Stoned

Surprising almost nobody at all, BNP leader Nick Griffin was re-admitted to hospital "under doctor's orders" yesterday, the eve of his appearance alongside Simon Darby and Tanya Lumby at the Royal Courts of Justice, where the Equalities and Human Rights Commission is seeking an order to either fine or gaol the three for failing to comply with an order made by the Central London County Court on March 12th requiring the removal of two "indirectly racist" clauses from the BNP constitution.

The case is due to be heard at 10.30 this morning (Monday), and supporters of the racist party have been instructed demonstrate outside the Royal Courts of Justice from 9.30.

Griffin is unlikely to attend, claiming to be in extreme pain due to kidney stones.

The proceedings were initially scheduled for early September, but were adjourned after Griffin arrived late, claiming to have taken three and a half hours to travel from the East End to the High Court (BNP supporters from all over the country were outside the court over an hour before the case went on), and because of Griffin's late submission of documents.

Tweeting that he had begun to feel "really bad stomach pains" about midday last Thursday, Griffin was admitted to hospital in the afternoon suffering from suspected kidney stones, and through his "fog of pain" tweeted that he wasn't sure "about [the] court case on Monday". By the next morning he was "Writing & dictating bulletins & final Cehr case appeal from hospital bed."

On Saturday the 6th Griffin was out of hospital, tweeting: "Will be fine for court on Monday, provided pesky stone stays where it is at present," adding, "Would be awkward to be in agony in witness box."

Griffin's detractors, knowing of his past record of claiming illness just before a court appearance, were less than impressed, especially as, while Saturday wore on, Griffin continued to publicly complain of his "sickening level of pain". He seemed to be complaining a little too loud and a little too often.

Whatever Griffin's level of pain, he was certainly in hospital yesterday, where a sombre Simon Darby paid him a visit, blogging later that the invalid was "feeling better".

Never one to miss an opportunity to squeeze his members, Nick's kidney stones were impressed into the party's dash for cash when another begging email masquerading as a "Chairman's Update" was fired off late yesterday afternoon. In it Griffin claims that the EHRC case against himself, Darby and Lumby is "most certainly going ahead" whether he appears or not, but ultimately that decision will rest with the judges, Lord Justice Moore-Brick and Mr Justice Ramsey.

The Commission For Equality And Human Rights v Griffin, if it goes ahead, is expected to end on Tuesday afternoon.

Kidney Stones: A Doctor Explains.

Hello. I'm a Doctor. I've got a Degree and a Stethoscope and everything.

I'm going to talk to you today about Kidney Stones, or “Convenientus Excusii pro Courtius Adjournimentia” to give the little blighters their full, medical name.

These hard, painful concretions are often associated with imminent tasks of an unpleasant nature, say, for instance, an appointment with Officials from the Electoral Commission Accounts Department or an impending Court Date.

In cases such as this, it is typical that the Kidney Stones (or “Attemptus ut Pullus a Fastii Unus” to give the pesky things another medical name) will manifest themselves as late as just three days before the associated unpleasant duty.

I recently diagnosed a severe case of this phenomenon, known as “Ultimo Ditchius Excusii”, in a patient of mine who, to observe medical confidentiality, I shall refer to only as N*** G******.

Mr G******, a slightly overweight 51 year-old Fundraiser, came to me complaining of painful realisations that an upcoming court hearing was not going to go well for him. “Is there anything you can do, Doctor?”, he asked; “The realisations are really very painful and getting worse all the time!”

After a thorough examination of his Constitution, I concluded that Mr G****** was, indeed, going to be in for a very bad time and, this condition being highly contagious among the susceptible, might even spread to those of a similar disposition.

I prescribed a Doctor's Note (or “Gettus ex Incarceratio Gratis Cardus”) to present to the judge, and Mr G****** left my office a happy man.

Follow-up appointments have been made for any dates deemed inconvenient by the Court.

If this course of treatment is followed and everything goes to plan, Mr G****** is expected to make a full recovery by next Wednesday.

BNP votes to scrap whites-only policy

BNP members vote to change constitution to allow black and Asian people to join in order to comply with equality laws

The British National Party today voted to scrap its whites-only membership policy in a move dismissed by anti-racist campaigners as "cosmetic".

At an extraordinary general meeting held in Essex, members of the far-right party voted in favour of changes to its constitution that would theoretically allow black and Asian people to join. BNP spokesman Simon Darby said that of the "300-400 people" who attended the meeting, just five voted against the motion.

The new constitution, which is not yet publicly available, will be sent to the Equality and Human Rights Commission for final approval. The BNP will give the ECHR seven days to respond, said Darby.

The meeting was hastily arranged after the Central London county court last month told the BNP to amend its constitution to comply with race relations laws or face legal action by the EHRC. After the hearing on 28 January , the BNP rushed out letters to its 14,000 members in order to allow for the 14 days needed to alert them to the proposed changes.

But there remained queries over whether the amended version would go far enough to appease lawyers from the EHRC.

Anti-racism campaigners have said the constitutional change would make no difference to the BNP's racist ideology. Weyman Bennett, national secretary of Unite Against Fascism, said: "I think that regardless of the vote, the changes are cosmetic and have only happened because the courts forced them to stop racist practices."

Asked whether the BNP is now not racist, Darby said: "Let's put it like this: If, as a result of this, a court rules that we are now a bonafide party, that's a great stamp of approval. If anyone says we are racist, we can say 'no we're not, it's been proved in court'."

As for whether the BNP would genuinely welcome members of "all colours and creeds", Darby said: "I'm not prepared to even say that until we have the court ruling. I'm not going to stray into the realms of that sort of terminology."

Earlier in the day BNP leader Nick Griffin said ethnic minority members will be accepted if they agree with the party's aims.

He told the BBC: "They'll be accepted, they'll be welcomed, providing they're there to do the things that we want to do, and providing they accept and agree with our principles, which is that multiculturalism, we believe, has been a failure. It was imposed on the British people without any consent, by the political elite. It's still going on, it's madness and it's time to shut the doors."

First in the queue to join the ostensibly more inclusive BNP is likely to be Rajinder Singh, a 78-year-old retired primary school teacher, who last week told the Guardian that the BNP was genuinely changing.

"They are trying to soften up. Shouldn't the nation welcome that?" he said. "It's a positive move if they get people like me, and if I'm sitting in a BNP meeting they won't say 'Throw all of them out' because they'll realise one of 'them' is among 'us'."

Observer

BNP to vote on allowing non-whites to join party

BNP failed to to revise constitution after legal challenge from the Equality and Human Rights Commission last year

The BNP will vote today on whether to change its constitution to allow non-whites to join the party.

Following a legal challenge by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) last year the BNP agreed to use "all reasonable endeavours" to revise its constitution to ensure it did not fall foul of race equality legislation. But the far-right party has so far failed to follow through on that promise and last month it was ordered to amend its rules, which restrict membership to "indigenous Caucasians", or face prosecution.

After the January hearing, BNP spokesman Simon Darby said the party would have to "emasculate its constitution" and described the case as "a deadly serious attempt to put us out of business".

The BNP rushed out letters to its 14,000 members in order to allow for the 14 days needed to alert them to the proposed changes. An extraordinary general meeting, being held today at a secret location, is widely expected to agree a new constitution.

Griffin has urged party members to back the changes to its constitution but has deplored the EHRC's actions and described them as a waste of money. He told the BBC that ethnic minority members would "be welcomed, providing they're there to do the things that we want to do, and providing they accept and agree with our principles".

Rajinder Singh, a Sikh man who has written Nick Griffin letters of support, provided the BNP leader with a character reference at his 2005 trial for inciting racial hatred, and appeared on the party's online TV channel, is believed to have been lined up as the first non-white member in the event that the constitution is amended.

The party's communications and campaigns officer Martin Wingfield personally endorsed him on his blog, calling for the BNP to "give the brave and loyal Rajinder Singh the honour of becoming the first ethnic minority member".

Observer

BNP given last chance to make equality change to constitution

Far-right party told to address its entry criteria at extraordinary general meeting next month or face legal consequences

The British National party was warned tonight that it had one last chance to scrap its constitution or face legal action under equality laws. Its leader, Nick Griffin, was told at a Central London county court session that new rules must be agreed at an extraordinary general meeting to be held next month. The judgment saw BNP officials forced to rush out letters to members to alert them to the proposed changes.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission, which challenged the whites-only membership criteria last year, said the changes proposed still fell foul of equality laws. John Wadham of the EHRC said the amended version, which refers repeatedly to "indigenous British", displayed indirect discrimination as opposed to direct discrimination. "It is not that much of an improvement," he said.

Judge Paul Collins said: "I'm going to give the BNP an opportunity to have its EGM and take into account what has been said today and get it right. I do not think there will be another opportunity to get it right. This is it." He also ordered the BNP to pay the £12,500 in court costs relating to the adjourned session.

A BNP spokesman Simon Darby said the party would have to "emasculate its constitution and drop its policies and principles" to comply with the court's wishes. "This is a deadly serious attempt to put us out of business," said Darby.

Simon Assaf, 41, from Unite Against Fascism, said he was grabbed round the throat and kicked after shouting "dirty racist" at Griffin outside the court. Darby said BNP members had the right to protect themselves when attacked if the police failed to intervene.

Guardian

Time for another caption competition...

'I can't believe Lee Barnes actually said that!'

Pig-farmer Griffin has such a lot of problems at the moment - the pending case with the EHRC, a possibility of further action by the Electoral Commission over the dodgy accounts and the fact that he appears to be rapidly turning into one of his own porkers - that we're not entirely surprised to see him show his desperation from time to time. In fact we encourage it, so let's have some captions for this delightful picture of the Welshpool Führer having a moment of middle-aged angst.

Griffin launches election campaign by cynically exploiting war dead

Griffin smirks while the bodies of soldiers are brought home via Wootton Bassett

Immediate withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan will be one of the primary themes of the British National Party’s general election campaign. Speaking on BNP television, Nick Griffin, the BNP leader, sets out a blatantly populist stall for the election, which he believes will be called in late February or very early March.

Griffin hopes to exploit what he sees as an “enormous gap” between the views of the public and “politicians” on Afghanistan. The second main issue for the BNP, not surprisingly, will be “mass immigration and Islam in particular”, a subject at which he intends to go “hammer and tongs” to show the public that the BNP has not “gone soft”. He may also have an eye on limiting the damage to his party’s reputation among its racist supporters caused by his decision, forced by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), to open BNP membership to non-white people.

The third theme will be Europe. While recognising that Europe plays a lesser role in the general election in the minds of the public, Griffin explains that it is very important for a section of the public that the BNP aims to attract, namely those voters who are not sure whether to vote BNP or for the UK Independence Party.

As for the economy, the issue on which most people will focus, Griffin dismisses it on the grounds that it is “not feasible for us to get across the fact that a nationalist economic policy is the only way out of the mess”.

In other words, the BNP will go for votes by exploiting policies chosen for that purpose alone, rather than present a serious political programme to the electorate. Griffin appears to dismiss voters as too stupid to understand his economic arguments, though the reality is that the BNP’s mishmash of economic nationalism, fascism and opposition to trade would totally wreck the British economy.

Griffin states that his party is not yet ready for the election, though the main leaflets have been designed. There is also some fundraising to be done, he admits, before moving on quickly to another subject.

Money may well be a problem. The BNP went into the European election campaign in a dire financial state and spent large sums on its misnamed “Battle for Britain”. Before the election last June the party pledged that in the event of victory the party would contest every seat in the country in the general election.

That would commit the party to £325,000 in candidates’ deposits alone, much of which would be lost as the BNP will not overcome the 5% threshold for return of deposits in most constituencies. Probably realising the foolishness of standing hundreds of no hopers, Griffin backtracked, grabbing the opportunity to blame the three-month freeze on recruitment of new party members that he had agreed as a result of the EHRC’s court case.

Exaggerating wildly as usual, Griffin claimed the EHRC had cost the BNP a potential £105,000 in membership fees from 3,000 people keen to join up. “Those lost funds would have allowed the BNP to drive its way through the quiet Christmas period and launch an impressive General Election campaign the likes of which have never been seen in Britain,” wrote Griffin in an email to supporters on 12 December.

“As soon as we did make a breakthrough, the Equalities Commission pounced in what was a carefully calculated effort to make the BNP unable to contest every seat in the country,” the arch conspiracy theorist continued.

As a result the party had to “drastically scale back our General Election plans…If you want to blame someone, blame the tax-guzzling foreigner Trevor Phillips,” said the racist, before going on to appeal to existing BNP members to upgrade their membership to “gold” for “a measly £30” or take out life membership for a more painful £465.

One pot of money readily available to Griffin is the MEPs’ communications allowance for him and his fellow MEP, Andrew Brons. Each has £20,000 to spend on publicity about their work in the European Parliament and their constituency. While careful to acknowledge that the money cannot be used to promote the BNP, Griffin claims that when people hear of the two MEPs’ work, it will “have an effect”. The A3 folded glossy leaflets for the two constituencies will be ready for distribution “early in the new year”, revealed Griffin, providing “some cracking publicity”.

Leaflets will be an important part of the BNP election effort, but the BNP will not do telephone canvassing, Griffin promised, claiming that people do not like it. Instead BNP canvassers “will knock on doors”. Presumably he thinks voters are happier with a bunch of heavies at their front doors. Probably the real reasons the BNP has rejected telephone canvassing are that none of the sources of the necessary data would deal with the racist party and that the party’s canvassers sound even worse on the phone than on the doorstep.

In choosing Afghanistan as one of his election themes, Griffin must hope that voters will overlook the contradiction with the party’s much repeated claims that Islam is trying to colonise Britain and Europe and impose Sharia, and that the Muslim community harbours terrorists.

In his constituency newsletter Griffin denounces the war in Afghanistan arguing that British troops should only be sent to war “when the British people or British interests are being threatened”. Yet the BNP maintains that Islam has been engaged in a war on Western civilisation since its inception. Griffin lumps together the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, ignoring the fact that, unlike the Iraq war, the war in Afghanistan was a direct response to the terror attacks on the USA of 11 September 2001, with the aim, whether or not realistic, of preventing al-Qaeda using Afghanistan as an operational and training base.

Since then, Britain too has come under attack from al-Qaeda. Even where the individual terrorists were born in Britain, they were generally trained in or directed from Afghanistan or the Pakistan border area. There are good cases to be made that the war in Afghanistan may be unwinnable, or that Britain and the US have not committed sufficient resources, or that we should not support the Karzai administration, among other things, but it is unarguable that Islamist terrorism affects British people and British interests.

Islamophobia is one of the guiding principles of the BNP except when it conflicts with the latest attempt to win votes, it seems.

Rather than present a reasoned standpoint, Griffin resorts to emotion. Launching the party’s campaign to “Support our troops, bring them home” just before Christmas, Griffin described a “devastated, grieving mother” who spoke to him “recently” about the death of her “beautiful son” while serving in Afghanistan, and apparently implored Griffin to “help our boys out there or bring them home”.

“These are the words now carved into my heart, the words of a grieving mother, words that I will carry with me to my grave and words that made me take a solemn oath to do every-thing in my power to honour, support and protect our fighting heroes who have been abandoned both on the battlefields of Afghanistan and back here at home,” gushed Griffin.

He went on to accuse “Brown, Cameron and Clegg” of being “evil leaders … liars and con artists [who] started and backed the illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan …”. That none of Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg were leaders of their respective parties in 2001, and that Clegg has consistently opposed the war in Iraq, must have passed Griffin by in his excitement over a new cause for an appeal for money.

Announcing a “daring and innovative strategy to expose the hypocrisy, lies and cover-ups relating to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq,” Griffin promises “a wave of activism, publicity material and direct action” which “will send shockwaves through the old parties and the traitors within the media”.

It will consist of four phases. Firstly a “full-colour well-designed 12-page brochure, detailing the crimes against our soldiers” will be sent to “every MP, MSP, MLA, and AM as well as every member of the House of Lords and also every registered journalist in the UK”. Secondly, the BNP will send “10,000 brochures to each key town and city in every one of The BNP’s 12 regions”.

The third stage will be, wait for it, a “nationwide truth tour” using “our very own ‘bought and paid for’ professional advertising lorry”. That’s the “truth truck”, better known as the lie lorry, a vehicle that the BNP does not own but leases from the hardline anti-abortion campaigner Jim Dowson. The tour will be followed by BNP TV films.

Anyone who thinks they have read this before would be right. The campaign has been recycled, almost word for word, from the BNP’s “Racism cuts both ways” initiative of autumn 2008. The 12-page outrage-ously Islamophobic brochure on that occasion listed 167 people whom the BNP alleged had been murdered as a result of anti-white racism, although only in a handful of the cases was there any clear indication of a racial motive and in several the perpetrator was white not black.

The BNP claims to be different. Too true. No other party would go into a general election on the back of racism, Islamophobia, a recycled clapped out campaign, nothing to say on the issues that really concern the electorate and a lead policy selected solely to pull votes from the UKIP.

Searchlight

Archbishop warning as BNP target Christians for support

Archbishop of Wales Barry Morgan has led a scathing attack on the British National Party over its claims to represent Christian values

Party leader Nick Griffin has previously said the BNP stands in the tradition of the Crusader knights who fought Muslim armies. He claims the BNP are fighting the “Islamification” of Britain. Writing in the BNP newspaper Voice of Freedom, Mr Griffin said: “The British National Party will never allow our children to become a minority in their own homeland. Just like our Crusader ancestors, we will fight to preserve our Christian culture and heritage.”

But Dr Morgan, together with fellow Welsh faith leaders, said the right-wing party’s vision ran counter to a Christian understanding of humanity. In an interview with the Western Mail to coincide with his annual Christmas address, Dr Morgan said: “I really do object to their claim to represent Christian cultural values. Unless you’re white and Anglo-Saxon you don’t seem to count for very much. That runs totally against any Christian understanding of humanity where we believe each person is made in the image of God.”

In November senior BNP members voted “overwhelmingly” in favour of holding a ballot on whether to allow non-white people to join. This followed court action brought by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The case is adjourned until January 28.

Dr Morgan was confident the BNP would not make inroads, saying: “I certainly don’t think it’s much of an issue in Wales.”

The party responded furiously to Dr Morgan’s comments. BNP deputy leader Simon Darby said: “If these church leaders are not prepared to defend Christianity themselves, they should not complain when someone else does just that. It’s all very well people like the Archbishop talking about defending Christian values but at the end of the day they are not prepared to do anything about it. He should probably be prosecuted under the Trade Descriptions Act.

“Whole swathes of London, for example, are no longer Christian, and people like the Archbishop have been quite happy to stand by and see churches turned into mosques. If someone doesn’t stand up for real Christian values, it won’t be a Christian country for very much longer, but an Islamic republic.”

Guto Prys ap Gwynfor, president of the Union of Welsh Independent Churches, urged people not to support parties which promote division in the upcoming Westminster elections. He said: “We are firmly opposed to any kind of incitement to hatred, fear of the other, or suspicion of our neighbour – whoever he or she may be. We would urge people to vote according to their conscience and support politicians and policies which best reflect and uphold the values of the Christian Gospel.”

Denying that a respect for other cultures threatened Welsh culture, he added: “In Wales, we have a long tradition of neighbourly respect and concern for other cultures and beliefs. This need not conflict with our desire to uphold our own faith and culture.”

Jim Stewart, a spokesman for Evangelical Alliance Wales – which represents churches from 30 denominations – also condemned the attempt to portray the BNP as defenders of Christianity. He said: “Christians need to do their homework in the run-up to the General Election so that they are informed and vote responsibly. Of particular concern at the moment are attempts being made by the BNP to ingratiate themselves with the church and to claim to speak on behalf of Christians. Although we recognise that Christians will vote for a number of different parties in the General Election – including a number of minor parties as well as the four main ones – the case of the BNP is different.”

Mr Stewart said the BNP’s beliefs were “anti-Christian” and had “no place in a civilised, welcoming Welsh society.” He said: “The BNP categorically does not speak on behalf of Christians in Wales.”

Meanwhile, in a wide-ranging interview, Dr Morgan set out the challenges he sees facing Wales in 2010. He believes the Church in Wales has a vital role to play in a modern nation where families fear for loved ones in Afghanistan. The Anglican leader is further convinced that an overhaul of mental health services is urgently needed.

Supporting the families of members of the armed forces has become an important pastoral task in churches throughout Wales. He said: “Whatever one thinks of whether we ought to be in [Afghanistan], the fact is these decisions have been made whether they were right or wrong. That’s not the fault of soldiers.

“They go because that’s what they are required to do. The families left behind are at times worried sick. If you are in the middle of a conflict you get on with the job and you don’t always think about the dangers whereas families at home are just dreading the knock on the door or the ring of the telephone.”

Arguing that Wales must confront crises on its own doorstep, he said: “I think the nation is beginning to realise we need to rediscover fundamental values to build a better world and we can’t just leave it to economists.”

Congregations may have shrunk but he is convinced the network of more than 1,000 places of worship gives the church a unique insight into the realities of Wales at the start of a new decade. He said: “There are still a lot of children who live in poverty and we don’t realise just how much poverty there is in Wales. It is not just overseas.”

The archbishop is also alarmed by the “chasm” between the wealthiest and poorest and contends there is a direct link between deprivation and mental illness.

“A lot of that has been caused by problems such as poverty and loneliness,” he said.

Concerned by research which suggests a quarter of children and young people may suffer from some form of disorder, he said: “That’s incredible. It seems to me mental health is still very much a taboo subject.”

But Dr Morgan remains convinced that the Anglican church can make a unique contribution in contemporary society. He said: “It’s the only organisation in every community where people from one-day-old to 100-years-old come together. It doesn’t matter what social strata you come from – you’re welcome.”

Wales Online

Christmas chaos hits BNP (again) as Chris Jackson and Mike Easter resign

As one of our readers commented the other day, Christmas seems to be a difficult time for the BNP. It was pointed out that 2007 saw the end of the then high-flying career of Sadie Graham and many others, while 2008 saw the chaos that followed the release of the full BNP membership list.

This year seemed to be following the same pattern, though in a less focused way, with the sudden resignation of Alby Walker as leader of the BNP group at Stoke Council, Dicky Barnbrook's embarrassingly poor apology for being a liar, the laughably appalling accounts (which earned the party a £1100 slap on the wrist for tardiness) and a threat of future legal action from the Electoral Commission, plus a swathe of dreadful by-election results.

Now however, things seem to be coming to a head with the resignations of former contender for the BNP leadership (in a rigged election that he couldn't possibly win) Chris Jackson (pictured), his former campaign manager Mike Easter and someone named Kev Bryan, who was apparently the Rossendale Branch Organiser. The resignations are announced in an open letter posted on the mostly defunct jackson4leader site:

'Disbandment of reform Group

What is the point of the BNP if you admit foreigners?

Sadly we have come to the conclusion that the BNP is breaking up and there is no practicable likelihood of it recovering.

In our opinion the root cause of the failure is the Constitution of the Party. The Constitution, that is the Party Rules, makes the Party Leader a dictator. The current leader rather than reforming the Constitution toward that of a normal English association has (probably illegally) made alterations to the Constitution making his removal virtually impossible.

The Party is now a nationalist party in name only and has abandoned many of the fundamental principles on which it was founded.

A further major problem is that of money. Under the Constitution, all money is controlled by the Party Leader. The Party Leader appoints the Party Treasurer and Party Auditor. The Leader has carte blanche to dispose of the funds as he pleases.

This has never been a satisfactory situation, and now that the Party is alleged to be turning over a million pounds a year, is nothing short of a scandal. There have been four different Treasurers this year and the 2008 accounts are way overdue. The Party has been fined by the Electoral Commission for late publication of accounts. This is a re-run of last year when the accounts were also late and when published were endorsed by the Auditor as unsatisfactory.

A separate, but related, issue is the Trafalgar Club. This Club raises money directly to support the Party Leader. No accounts for this club have ever been published and they have not been appended to the Party accounts, as clearly they should be.

We recommend that no further money be sent to ‘Head Office’.

Whilst the BNP has been going downhill, the National Front has reformed itself and now is led by a group of reliable people and has the Constitution of a normal democratic association. Consequently, we believe that BNP members should transfer to the National Front.

Mike Easter
Chris Jackson
Kevin Bryan'

Regular readers will no doubt remember Jackson's failed leadership challenge back in the summer of 2007. Although resoundingly beaten, the results were not quite what Nick Griffin apparently expected, with Griffin himself receiving a mandate from only 39% of the party membership. Were I Jackson, I would regard that outcome as something of a success in itself - it showing the lack of confidence in Griffin that truly exists even in the BNP. However, rather than follow-up the one successful aspect of his challenge, Jackson chose to keep his head down and say nothing very much for the next two years.

So why resign now? The main reasons are made pretty clear in the letter above - the action by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to force the BNP to open its membership to non-whites and the financial shenanigans of the party leadership, though we suspect the former is the real reason and the latter is just a handy and always-relevant sideswipe at the morally-impaired Griffin.

It was pretty clear from the moment the EHRC began its action, that there would be repercussions from the hardcore racists in the BNP - one of whom is obviously Chris Jackson. There is though a lot of support for Jackson's views within the party and as Searchlight pointed out during his leadership bid, his campaign was backed by some heavy-hitters: five founder-members, two advisory council members, three councillors, eight branch organisers and 20 election candidates came out openly in his support.

There are mixed immediate reactions to the resignations, though I don't doubt we can expect a LOT more. Griffin-loyalists are, naturally, critical of this trio's announcement and stated intention to join the National Front. One surprisingly witty nazi on Stormfront said;

'The NF may have a name, although like a cheap can of Polish beans, they have a fancy label but the product inside is cheap and of little nutritional value.'

The response was less witty, though rather more cogent;

'Ever since June, which was supposed to have been the BNP's moment of greatest triumph, its members and supporters have been simply walking away. Last month, Andrew Brons spoke at a long-planned meeting in Bridlington which attracted fewer than thirty people, even though BNP members had travelled from as far away as Scarborough, Hull and Leeds to attend. If even a MEP and nationalist of AB's calibre can't draw the crowds anymore something is seriously wrong.'

Over at the North West Nationalist blog, the statements were a little more terse;

'The root cause is traitor Griffin !'
'Fingers in the till anyone?'
'Only surprised it took CJ as long as it did to pack it in.'

The NWN forum was a little more informative;

'I rather think that there will be a bit of a deluge over to the National Front here in the North West.'
'Croydon BNP branch has crossed to the NF, and a large group in Southampton joining next week Strong rumours of Stoke BNP and councillors from other branches crossing over to the NF.'
'I do know that both Burnley BNP & Halifax BNP are quite close to Chris Jackson'
'We must leave crook Griffin with the rubbish personnel.'

Like everyone else, I do enjoy a good disaster movie over Christmas - and the BNP generally provides the best. It's a bit late this year but what the hell - I suspect this one will be a biggie and just as much fun to watch as all the others.

Compliments of the season to all our readers and happy viewing. :-)

BNP signs its first non-white member...

Rajinder Singh, who has appeared on the BNP's internet TV channel,
blames Muslims for the death of his father during the Partition of India in 1947

...but he's only joined because he hates Muslims

An elderly Sikh who describes Islam as a "beast" and once provided a character reference for Nick Griffin during his racial hatred trial is set to become the British National Party's first non-white member.

Rajinder Singh, an anti-Islam activist in his late seventies who blames Muslims for the death of his father during the Partition of India in 1947, has been sympathetic towards Britain's far-right party for much of the past decade even though he currently remains barred from becoming a member because of the colour of his skin. But last weekend the BNP's leadership took their first steps towards dropping its membership ban on non-whites after the Human Rights Commission threatened the party with legal action. The move will be put to a vote of members soon.

Martin Wingfield, the BNP's communications and campaigns officer, has already put forward the case for Mr Singh's membership, telling members on its website: "I say adapt and survive and give the brave and loyal Rajinder Singh the honour of becoming the first ethnic minority member of the BNP."

A BNP spokesman said last night: "He is perhaps the kind of immigrant you want if you are going to have them."

Mr Singh, a former teacher from Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, says he would be "honoured" to become a card-carrying member of the BNP. Explaining his motives, Mr Singh said: "I am a retired teacher, living a quiet life. I got in touch with the BNP on certain core policies that appeal to me. I also admire them since they are on their own patch, and do not wish to let anyone else oust them from the land of their ancestors."

Mr Singh and another Sikh from Slough who goes by the pseudonym Ammo Singh have previously co-operated with the BNP and have been used by the party's leadership to try to woo Asian supporters, particularly Hindus and Sikhs living in areas where tensions with Muslims run high. The party has had little success, however, with all mainstream Sikh and Hindu groups widely condemning the BNP.

But Rajinder Singh and Ammo Singh – who keeps his identity secret but is thought to be an accountant in his late thirties – have answered Mr Griffin's call, thanks to the BNP's staunchly anti-Islamic rhetoric since September 11. In December 2001, Ammo Singh claimed he had helped the BNP distribute thousands of anti-Islamic leaflets in Southall, west London, but recently he has kept a low profile. Rajinder Singh, on the other hand, has begun to appear in BNP literature more frequently, writing for the party's newspaper, Freedom, and appearing on the internet television channel, BNPTV.

His intense dislike of Islam appears to stem back to his father's death during the Partition of India, which led to the deaths of an estimated two million Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus. "I come from partitioned Punjab that saw a lot of bloodshed in 1947," he said. "Anyone escaping that genocide would pray to God, [say] never again and vote for BNP."

Mainstream Sikh groups said they were appalled. Dr Indarjit Singh, director of the Network of Sikh Organisations, said: "Sikhism stresses equality for all human beings. Therefore Sikhs who are true to their faith, will having nothing whatsoever to do with any party that favours any one section of the community."

Independent

Note by LU

Rajinder Singh is well known to Nick Griffin and has been dodging around the BNP for some time. It was Singh who spoke up for Griffin as a character witness when he was in court at Leeds back in 2006, bizarrely claiming that Griffin wasn't racist. On that occasion, the BNP paid for a top hotel for the night for Mr S, and treated him to lunch at a pub - a fact that was heavily criticised at the time by the Sikh community, many of whom were demonstrating AGAINST Griffin outside the courtroom.

Singh has also addressed the Kirklees branch of the BNP, speaking about his hatred of Muslims. He was also in the BNP's 2004 election broadcast. He has been roundly condemned for his long-standing connections to the BNP and Nick Griffin.

The Observer had an excellent report on Ravinder Singh back in 2001, regarding the distribution of thousands of CDs, tapes and leaflets claiming that Islam poses a threat to Britain. The article is here.

Back in 2006, there was a bit of a fuss on the Stormfront nazi forum when it was announced that Singh was to attend the Kirklees meeting as the BNP's ethnic liaison committee leader. At that time, the likes of Arthur Kemp, who then ran the BNP’s indoctrination programme for voting members, openly posted on Stormfront, but along with the change in image over the past couple of years went a withdrawal from such places (at least under names that clearly identified the poster). This meant that Kemp went through Stormfront and carefully deleted most, if not all, of his posts. Fortunately, some of them are referred to in quotes.

'Originally Posted by Arthur Kemp
Anyone who cannot see the political and propaganda advantage to be gained by having an ethnic demonstrating that the BNP is not a "race-hate" party, has absolutely no understanding of practical politics and should stick strictly to hobbyism.'

Clearly, Rajinder Singh is nothing more than a 'propaganda advantage'.

BNP forced to close membership over race bias

The British National Party was today forced to move to amend its constitution so that it does not bar members on grounds of race or religion.

The move came after the Equality and Human Rights Commission started a county court action against the far-right party, accusing it of breaching the race relations laws. But proceedings at Central London County Court were adjourned after lawyers said that the party leader, Nick Griffin, would put a revised constitution before a BNP party meeting next month.

In the meantime, Robin Allen, QC, for the Commission, said that Mr Griffin had said that the party had agreed not to accept any new members until the new constitution was in place.

The concession was hailed as a victory by the Commission. John Wadham, legal director said: “We are pleased that the Party has conceded this case and agreed to all of the Commission’s requirements. We believed that the BNP’s constitution was unlawful because its membership criteria discriminated on grounds of ethnic minority status and colour. This is not a political issue — the policy of the BNP is not a party for us. It is about obeying the law, which everyone is obliged to do.”

The Commission had statutory powers and duties to ensure that no-one discriminated against another, he added. “We could not ignore a political party that was acting unlawfully.”

Chris Roberts, spokesman for the BNP Eastern region, accused Mr Wadham as they left the court of being a “disgrace” and warned him that he would face a charge for “crimes against the British people”.

Mr Roberts said: “I don’t know what the membership will vote to do but I think we will take a common sense approach.”

He said that the BNP had been forced to give the undertakings by the “liberal Marxist establishment” which wanted to see the BNP put out of business now that it was doing well in the elections. This will not change our core beliefs,” he added. “But if we want to be fighting elections and we are being forced into this, no doubt we will be forced to change our constitution.”

The case was adjourned until January 28 when the judge, Judge Paul Collins, will see if the constitution has been appropriately revised.

But the Equalities Bill, which is going through Parliament, may in any case force the party’s hand as it removes a provision the BNP relies on to justify membership criteria.

Mr Wadham said: “It is unfortunate that the BNP spent several months before conceding and dealing properly with our legal requirements. We will be monitoring the BNP’s compliance with this court order on membership and its other legal obligations, including to its constituents.”

In the order agreed at the court the BNP agreed to use all reasonable endeavours to revise its constitution so that it does not discriminate, either directly or indirectly on any “protected characteristic” - for example on the grounds of race, ethnic or religious status - as defined in clause 4 of the Equality Bill.

The changes must be made as soon as reasonably practicable, and no later than three months from today.

The order also states that from 15th October 2009, until the new constitution comes into effect, BNP Chairman Nick Griffin will close the membership of the Party to all new membership applications.

The Commission sent a letter to the BNP in June setting out concerns about the party’s constitution and membership because “the criteria appeared to restrict membership to those within what the BNP regards as particular ‘ethnic groups’ and those whose skin colour is white”. That exclusion was contrary to the Race Relations Act, it said. It asked the BNP to amend its constitution and to make clear that it did not discriminate against potential or actual members on racial grounds.

After the BNP had failed to comply with these requirements in August, the Commission issued county court proceedings to seek an injunction to force it to act.

The Times

Met police bow to pressure to drop question on 'racist' form 696

Scotland Yard said today that it was altering a "potentially racist" form which asks clubs whether they play music popular with the black and Asian communities, after pressure from politicians, musicians and equality campaigners.

Form 696 – targeting violence at music venues – asks owners to provide the name, address and telephone numbers of artists and promoters, as well as the style of music to be played at forthcoming events.

In particular, the form gives "bashment, R&B, garage" as options – genres popular with black and Asian people.

A letter, with more than 50 signatories including Feargal Sharkey, chief executive at UK Music, was sent to the government's equality watchdog, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, at the end of August. It stated: "We are deeply concerned that Form 696 has the potential to be misused by the police to discriminate against ethnic minorities … There is now a danger that police across the country will adopt this measure and further entrench this illiberal and potentially racist practice."

Today Detective Chief Superintendent Richard Martin, the head of the Yard's clubs and vice unit, announced that venues would no longer be asked for details of the music style. A requirement to provide the telephone number of the performing artist will also be dropped and an independent "scrutiny panel" will be set up to ensure that the form is not misused, Martin said.

"We have listened to the concerns about the form and we have now dropped the question about which type of music will be played – it really does not add anything," he said. "There were things on the form that we did not need. My only aim with this form was to make sure that if people went to music events then they stayed safe there and got home safely."

Sharkey, former lead singer of the Undertones, described the move as an "exercise in semantics" and demanded that the form be scrapped altogether.

He said it was clear that the altered version continued to target musicians from ethnic minorities and he objected strongly to a question which asks about the "make-up of the patrons".

"What is the club owner going to say: 'White, middle class Londoners'. I don't think so," Sharkey said. "These changes raise more questions than they answer. You have to ask how many violent crimes are linked to live music anyway.

"Why should the Met get the details of performers 14 days before an event. These changes will do nothing to alleviate the concerns of disenchanted young artists."

Sunny Hundal, editor of the political blog Liberal Conspiracy and organiser of the appeal to the EHRC, said that although the form was "voluntary", many events had applications for licences turned down after refusing to fill it in.

Last year eight music venues closed down after police highlighted fears of potential violence.

The Guardian

BNP must adapt membership rules or be crushed, says Nick Griffin

Party reacts after legal challenge to its policy of barring non-whites

The British National party leader, Nick Griffin, said today that the far right organisation should change its membership rules or face being "utterly crushed" in the courts.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is taking the BNP to court over its constitution, which states that only "'Indigenous Caucasian' and defined 'ethnic groups' emanating from that race" are allowed to join. When proceedings were issued last month the party insisted it would fight the case. But Griffin, speaking after yesterday's hearing at the Central London county court was adjourned for seven weeks, appeared to back down, saying that the party should now change its membership rules.

"It is now crystal clear to all concerned that we simply do not have a choice but to change our membership policy," said Griffin. "Adapt or die is the only decision left to make, for failure to adapt would lead either to our being bled white through the courts or crushed by new criminal laws."

Griffin said the party would hold a series of debates over the coming weeks to discuss the matter and then stage a mass meeting for members where they would require a two-thirds majority to rewrite the constitution. The issue is likely to provoke a bitter debate in the party with leading members openly hostile to allowing non-white members.

In today's statement Griffin tried to appease potential opponents. "I have no doubt that it is possible to redraft our constitution so as to ensure we comply with the new law while at the same time holding true to our core principles and most important of all to our purpose – to secure a future for the true children of our islands."

Anti-racism campaigners warned today that even if the BNP changed its constitution it would make no difference to the party's core beliefs. "It is cosmetic window-dressing that does not alter fundamentally the BNP, which is a fascist and racist party," said Nick Lowles from the Hope not Hate campaign.

At yesterday's hearing, Judge Paul Collins ruled the party had 21 days to serve its evidence, with a further 14 days for the claimants to respond before the next one-day hearing, scheduled for 15 October.

The Guardian

BNP member rules case adjourned

A legal case about ethnic restrictions on the British National Party's membership rules has been adjourned.

The Equalities and Human Rights Commission is seeking an injunction against BNP leader Nick Griffin and two other party officials. It claims they are breaking the Race Relations Act by restricting membership to "indigenous Caucasian" people. The BNP says it is a "vexatious and spiteful" action prompted by its recent successes in the European elections.

The case was adjourned to give the BNP more time to prepare a defence, after the court was told the party had only instructed its counsel, Jonathan O'Mahoney, at 5pm on Tuesday. Mr Griffin and fellow party officers Simon Darby and Tanya Lumby did not attend the hearing at Central London County Court.

Judge Paul Collins said: "The Commission take the view that the terms on which the BNP admit persons to membership is in breach of the Race Relations Act because it discriminates against persons on the grounds of race and they want an injunction to stop it."

But he pointed out that it had taken a "long time for someone to get round to the idea" that the BNP - which was founded 27 years ago - could be in breach of the Race Relations Act.

The evidence suggested that the case was prompted by complaints made to the Commission after the BNP won two seats in the European Parliament in June, he added. He also pointed out that the EHRC had not provided any evidence that there was "a long queue of black people wanting to join the BNP". But he said the BNP had known since June about the possibility of legal action and said it was "unfair" of the party to have instructed Mr O'Mahoney at the last minute. He therefore ordered the BNP to pay the costs of the hearing.

But the judge refused a request by Robin Allen QC, counsel for the EHRC, to impose an interim order on the BNP preventing it from recruiting new members through its website and forcing it "not to refuse membership to any non-white members, or would-be members, on the grounds of colour". The judge said it would be "inappropriate" given that the BNP had been in existence for 27 years and was due back in court over the matter next month.

He told defendants they had 21 days to serve their evidence, with a further 14 days for the claimants to respond before the next one-day hearing, scheduled for 15 October.

Mr O'Mahoney told the court that the BNP had appointed a new legal team in the past week after dispensing with the services of its original solicitors, who had advised it not to contest the case. But Mr Allen accused the party of being "reluctant to come to court to state their case" and appearing "to be doing everything to avoid the course of justice".

Outside court, a spokesman for the EHRC said its predecessor organisation, the Commission for Racial Equality, did not have the powers to take such legal action and that the EHRC was set up only in October 2007.

Stephen Tyler, the BNP Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Bermondsey in south east London, who attended the hearing, said: "The BNP thrives on adversity. Whatever the outcome, it is going to emerge much stronger than it already is."

Mr Tyler, who teaches international relations at a private college, said it was "a vexatious, spiteful case". And he claimed the BNP had "a lot of supporters from ethnic minorities," adding: "They understand why the membership list is closed to them."

BBC News

BNP in court over membership rules

The BNP: up in court today for its whites-only membership rule

A legal action against the British National Party about ethnic restrictions on its membership is due in court.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) issued county court proceedings against the far-right party on August 24 after voicing concerns in June about its constitution and membership criteria. The party's membership criteria appeared to be restricted to those within certain ethnic groups and to white people, according to the EHRC.

The BNP responded by saying that it intended to clarify the word "white" on its website, but the Commission said it believed the party will continue to discriminate against potential or actual members on racial grounds.

"The BNP's membership criteria appear to restrict membership to those within what the BNP regards as particular "ethnic groups" and those whose skin colour is white. This exclusion is contrary to the Race Relations Act.

"The Commission believes the BNP's constitution and membership criteria are discriminatory and, further, that the continued publication of them on the BNP website is unlawful. It has therefore issued county court proceedings against party leader Nick Griffin and two other officials," said the Commission in a statement.

John Wadham, legal director at the Equality and Human Rights Commission said: "The BNP has said that it is not willing to amend its membership criteria which we believe are discriminatory and unlawful.

"The Commission has a statutory duty to use our regulatory powers to enforce compliance with the law, so we have today issued county court proceedings against the BNP. However, the party still has an opportunity to resolve this quickly by giving the undertaking on its membership criteria that the Commission requires."

Southport Visitor

BNP faces court case over membership rules

Equality and Human Rights Commission believes far right party discriminates against 'potential or actual members on racial grounds'

The British National party is being taken to court over claims its membership criteria breach human rights law.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission said it had issued county court proceedings against the party leader, Nick Griffin, and two other officials today over the BNP's membership rules. The party's constitution limits members to people who are "'indigenous Caucasian' and defined 'ethnic groups' emanating from that race".

The commission first wrote to the BNP in June stating that it believed the party is in breach of the Race Relations Act. The far right organisation responded by saying it intended to clarify the word "white" on its website.

However, the commission said today that it believes the BNP is still discriminating against "potential or actual members on racial grounds".

"The BNP has said that it is not willing to amend its membership criteria which we believe are discriminatory and unlawful," said John Wadham the commission's group director. The commission has a statutory duty to use our regulatory powers to enforce compliance with the law so we have today issued county court proceedings against the BNP."

Wadham said the BNP could still avoid court action if it moved quickly to change its membership rules.

However, a spokesman for the party said it intended to fight the move, claiming the action was politically motivated.

"It is strange that this is happening now when these rules have been in place for a long time," said the BNP's deputy leader, Simon Darby. "And we certainly resent the fact that some unelected body which is 70% ethnic can accuse us of racism."

The commission said it had decided not to take action on two other grounds set out in its original letter to the BNP after the party agreed to comply with the law.

Guardian

BNP and EHRC in acronym-wrestling competition

So, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has suddenly become very active on on the great picnic blanket that is the British constitution - and, yes, I do use the term advisedly - by rather hilariously asking the British National Party (BNP) to comply with equality laws or face an application for a legal injunction that would force it to.

I phone the EHRC determined to discover whether the BNP has inadvertently - some might say ironically - fallen victim to some piece of European legislation or other, following its recent success in the European parliamentary elections?

“No, it’s all British law as far as I’m aware,” a charming woman called Krista from the press office tells me. So far, so “Indigenously Caucasian” as the BNP’s constitution would have it. I’m not exactly sure who was involved in creating the 1976 Race Relations Act, on which the EHRC is relying, but my colleague Philip Johnston tells me that it was very likely to have been drafted entirely by a bunch of white people in the government and civil service of the time. So, with any luck, no problem there for Mr Griffin and his cohorts.

The question arises, then, where exactly does the EHRC’s problem lie and what kind of teeth would this injunction have? “It’s the BNP’s constitution,” Krista tells me, drawing my attention to section two on page four, which refers to membership and, interestingly, eleven alleged racial groupings from which it would specifically welcome members. I note that there are plenty of Celts in there, remember being told once that the Irish language had more in common with Sanskrit than anything else, then also remember that I received this information in a pub and file it mentally under “to do”.

“You have to be a member of the BNP to be an employee of the party and membership is restricted to these ethnic groups,” Krista explains. “We think that’s illegal.” A vague memory also wafts back at this point that there is no scientific way of distinguishing the DNA of one ethnic group from any other and I wonder how the BNP would ultimately support its “ethnicity” rules in court.

But even if its constitution is changed, I ask Krista, what’s to stop the BNP doing what everybody else does - employing whomsoever they want and then claiming that they were the best person for the job when challenged? And anyway, what kind of a black or Asian person would want to go and work for the BNP? There was a pause. “Yes, that’s a good point,” Krista admits.

“Something else that has been raised is that it’s possible that the BNP would claim that it is exempt from this legislation because it’s an association and section 26 of the act exempts associations. But we’ve already taken legal advice on this and have been told that a political party cannot qualify as an association, since instead of acting on behalf of its members, a political party is supposed to act on behalf of the community at large.”

The spectre of a million claims that the BNP turned anti-fascists down for jobs heaves into view and I’m reminded at this point of what happened to the Daily Mail’s poll about gipsies last week.

Still, it should be a go-er.

Telegraph