Lancashire ‘soldiers posed with EDL flags’ probe

Army chiefs are investigating allegations that soldiers posed with English Defence League flags after Blackburn's ‘homecoming’ parade.

The Ministry of Defence has been handed a dossier of pictures purporting to be of soldiers with material from the organisation. One of the Blackburn photos is being studied to see whether one, or more, soldiers are posing with, or endorsing, a flag representing the right-wing EDL. Other pictures taken elsewhere show a serviceman, with his face covered and holding a gun, standing in front of an EDL flag.

Troops are banned by the MoD from taking an ‘active role in political campaigning’.

A spokeswoman said: “Instances of unacceptable behaviour in the armed forces are investigated, and appropriate action taken, up to, and including, dismissal. An investigation is already under way into allegations that individuals have breached army regulations through their involvement with the EDL.”

Last December’s march by Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment soldiers through Blackburn attracted thousands of well-wishers and followed a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan. The event also attracted scores of EDL protesters who carried banners and flags. Some of the photos taken are now being investigated by army chiefs.

An MoD source said: “There’s a group of soldiers and an EDL flag and it is hard to tell whether a civilian, or a soldier, is holding it.”

Blackburn with Darwen EDL spokesman Ned Kelly said: “Some soldiers are involved with the EDL for their own reasons, but they should be free to be able to do so.”

Blackburn MP Jack Straw said: “These are serious allegations and it is correct that the MoD should investigate them.”

Lancashire Telegraph

BNP pamphlets 'not welcomed' at Oval

Glentoran Football Club says it is saddened that BNP members handed out pamphlets at the Oval before their home game with Glenavon on Saturday.

Supporters of the party were seen carrying placards and handing out pamphlets as part of a protest campaign against the war in Afghanistan. The east Belfast club said it did not welcome "these types of groups" outside the Oval.

"Glentoran Football Club has a strong tradition of being an inclusive football club that appeals to a broad range of supporters and players from across all communities in Northern Ireland", the club said in a statement.

"Our strong cross community ethos does not align itself with any political party and we are saddened that such an incident has happened. We do not welcome these types of groups outside of our football club as we continue to provide an inclusive and welcoming atmosphere at the Oval for local football supporters."

DUP East Belfast MLA Robin Newton said he received calls from members of the public complaining about the presence of BNP members outside the football ground last weekend. Mr Newton described their presence at the match as "uninvited and unwelcome".

"A number of constituents have contacted me to express their disgust at the presence of the BNP outside their local club," he said. "They go to the Oval to support the Glens and enjoy a game of football; they don't want to be faced with BNP messages of hate. I presume this BNP presence is some sort of campaign to raise their nauseous profile, and I appeal for everyone to stand as one to reject their message.

"The BNP should pack up their messages of hate and disappear. They have been rejected time and time again, they represent no-one, and we don't want them in our midst."

Alliance councillor Mervyn Jones says the group "has no place" at the sports ground.

"I am disgusted that the BNP would try to take advantage of a football match to try and canvass support for their sickening views," Mr Jones said. "I am glad that Glentoran fans have given this group the red card as this type of activity has no place anywhere near our sports grounds. As a Glentoran supporter, I strongly resent any attempt to link Glentoran Football Club to the BNP.

"Inside the ground I spoke to a number of people and everyone I spoke to was opposed the presence of the BNP, which might be considered the only positive thing to come from this disgusting episode."

In a statement, the BNP said it was seeking "an end to the illegal and immoral war in Afghanistan."

The party said it took to "the streets of Belfast in a peaceful and democratic manner to collect signatures for a petition to be handed in to the government calling for the immediate withdrawal of all British troops from that conflict."

"For the DUP, and Robin Newton in particular, to attack the BNP for this pro-peace message is an example of the most extreme hypocrisy yet seen in Northern Ireland", the statement added.

UTV News

BNP bid to recruit our heroes

Johnson Beharry VC and General Sir Mike Jackson

The reviled BNP has launched a recruitment drive to sign up soldiers serving in Afghanistan

The far-right British National Party is secretly hoping to gain support before the general election, expected in May. The main theme of the campaign is "Bring Our Boys Home". But it's gone down badly with troops - where soldiers of diverse ethnic background serve alongside each other like brothers. And they just want people back home to support them. They are also angry after the racist BNP criticised Grenada-born VC hero Johnson Beharry, who saved the lives of 30 comrades.

Soldiers are allowed to join the BNP but membership is frowned upon.

A source at the anti-racist campaign group Searchlight said: "The BNP think they will get support because the Taliban have different colour skin. But soldiers are hardly going to join a racist party."

NotW

Twisted BNP cashing in on my hero's funeral

Footage used to raise money

Grieving Jessica Deans has blasted the BNP for using a photo of her fiancé's coffin to plug their hateful policies. The picture - taken at the funeral of marine Liam Elms - appears in an online video to drum up election support for the far-right party. But Jessica branded it an outrage - and his family insist the fallen hero would have raged against the BNP's loathsome views.

Corporal Liam, 26, was killed by a roadside bomb while battling the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Jessica, a 22-year-old nurse, said: "I find it an outrage that an image of Liam's coffin on the day of his funeral is being used as propaganda for the BNP's personal gain."

And Liam's father Michael, 51, said: "We haven't give our permission for them to use any coverage of Liam's funeral on this video. It's out of order that the picture has been put in the public domain and for the BNP to use it for political gain is not on. It feels like an easy way for the BNP to get people involved in their party and to make money."

The video has been watched thousands of times since it was put on the BNP website and YouTube last week. Party leader Nick Griffin shamelessly uses it in a plea for cash to bolster his election fund. The photo shows Liam's coffin - draped in a Union Flag - being carried by three comrades.

Griffin, who was filmed in front of a portrait of Winston Churchill, describes the Afghan conflict as "a ludicrous no-win war" and pledges to end British involvement. And as Liam's coffin flashes on screen, he says: "We need our coffers filled so we can afford to fight every single seat we should be fighting up and down the country."

But Liam's dad - who also served in the forces - said: "I'm angry with the BNP because what they are saying is the complete opposite of what Liam wanted. Liam's last words to me were, 'I'm where I want to be, doing what I want to do with the people I want to be with. Don't worry'."

Michael added: "Any party that says the troops should be brought out without any power being in place to look after local Afghans is going against what our boys are fighting for."

Liam died on New Year's Eve 2008 on patrol in Helmand with 45 Commando and Afghan troops. The photo used by the BNP was taken at his funeral last January - when he was hailed a "true patriot". Hundreds of mourners packed St Joseph's church in his home town of Wrightington, Lancs, and more than 150 had to wait outside.

Liam's mum Maureen, 52, said: "I would love all the soldiers in Afghanistan to come home safe. But they have chosen to do a job out there and they will stay until the Afghans are safe."

Liam's family are asking people who want to help British troops to support legitimate charities such as Help For Heroes, the Royal Marine Benevolent Fund and the British Legion - not the BNP. His sister Rachael, 28, has raised £20,000 for Help For Heroes by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. And she plans to raise more in a 900-mile London-Geneva bike ride - www.justgiving.com/rachael-elms - this year.

The BNP tried to play down the row over Liam's coffin. An official said: "The picture was intended to be representative of a problem we're trying to give our view on - it is not homing in on an individual. No offence was intended to the family."

People

Note: The People made a donation to the British Legion at the Elms' request for their interviews.

BNP leader joins soldiers' mourners

The family of Guardsman Jimmy Major break down as his coffin is driven past

Smug bastard Griffin grinning for the cameras

BNP leader Nick Griffin was present in Wootton Bassett today to see the bodies of six soldiers pass through the town after their repatriation from Afghanistan to British soil.

Mr Griffin stood on the high street where hearses carrying the soldiers' Union Flag-draped coffins were due to arrive. Wearing a black coat, adorned with a poppy, the controversial MEP stood with a minder opposite family and friends of the fallen soldiers.

Mr Griffin said: "I wanted to come here today because this is the second worst toll to be coming through and because tomorrow is Remembrance Day. So it's fitting that as many people as possible come here today. It's an absolutely tremendous and very moving display."

Mr Griffin said he had a "friendly" reaction from the public to his presence.

"It's been very low key, I've been talking to many people and it's been very friendly," he said.

When asked for his view on the conflict in Afghanistan after the loss of the five soldiers killed by a rogue Afghan police officer, Mr Griffin said: "This is not the time or the place for political statements - it's for remembrance. I have strong views on Afghanistan but I'm not prepared to discuss them here."

Standing yards from Mr Griffin was veteran Martyn Matthews, 61, a retired warrant officer who served for 27 years with the commando forces. Mr Matthews, from Corsham, Wiltshire, said: "We live in a democracy and everyone has a right to their own views. If people are going to give their lives for that freedom, Mr Griffin has as much right to his views as anyone else does. Although I do not stand by his views, I would encourage him to be here to see the impact extremism can have."

They were among hundreds of people who turned out to pay their respects to six soldiers killed in Afghanistan as their bodies returned to British soil today.

Warrant Officer Class 1 Darren Chant, 40, Sergeant Matthew Telford, 37, and Guardsman Jimmy Major, 18, from the Grenadier Guards, died alongside Corporal Steven Boote, 22, and Corporal Nicholas Webster-Smith, 24, from the Royal Military Police. They were shot dead by a "rogue" Afghan police officer at a secure checkpoint in Nad-e-Ali in Helmand Province on November 3 in an attack claimed by the Taliban. Two days later, Serjeant Phillip Scott, 30, of 3rd Battalion The Rifles, was killed by an improvised explosive device near Sangin in Helmand.

After a private chapel ceremony for families at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire, hearses carrying their Union flag-draped coffins were driven to the High Street of nearby Wootton Bassett for a memorial procession.

Under cloudy skies and drizzling rain, soldiers lined the streets of the town alongside Royal British Legion veterans, shopkeepers and residents to pay tribute to the fallen men. As the cortege passed along the High Street, silence fell, broken only by the chiming bells of St Bartholomew and All Saints Church. Standard-bearers from the Royal British Legion lowered their flags as the coffins passed by.

As the procession paused by the war memorial, which was covered in floral tributes, roses and wreaths were placed on the hearses by relatives and friends. Tearful family members wept as the coffins drove by - some wearing T-shirts bearing the name of their fallen loved one.

The procession then continued to Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital, where post-mortem examinations are completed.

Independent

Royal British Legion tell Nick Griffin to stop wearing poppy badge

The Royal British Legion has accused Nick Griffin, the BNP leader, of trying to politicise "one of the nation's most treasured and beloved symbols" after he repeatedly wore a poppy badge during the European parliament election campaign.

In an open letter in tomorrow's Guardian the armed forces charity said it had written privately to Griffin last month "appealing to his sense of honour" and asking him not to wear the badge or any other emblem associated with the legion. Griffin, one of two BNP candidates elected to the European parliament last week, ignored the request and wore the badge at campaign events including the party's televised election broadcast.

Yesterday the British Legion demanded that Griffin stop using the armed forces to further the BNP's agenda.

"The poppy is the symbol of sacrifices made by British armed forces in conflicts both past and present and it has been paid for with blood and valour," the letter says. "True valour deserves respect regardless of a person's ethnic origin, and everyone who serves or has served their country deserves nothing less … [our national chairman] appealed to your sense of honour. But you have responded by continuing to wear the poppy. So now we're no longer asking you privately. Stop it, Mr Griffin. Just stop it."

The legion's demand follows criticism of the BNP from Winston Churchill's family after the party used his image and quotes from one of his speeches in its campaign. Churchill's grandson, Nicholas Soames, described the BNP as "monstrous" and said its use of Churchill was "offensive and disgusting".

The BNP was also caught up in a dispute with 1940s singer Vera Lynn after she objected to the party selling copies of her White Cliffs of Dover CD on its website to fund its European election campaign.

Today's letter states the poppy emblem is the trademark of The Royal British Legion and adds that the charity has remained "scrupulously above the party political fray" for more than 90 years.

"It is vital that everyone - the media, the public and our beneficiaries - know that we will not allow our independence to be undermined or our reputation impaired by being closely associated with any one political party. This is more important now than ever."

Griffin said he had worn the badge in solidarity with injured British soldiers returning from Afghanistan. He added that he would stop wearing it if troops recovering in hospitals in the UK were not charged to watch television.

Guardian