accuse Griffin of a "political stunt".

The BNP party leader dismissed Johnson's comments as "alarmist, stupid and juvenile" and insisted today that his status as an MEP for the north-west had changed things.

Speaking on GMTV, Griffin said: "Richard was put under immense pressure for me not to go and since I was not there under my own steam and my own elected right I decided to pull out. This time it's totally different – 800,000 people voted for us in the European elections and I was voted an MEP.

He added: "The palace have made it very, very clear that they will not discriminate against any elected MEP and I think that's the proper thing to do, so there's no embarrassment there at all."

He said he was "pretty sure" he would not meet the Queen during the event and had absolutely no intention of trying to speak to her. But he added: "If we happen to meet over the sandwiches, of course I will."

A Unite Against Fascism spokesman said: "We are opposed to Nick Griffin appearing anywhere in public. Events like this help to make Nick Griffin and the BNP seem legitimate in the eyes of racist voters.

"The Queen does not just represent Britain but the Commonwealth. Her staff or whoever invited him really need to take a long, hard look at what this day represents – Nick Griffin and racists or multiculturalism."

The Guardian

Edit:- BNP leader Nick Griffin's invitation to royal garden party withdrawn as he was using it for 'party political purposes'. More details soon.

All stitched up and nowhere to go

Some time ago a correspondent of mine described the relationship of Patrick Harrington and the BNP as being something like that of a louse to a human head, in that the louse, as nature has programmed it to do, goes about its parasitic business of sucking blood with no appreciable benefits accruing to the unfortunate head, and rather the opposite, since the itching caused as the parasite crawls about while excreting waste products on to the scalp of its host is thought to be an unhealthy state of affairs.

Mr Harrington (or Mr Sharp, as he prefers on the proper occasion to be known) is a past customer of ours, of note not for what he has achieved in the course of his political career, but for what he has failed to achieve. There are no heights to which he has ever risen, nor any depths out of which he has ever climbed - not, of course, that these impediments have ever prevented Mr Harrington from conceiving in his mind a stratospheric opinion of his own intellectual capabilities and apparently sweeping accomplishments.

Like the louse described by my correspondent, Mr Harrington is very difficult to get rid of once contracted. Immune to all known remedies, he relentlessly engages himself in the business of never having to earn his living in the workaday world, this business of never having to earn his living in the workaday world usually involving earning it, in one way or another, from the membership of the BNP - or the "plebs", as BNP councillor Paul Golding so delightfully describes those who worked so hard to bring about his election and who pay his wages.

Mr Harrington, as we know, is very much concerned that the financial rug is about to be pulled from under his feet, his toytown "trade union" being dependent on BNP cash, and he himself now being employed by the BNP in a "human resources" role. Since Eddy Butler is certain to apply a very large boot to Mr Harrington's backside should he, by some miracle, ever come to lead the BNP, Mr Harrington understandably finds his sleep much disturbed of late as support for Butler fails to subside.

He is also desperately worried that whatever the outcome of the BNP's current tribulations, the remaining membership base will be too small to pay the party's bloated wage bill, and that he may be obliged to return to a life funded by state benefits claimed in whichever of his names he represents himself to officialdom. And he is right to be worried. The BNP's income stream has all but dried up, the regular appeals for donations are known to be failing badly, and the party is believed to be close to insolvency, if it is not already insolvent in fact.

The prospects look bleak indeed for Patrick Harrington, but his best and only chance of survival as Nick Griffin's gofer in a somehow revived BNP lies in the survival of Griffin himself, which in turn depends on scotching Eddy Butler's leadership challenge by foul means or fouler means. To that end Mr Harrington has set to work with a mendacious enthusiasm, openly abusing his dubious position as general secretary of the micro-"trade union" Solidarity by using it to issue anti-Butler statements (in a "personal" capacity, you understand) and tweeting in much the same vein to whoever on this planet it is that bothers to follow his self-important musings.

His best service to date is that of successfully (a word we do not normally associate with Mr Harrington) taking the flaky Richard Barnbrook into metaphorical custody, and to turn Barnbrook's dissatisfaction with the Griffin leadership against Griffin's deadly rival Eddy Butler, thus transforming Barnbrook into an active, if unwitting, agent of Nick Griffin. Butler, somewhat subversively, sums the matter up best:

Richard has been all over the place during the last few weeks and in a state of emotional turmoil. In this circumstance he has been preyed upon by Pat Harrington and a few others. Unbelievably, he is unable to see that Harrington is exploiting him as a stooge for Nick Griffin. Richard is distraught as his partner has left him, his house is empty of furniture and basics such as cutlery and crockery. He lost again in Goresbrook ward, he has been replaced as local organiser, his filmed performances in the Greater London Assembly have gone from bad to worse, and in addition to all this his main underlying problem has become more acute. It is actually a rather distasteful spectacle to see Nick Griffin cajole Richard, while in this very vulnerable state, into standing as a leadership contender. Richard has no serious backing apart from loaned false support from Griffinites eager to derail the process.

The problem with bringing Patrick Harrington on board is that he is widely detested even among some of Griffin's closest allies, who are rather more au fait with Mr Harrington's character and history than the average BNP member, who will know him only as the much lauded leader (the Walker brothers notwithstanding) of the stunted Solidarity.

Mr Harrington appears to have been on hand at the employment tribunal hearing the unfair dismissal case brought against Nick Griffin by Michaela Mackenzie, providing us with that rarest of spectacles, an employment tribunal at which a "trade union" general secretary is not on the team of a badly wronged employee, but that of the boss who wronged her. According to Mackenzie, Nick Griffin took the stand and began "venomously spouting the most ridiculous lies about me". We do not know if he did so consequent upon any advice Mr Harrington might have proffered.

A further spectacle is provided by the employment of Mr Harrington and Solidarity president Adam Walker to oversee Human Resources and Staff Management in regard to BNP employees, who are all members of Solidarity - putting BNP employees in the unique position of having as bosses their own "trade union" leaders.

Of this situation Nick Griffin wrote: "We, however, have learned from this [the Mackenzie] case, which is one reason we have now created a dedicated Human Resources/Staff Management team to ensure that from now on everything is done by the book by people who know all the ropes."

By which he means disgruntled BNP employees will find themselves up Harrington Creek without a paddle.

Getting back to Barnbrook, while the romantically challenged GLA member dithered over his initial support for Eddy Butler, his website remained online, the domain being owned by sacked BNP webmaster Simon Bennett. When Harrington "turned" Barnbrook (possibly offering to loan him a knife and fork as a sweetener) Bennett retrieved the richardbarnbrook.com domain, pointing it at his own YourBNP website.

Outraged Griffinites, comically crying that Bennett had sabotaged Barnbrook's Griffin-inspired leadership non-challenge, immediately opened up the ever dripping tap of lies to claim that Bennett had pointed the Barnbrook domain at Eddy Butler's leadership challenge website. In fact, until the change propagated through DNS servers worldwide, those attempting to access richardbarnbrook.com got either the original site or were taken to YourBNP. At no time did the domain point to Butler's challenge website.

However that may be, Barnbrook needed a website and a blogspot was quickly provided to assure him that he was still important, still loved, and still taken seriously. The website has everything but the stricture that "this website was created on the orders of Patrick Harrington", who has rather a fondness for ordering websites into existence.

Barnbrook's self-penned articles are easy to spot - "For the first time a Minister is to scrutanised..... Bob Neil MP (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communitiess and Local Government" - but others ("Richard Barnbrook: Leadership Challenge"), like "his" 150-word statement on the BNP website, are clearly the work of an individual less well-acquainted with the joys of Oddbins.

Who that individual may be, we could not possibly say - but somebody sly, treacherous, and cynically willing to manipulate a man presently in his deepest cups, obviously.

Barnbrook has been played like a violin, as it is perhaps superfluous to state, and finds himself between a rock and a hard place since burning his bridges with Butler. He has nowhere to go, and no obvious future.

He has immediate usefulness to Nick Griffin only in as much as he has allowed himself to become a stooge in the stitched-up nominations process, but he has spoken against Nick Almighty, and for that there will never be forgiveness. If there is a BNP when the current turmoil has subsided, and if that BNP is led by Nick Griffin, then Barnbrook may be tolerated until he comes up for re-election to the GLA in 2010, but his days as an insider (if he ever really was an insider) are over, and - if, as is likely, Griffin refuses to allow him to re-contest for his GLA seat - his days as a BNP member are numbered.

As Barnbrook will sooner or later realise, his "friend" Mr Harrington has interests by far closer to his heart than those of a furniture-free GLA member, and that whatever is good for Nick Griffin and his gofer Mr Harrington will prove to be decidedly toxic to himself.

Of course, we are here factoring out the likelihood - the certitude, if we are to believe Eddy Butler - that the shady antics of Nick Griffin and the symbiotic Mr Harrington are pointing the BNP directly at the High Court - an eventuality (it is my personal opinion) that will throw the BNP back by at least a decade if it survives the experience at all, whatever the outcome.

The great shame of it all for Richard Barnbrook is that he finds himself simultaneously loathed by the Butler camp for his "betrayal", and in the humiliating position of being little more than a patsy breaking on the megalomania of the man who promised him political riches but who effectively killed his political career stone dead.

Just a few weeks ago Barnbrook had it on Griffin's authority that by now he would be leader of the BNP opposition on Barking and Dagenham Council, if not leader of the council itself, but here he finds himself, an object of contempt to both sides in the bitter civil war raging within the BNP, and without so much as a pot to... well, you know. Literally.

EDL protest bill tops half a million pounds

TAXPAYERS face an eyewatering bill of more than half-a-million pounds after the latest English Defence League (EDL) protest in Dudley.

The return of the controversial EDL, on Saturday July 17, cost Dudley Council £150,000 to fund additional staff plus facilities including toilets and fencing as well as preparation work in the protest zone.

West Midlands Police are also counting the cost of the rally, 900 officers from around the UK were involved in Operation Belvedere to contain an estimated 500 EDL members on Stafford Street car park and prevent confrontation with anti-fascist activists at a counter demonstration in Tower Street.

The force believes the operation will set the public back by £400,000.

Councillor Anne Millward, leader of Dudley Council, said: “Dudley Council does not have the powers to ban this protest but we have made it clear from the outset that we are opposed to the EDL and have worked closely with the police to do all we could to protect, reassure and support local people.”

Town traders were left paying a hefty price in lost business after many premises, including the market, closed amid fears the demonstration would become violent.

Cllr Millward said: “Honest, hard working people who run local shops and businesses have again been hit as hard as anyone by the EDL’s pointless protest.

“While we were encouraged to see some open for business, many were again forced to close.”

Trouble flared during the protest when a group of EDL supporters attempted to break through police lines and, later in the day, officers in riot gear clashed with protestors throwing cans, bottles and bricks.

There were also incidents away from the official protest site during the day.

A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: “Around 20 offences have been recorded to date, of criminal damage caused to cars and premises.

“Amongst the premises attacked were residential homes around Alexandra Street, cars parked in roads surrounding Stafford Street, restaurants on Wolverhampton Street and the Hindu Temple.

“Many of these locations saw windows smashed, and damage caused to fencing. A couple of vehicles were damaged as they were targeted whilst being driven through the town.”

A total of 21 people were arrested during the protest for alleged offences including 17 for violent disorder, two for affray, one for a public order offence and one for possessing an offensive weapon.

Cllr Millward said: “Yet again this group of outside extremists have shown they are incapable of demonstrating peacefully and have brought public disorder and violence to our town.”

Stourbridge News

The BPP cannot count - are we surprised?

This article was submitted by one of our readers, Iliacus. We welcome any contributions from our supporters (as long as those contributions conform to the law and are in reasonably good taste). Please send your articles to us via email.

Although, of course, it's the arrival - eventually, maybe - of the BNP's accounts which gives us the greatest amusement, from time to time it's worth looking at the financial performance of some of the lesser players on the nuttier fringes of the far-right.

The BPP (British People's Party) for example. Now, credit to this group - at least it met the deadline for submitting its 2009 accounts, something the BNP failed to achieve. As it did for 2008. And 2007. And 2006. And 2003-2005 for that matter.

For those who don't know, the BPP is a far-right micro-party, born out of a split in the Nationalist Alliance. Its leading (I use the term loosely) lights are Kevin Watmough and David Jones, who between them fill the four official positions within the party. (A simple google search will tell you all you need to know about these two characters, their party, and their past). Their annual report for 2009 reveals that they fought no elections in the year, concentrating instead on building membership and organisation.

The success of these efforts can be gauged by their electoral efforts in 2010. They fought one ward - Todmorden in Yorkshire - where David Jones polled a magnificent 4.95% of the vote. Pretty terrible for what must have been a national target ward. After all, it was their only ward!

Anyway to return to their 2009 accounts. The accounts were, at least, on time. Unfortunately they're gibberish. Consider the following, and tell me if I've misunderstood.

Carried forward from previous year £120
Income during 2009 £2,655
Expenditure during 2009 £1,475
Balance at end of year £868.79

Now, my calculation is 120 + 2655 - 1475 = 1300
So where's the missing £431.21 gone?

Or are they just idiots? I think I know the answer to that one!

Harrington behind BNP leadership challenge fix?

Putting his name forward as a prospective leadership challenger, Richard Barnbrook has condemned the BNP to eternal rule by Nick Griffin.

Barnbrook, along with Griffin glove-puppet Derek Adams, has not the slightest chance of garnering enough nominations to put his name on the leadership ballot, but that does not appear to be the point.

In submitting themselves to the draconian Griffin-devised leadership contest rules Barnbrook and Adams are strengthening the Griffinite case for declaring Eddy Butler's challenge invalid, since Butler has refused to accept the rules, declaring them "unconstitutional" while continuing to collect nomination signatures on his own forms, holding meetings and maintaining a web presence - all proscribed in an organisers' bulletin issued by Clive Jefferson at Griffin's behest.

Appearing unexpectedly on the BNP website late yesterday, the announcement that Butler, Barnbrook and Adams were seeking nomination seems to be little more than a sop to a notional idea of "fair play" utterly alien to the Griffin leadership but necessary to quell growing doubts amongst the membership at large and to arm Griffin with the right credentials against accusations of a "fix". To that end, each of the three prospective challengers' 150 word statements are published, along with that of incumbent Griffin - who cannot restrain his authoritarian tendencies, referring to "futile, time-wasting elections".

Why the election is "futile" Griffin does not explain, but it really isn't that difficult to work out.

The momentum gained by the Butler campaign has terrified Nick Griffin and those he has promoted to paid positions, who could not expect to survive a Butler win. One such is the execrable Patrick Harrington, now a direct employee of the BNP while remaining head of the joke Solidarity "trade union" and a member of the tiny National Liberals/Third Way. Harrington, as we saw many moons ago, sometimes likes to bank money in the name P.A. Sharp, which he - perhaps uniquely - claims to be his "married name". (We should not care to encourage speculation in regard to which name Harrington/Sharp has thus far employed when claiming his state benefits).

Eddy Butler has been aware of Harrington's interference in BNP affairs (clearly with the tacit approval of Nick Griffin) for some time, and yesterday, speculating the advent of a Griffinite stooge candidate, wrote:

...news has reached me that the mastermind of the ‘stalking horse’ campaign is none other than our old friend Pat Harrington. Harrington has been busily trying to bamboozle a ‘name’ into putting himself forward. Persuading the ‘name’ that he is ever so popular, that he can be the ‘third way’ candidate to unite the party above the Griffin-Butler factions. The ‘name’ is in a slightly vulnerable situation and can’t see that he is being used by Harrington as a stooge – to derail the nomination process on behalf of Nick Griffin.

As Derek Adams is hardly a "name" in the BNP at large, Butler is clearly referring to Barnbrook.

Even those kindly disposed towards Barnbrook would not claim for him either a sweeping intellect or any dim flickerings of managerial talent. Barnbrook would be the candidate everybody likes but nobody will vote for. In fact, hobbling his own chances of obtaining sufficient nominations to put him on the ballot, Barnbrook (or the sneaking Harrington?) begins his 150-word statement: "Famed as ‘the man in the beige suit’, dyslexic and partial to the occasional drink, I know my limitations!"

An inability to know when he is being suckered would appear to be high on the list of those "limitations".

Completing the "fair play" charade is the announcement that the thus far silent Andrew Brons, youthful Nazi and now BNP MEP for Yorkshire and Humberside, is to be the "official scrutineer".

This is indeed a clever move on Griffin's part. Brons has respect within the BNP and has so far (apparently) kept his distance from the Griffin-Butler dogfight. He is seen as intelligent, working hard in the EU parliament, and about as fair and impartial as it is possible to be within the BNP. He lends, as is intended, a bogus respectability and legitimacy to the self-serving Griffin devised rules that will govern the conduct of the nomination gathering process.

Brons (assuming his impartiality is genuine) is as much a patsy as Richard Barnbrook.

The nuts and bolts of the game-plan are fairly clear now. The primary intent is to prevent Eddy Butler's name ever going on to the leadership ballot, since even achieving the 20% voting member requirement would be tacit proof of widespread internal dissatisfaction with Nick Griffin, and would fatally damage his leadership.

To that end, out goes the failed strategy of the smear blogs and in comes something that is on the surface more agreeable but no less poisonous to the Butler challenge.

With fair-minded Andrew Brons superintending the bizarre nominations process, with the popular Richard Barnbrook and one other candidate joining the fray on the terms imposed by Griffin, the process is effectively legitimised. Griffin has but to point out that if the rules are good enough for Brons, Barnbrook and Adams, then why does Eddy Butler not accept them, and why does he continue to operate in clear breach of them?

From there it follows that every nomination signature gathered by the Butler campaign will, as the Griffin/Jefferson bulletin promised, be declared invalid, and with neither Barnbrook or Adams coming close to the 20% requirement there will be no leadership election.

This is going to end in tears. And in court.

Breaking: Eddy Butler's campaign manager, Peter Phillips has been suspended pending an investigation into alleged and, as usual, unspecified "serious breaches of the BNP Code of Conduct".

This, as with all suspensions to date, is clearly against natural justice. Surely, this is one suspension the Butler camp cannot afford to ignore, since it can only demoralise his supporters and give Nick Griffin the green light to pick off other leading members of Butler's circle at will?

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Commenting - thanks for the alerts that some of your are consistently seeing Blogger error message when posting comments. It's happening with other aspects of the blog too, and seems to be affecting other Blogger-hosted sites. We have no idea when things will return to normal, but keep trying - thanks!

Two spoiler candidates bid for BNP leadership

“The man in the beige suit, dyslexic and partial to the occasional drink” is Richard Barnbrook’s idiosyncratic way of inviting support for his bid to become chairman of the British National Party. In any other party a leader “partial to the occasional drink” has to resign, but as in so many things the BNP is different.

Barnbrook is one of three candidates who have declared their intention to try to replace Nick Griffin as leader of the racist party. He and Derek Adams are latecomers to the contest, although Eddy Butler, who has been actively gathering support since May, has predicted for some time that Griffin would put up a “stooge” candidate.

Candidates for the leadership have to obtain nominations from 20% of the 4,200 members of at least two years’ standing, something that Butler describes as “incredibly difficult” as most of those 4,200 are “armchair members, unknown to most organisers and activists”. The more candidates, the more difficult it is for any one of them to obtain the 840 signatures needed.

On Sunday Butler claimed that the mastermind of the “stalking horse” campaign was Patrick Harrington, Griffin’s old friend from his National Front days, who is now a member of the executive committee of Third Way, a rival to the BNP. Harrington was recently taken onto the BNP’s payroll in a human resources role, a bizarre position for the general secretary of a trade union, except that “Solidarity” is not a real union but a BNP front. It is unlikely there will be any action soon from Solidarity to represent those BNP employees who were not paid in June because the party has run out of money.

Barnbrook, the BNP’s London Assembly member, is prominent in the BNP in London and the south of the country. It had been thought that he was supporting Butler and had been sacked as the party’s Barking and Dagenham organiser because of it. However Butler says enigmatically that Chris Roberts, the BNP’s London organiser, replaced Barnbrook by an unnamed “hard working and well respected local activist who is, I believe, a supporter of Nick Griffin”, so that Barnbrook could concentrate on his London Assembly role.

Adams, who used to run a pub in Manchester that was used for a BNP victory rally after Griffin’s election to the European Parliament last year, is more likely to attract support among BNP members in the north. His electoral pitch amounts to very little: he loves the BNP, it is doing very well, but if you think a change is needed then nominate me, a “clean-hands candidate who will be a fresh face but who, unlike Mr Butler, has not sought to advance my candidacy by working with supporters who spread lies and black propaganda”. Despite his claim not to be “a stalking horse for undeclared and shadowy third parties”, his parroting of Griffin’s line shows that is exactly what he is.

Although Griffin does not need to collect signatures as his name goes forward automatically, he has also set out his stall in the hope that members will tick the box on the “official” nomination form in support of him continuing rather than nominating Butler. Hypocritically he, who has so often sacked party employees on the spot in contravention of employment legislation, and has most recently incurred a huge liability to settle with Michaela Mackenzie who took her unfair dismissal to an employment tribunal, argues against Butler’s plan to close the party’s Belfast call centre as it would mean breaking contracts and sacking “our young team”.

Arrogant as always, Griffin does not appeal for support but for no election at all. “In ten years, our activists and I have turned this party from a bad political joke into a major factor in British politics. There is still much to be done, and it is best done under proven, principled and visionary leadership, without futile, time-wasting elections.”

Many supporters and opponents of the BNP believe that the party remains a “bad political joke”, judging by Griffin’s recent actions, such as making the party liable for up to £170,000 because of his stupid and infantile act of including the image of a jar of Marmite on the BNP’s general election broadcast.

The announcement of the candidates on the BNP website, posted on the BNP website in the early hours of Monday 19 July, makes a point of listing the candidates’ 150-word statements in alphabetical order. Is it coincidence that both the new candidates appear higher in the alphabet than Butler, in a petty ploy to exploit the ultra short attention span of many BNP members?

The official scrutineer, whose job it will be to collect nomination forms from the PO Box set up for the purpose and to open them, is Andrew Brons MEP. Brons works closely with Griffin in the European Parliament and shares constituency office staff with him. It is unclear whether Butler agrees that Brons’s appointment is the “fairest way” to ensure that the “process is seen to be fair and totally impartial”.

Butler has rejected the election rules, drawn up by Clive Jefferson as head of the BNP’s “elections department”, under which nominations for the leadership can only be made by members personally posting their “official” nomination form, with witnessed signature, to Brons. He continues to urge his supporters to download forms from his blog (the existence of which is itself a contravention of Jefferson’s rules) and to return them to him.

Nominations close on 10 August, after which a new outbreak of accusations and recriminations about whether Butler has been validly nominated is expected, a row that is likely to end up in court.

Sonia Gable at HOPE not hate

Ladies and Gentlemen, the race is underway.

The runners and riders for the BNP Leadership Challenge Cup 2010 are as follows:-

Derek Adams

Unlike Mr. Butler I don't seek to be a disposable chairman or a stalking horse for undeclared and shadowy third parties. I seek election for a full-term. I love this Party and despise those who seek to sow dissent and demoralise our activists. They have provided propaganda for our enemies to throw at our candidates on the doorstep. Real grievances must be dealt with by people with true hearts, not those whose main purpose is to seek position or jobs.

Our vote increased at the General Election and we have more enquiries and a larger membership than ever. But some people still think it’s time for a change. If you feel that change is indeed needed, then nominate me, a clean-hands candidate who will be a fresh face but who, unlike Mr. Butler, has not sought to advance my candidacy by working with supporters who spread lies and black propaganda.



Richard Barnbrook

Famed as ‘the man in the beige suit’, dyslexic and partial to the occasional drink, I know my limitations! But I have never wavered from the strength of my convictions and I’ve always spoken direct from the heart.

Nick has achieved miracles in modernising the Party; Eddy has electioneering, strategic experience, - but the Party is divided. There’s a real desire for change but we also need time to take stock, and plan how to move forward together with renewed energy. If we act in haste we risk losing all we have built.

Our success and unity is more important than the ambitions of any individual. I offer integrity, impartiality and lack of self-interest that will command the loyalty and solidarity of all the membership. I will act as a caretaker leader till elections and end the strife caused by this destructive, divisive and bitter campaign. Choose stability and unity.


Eddy Butler:

I believe we need a complete re-launch in order to survive as a Party.

I seek a year’s term as Chairman in order to bring in the necessary changes and hold free elections next year than will result in a fresh face.

I will bring in measures to ensure financial transparency to restore confidence in the Party’s finances.

I will bring in constitutional changes to make the Party more democratically accountable and have a separation of powers between the political Chairman and the administration.

I would bring all functions such as the call centre back to the mainland and close the Belfast office.

I would terminate the contract of our fundraising consultant and we would become self sufficient.

I would ensure that our resources are focussed on the front line and not wasted on bureaucracy.

I would ensure that the Party stays together with no recriminations after this leadership election.



Nick Griffin MEP:

Our tremendous record speaks for itself, which is why our enemies try every trick in their grubby book to smear me and key members of my winning team.

To break contracts, sack our young team in the highly popular and successful call centre, and go back to amateurism, would be organisational and financial suicide. The experience and technology we’ve acquired must be used to modernise our election-fighting machine, not thrown away out of spite and personal ambition.

We’ve spent time and money modernising our central administration, now we’re going to professionalise our regional and local organisation.

In ten years, our activists and I have turned this party from a bad political joke into a major factor in British politics. There is still much to be done, and it is best done under proven, principled and visionary leadership, without futile, time-wasting elections. We’ve come this far, let us go forward together!


Your referee for this winner takes all contest will be Mr Andrew Brons.

Andrew Brons MEP has consented to be the scrutineer of the nomination papers and the address on the ballot papers to return them, at an address submitted by himself.

It is vital that this process is seen to be fair and totally impartial and that the appointment of Mr Brons as official scrutineer is beyond any doubt the fairest way to proceed in this matter.

Mr Brons has also worked with the election department in drawing up the procedures and guidelines to the nomination process and as scrutineer he has declared them fair to all potential challengers.