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

Musicians demand legal right to stop BNP selling their CDs on its website

A group of leading musicians, including band members from Blur and Pink Floyd, have demanded the right to prevent their music being used or sold for profit by the British National Party.

The far-right party raises money by selling a selection of nostalgic folk albums on its website - but many of the musicians featured have discovered that they are powerless to stop their work financing the party. In a letter to The Times tomorrow, members of the Featured Artists’ Coalition and Musicians’ Union have called for legally enshrined moral rights over the reproduction and sale of their material.

“We would, on behalf of our joint membership of over 31,000 members, like to have our opposition to the BNP’s politics and morals formally noted,” read the letter signed by artists including Dave Rowntree, from Blur, Nick Mason, of Pink Floyd, and singer-songwriter Billy Bragg.

“In the lead up to the European elections, it has come to our attention that the BNP is selling compilation CDs through its website in order to raise funds for campaigning. Many of the musicians featured on these . . . have no legal right to object to their music being used in this way.”

The BNP's commercial partner, Excalibur, sells a range of CDs including Proud Heritage, Rule Britannia and an album called West Wind, written by party leader Nick Griffin, which claims “to incorporate folk and more upbeat tempos to deliver a powerful message of how British people have been disposed”.

Paddy Gordon, bass guitarist for an Ulster band called Brier, was furious to find that his music was helping to fund the BNP’s campaign for next week’s European election.

“I got an e-mail from a friend saying: ‘have you seen where your music is for sale?’ My initial reaction was shock, now I am very angry,” he said.

“These BNP people are taking the proceeds from other people’s work. We don’t want any connection with such a party but we seem to be powerless to do anything about it.” Mr Gordon said the songs included on A Feast of Irish Folk were love songs with no political links.

Dame Vera Lyne, 91, threatened to take legal action against the BNP earlier this year when she discovered that her work, including the White Cliffs of Dover, was available to buy on the Excalibur website. Under current law, however, musical performers or composers have little or no ability to prevent retailers selling their work once it is sold by a wholesaler to a particular distributor.

Nigel McCune, national organiser at the Musicians’ Union, said that a moral right should be enacted in law to give musicians a safeguard against this kind of association.

“There is nothing as it stands to stop the BNP from acting in this way and there is nothing that the performers can do to prevent it. If a moral right came in you would then be able to test how far you could stretch it,” he said. “Billy Bragg, for example, could find his track New England for sale on a BNP website raising money for something that he has spent his entire musical life campaigning against. We would like to think that there should be a framework in this country sufficient to prevent something like that happening.”

The BNP made it clear today that they did not intend to remove the work of artists who did not want to be linked the party. A BNP spokesman said: “They’ve already made there money haven’t they? Once that music’s gone through a distributor. They’re politicising themselves to a high degree by doing this and we wouldn’t really be concerned by that. It’s up to us what we sell - we’re not changing. There’s no suggestion through this that artists support the BNP or otherwise. They’re barking up the wrong tree to be honest.”

Times Online

BNP use POLISH plane in campaign poster despite plans to ban East European migrants

British National Party chairman Nick Griffin speaks at a fundraiser with the
campaign poster featuring the Polish squadron plane in the background

The British National Party was ridiculed last night for fronting its anti-immigration campaign with a picture of a Polish Spitfire.

Its poster for the European elections, for which its manifesto includes a ban on Eastern European migrant workers, shows the Second World War plane above the slogan ‘Battle for Britain’. But Air Force history experts have identified that the aircraft was actually flown by the RAF’s 303 Squadron – made up of expatriate Poles rescued from France shortly before Nazi occupation.

BNP party chiefs defended their use of the image and insisted they knew all about
the background. But John Hemming, MP for Yardley, Birmingham, ridiculed this claim. He also condemned the far-Right party for using the image of Polish heroism in a campaign that includes stemming immigration from Poland.

He said: ‘The BNP often get confused and this happens because they haven’t done their research. This is just another example of them getting it wrong. They have a policy to send Polish people back to Poland – yet they are fronting their latest campaign using this plane. It is absurd to make claims about Englishness and Britishness fronted by this image. It’s obvious they just picked an image at random and they are really clutching at straws if they say this was deliberate.’

The 303 Squadron was the most effective Polish squadron during the Second World War. During the Battle of Britain Polish pilots shot down 203 Luftwaffe aircraft which stood for 12 per cent of total German losses in the battle.

A Royal Air Force museum spokesman said: ‘The Spitfire in the poster can be identified as belonging to 303 Squadron of the Polish Air Force by the code letters ‘RF’ painted in front of the RAF roundel. 303 Squadron operated Spitfires from Northolt, Kirton- in-Lindsey, Coltishall and other RAF stations in the UK between 1941 and 1945 after flying Hurricanes in the Battle of Britain.’

BNP spokesman Simon Darby said: ‘The 2009 election campaign poster features a spitfire plane and represents the Battle of Britain. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Polish squadron plane at all. It’s a symbol of Britain’s struggle at the moment. Using that plane doesn’t go against our policies. It’s not a question of disliking the Polish people – it’s just a question of economics.’

The poster is being used by the BNP to promote its election campaign in general and specifically a series of black tie dinner events with leader Nick Griffin as the speaker. In 1998 he was found guilty of inciting race hatred at Harrow Crown Court for denying that the Holocaust took place.

The campaign has already seen the threat of legal action from Dame Vera Lynn over their use of her song White Cliffs of Dover on a BNP album of Second World War songs.

Daily Mail

Hertfordshire MEP backs Vera Lynn's fight against BNP

Richard Howitt - sticking up for Dame Vera against the BNP

One of St Albans' MEPs is calling for the law to be changed to stop the far right British National Party (BNP) using DameVera Lynn's famous wartime songs.

Labour's Richard Howitt said: ““It’s shocking that the BNP can use iconic songs like The White Cliffs of Dover without the artist’s permission and against her wishes. I am saddened that a song popular with a generation who fought Nazi ideology is now being used to raise money for people who share their politics. Dame Vera is right to seek action against the BNP and Labour MEPs will do our best to support her

He and his colleagues will try in the spring to persuade the European Parliament to extend copyright to last for a performer's lifetime.

The BNP is raising funds for its European election campaign by selling a CD including Dame Vera's hits such as All Alone In Vienna and The White Cliffs Of Dover.

St Albans and Harpenden Review

Sussex songstress distances herself from right wing political group

Forces Sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn said she had “no idea” her White Cliffs of Dover would be included on a BNP-backed CD.

The controversial right wing party have put the track on a nationalistic album named after the iconic song, which they are currently selling through their trading arm Excalibur. The collection of songs include the Second World War classic and another Dame Vera Lynn hit All Alone in Vienna - both of which have been apparently included without permission. The album is selling for £4.95, with a portion of the cash going towards the BNP’s party funds.

Dame Vera Lynn, who lives in Ditchling, is said to be in talks with her legal team over the song’s appearance on the album. Her solicitor Nigel Angel said: "Her position is that the song was included without her approval. She does not align with any political party. I will be discussing it with her further."

The 91-year-old, who is reknowned for her relentless fundraising, donates proceeds from songs she has sung to British troops to charity.

Norman Baker, MP for Lewes, said: "The BNP will try to imply they have the support of individuals by this kind of action when they clearly don't have their support – it's extremely regrettable."

In November the BNP came under fire in Sussex when it claimed it had received an official invitation to lay a wreath at a war memorial on Remembrance Sunday by Horsham District Council – the claim was found to be untrue. This week the Church of England announced a ban on clergy joining the BNP as it was classed by them as a 'racist' party.

The BNP which describes itself as “the foremost patriotic political party in Great Britain” has supported campaigns for white supremacy and the reintroduction of corporal punishment.

A book about Dame Vera's life called One Sunny Day is due to be published by Harper Collins in June.

The Argus