BNP member pleads guilty to making Nazi salute in Codnor

A BNP member has been fined for giving a Nazi salute during clashes with protesters marching against the party's annual Red, White and Blue festival. John Jones was one of a small group who argued with anti-fascist campaigners as they moved along Codnor-Denby Lane, Denby. Police told Jones, 66, to leave the scene but as he did so he made the gesture.

The three-day Red, White and Blue festival was held on fields off Codnor-Denby Lane for the third consecutive year last month. About 1,000 left-wing activists were involved in the march on August 15, at the time when the argument broke out.

Yesterday Jones, of Curtis Road, Epsom, appeared at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court. He pleaded guilty to using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour which was racially aggravated. Fernando Rodrigues, prosecuting, said the group including Jones had been walking along the road when police told them to move into a field, as the protesters approached. A police cordon was formed and, as the march went past, the two groups exchanged words.

Mr Rodrigues said: "The offender raised his arm in the air in what was described as a Nazi salute. During his police interview, he stated he had come to Derbyshire from London the previous day to attend the festival. He (Jones) openly stated he was a member of the BNP and showed his membership card."

Jones, who was not represented, told the court that he was threatened with words such as "Kill the BNP" and pelted with fruit. Speaking after the hearing, Jones said he had been a party member for about 20 years but had been unable to go to the festival because of his arrest. Jones was fined £71, with £60 costs and a £15 Government surcharge. Presiding magistrate Anthony Stanley said the salute was a "serious offence". However, Kirit Mistry, executive director of Derby Racial Equality Council, which was involved in organising the protest, said the fine was not enough.

He said: "He should also have been told to complete a cultural awareness programme as part of his punishment."

BNP spokesman Simon Darby said Jones would face a disciplinary hearing to decide his future with the party. Two other men, Saville Davies, 25, of Hollywell Avenue, Codnor, and a 17-year-old, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty to the same charge as Jones. They will appear for trial in December.

This is Derbyshire

Call for block on BNP plan to hold festival

A leading racial equality campaigner has stepped into the row over plans for a British National Party festival in Derbyshire.

Balbir Singh Sandhu, chairman of Derby Racial Equality Council, has called on Amber Valley Borough Council to block the RWB (Red, White and Blue) festival planned for Denby in August. Mr Sandhu has sent a letter to the authority, whose licensing committee meets tomorrow to decide whether or not to grant a drinks licence for the event.

Mr Sandhu claims that the BNP incites racial hatred and ruins the work of organisations like the Race Equality Council, which tries to build links between cultures in the community.

He said: "The organisation of this festival is a major concern. We fight for equal opportunities for all people and the BNP doesn't believe in that. We know of shopkeepers who've been targeted by supporters of their beliefs. That's not equal opportunity. This is very worrying for the people in the community and I worry for them if this event goes ahead."

The RWB festival is an annual event organised by the BNP. This year, it is due to take place on fields in Codnor Denby Lane, Denby, which are owned by BNP member and Denby parish councillor Alan Warner.

Mr Warner said: "I have never met anyone from the BNP who is a racist. We just want the best for the British people of this country, no matter what colour they are. There is no hullabaloo about the Scottish National Party or the Welsh National Party. This is no different."

More than 30 residents living near the fields have objected to the festival by sending letters to the borough council. John Lumsden, who lives opposite one of the fields to be used, helped to raise a petition, signed by 30 residents. He said: "Our objections surround the logistical side of things - the amount of traffic and the danger to pedestrians in the village as a result of that."

The event, which is set to take place on the weekend of August 4 and 5 and is expected to attract about 2,000 people, has previously been held in Clitheroe, Lancashire, where a local councilor says that it passed without problems

Last week, Denby Parish Council heard residents' fears about possible noise and traffic congestion and decided to object to the festival plan. But Mr Warner said that, whatever Amber Valley councillors decided on the liquor licence application, "the festival will still go ahead".

Derbyshire Evening Telegraph