Nick Griffin's mother-in-law says the BNP leader is a 'racist'

Mrs Cook, 72, is the mother of Griffin’s wife Jackie. She has described her son-in-law as a “work-shy pretender” who put his politics ahead of his family. She said: “Nick is still a racist. He still holds those views – always has. He wants to see an all-white Britain, but that will never happen... he’s living in the Dark Ages."

Jackie Griffin, 46, met her husband in the late 1970s whilst he was a Cambridge student. Mrs Cook said that her daughter claimed Griffin would turn his back on the far right, but when they married in 1985 he remained active and she became the main breadwinner.

“She did everything – brought money into the house and raised the children. Nick played at his silly politics but never really contributed financially,” she told the Sunday Mirror.

Mrs Cook, who lives near Chester, added: “He pretends to be a man of the people, but the truth is he hasn’t done an honest day's work in his life. My daughter is a nurse and has always had a full-time job. She was working 12-hour shifts even when their children were babies.

Griffin lives with his wife and four children in a remote farmhouse outside Welshpool in Powys.

Mrs Cook, a widow, said her son-in-law had toned down his views in recent years. She said: “Nick’s not half as bad as he used to be, but he still believes black people and Muslims have no place in this country. He’s been forced to change his views now he’s in [the EU] Parliament, but whether that’s out of want or necessity ... you decide.”

Telegraph

Caption Competition: Idiots at the EU

Yes, it's that time again. We're entering the dog days of summer, our MPs are hiding themselves away from a critical public, bankers are laughing themselves stupid at us and the BNP is doing absolutely nothing at all - though that's not that unusual.

This time we have a picture of the biggest BNP bozos - MEPs Andrew Brons and Porky Griffin. Unleash your (not too offensive and definitely not libellous) captions...

BNP has no practical policies

Letter to Bourne Local

Chris Robinson claims that the BNP has the support of nine per cent of voters, but that they "are neither racists or seeking the Third Reich".

However, the BNP has no sensible, practical policies: it has no experience in government and has no leaders with any brains capable of formulating policy. Wishful thinking is all very well, but it does not cut the mustard.

The judiciary spend all day in court listening to evidence, rather than reading reports in tabloid newspapers. A majority of UK people support membership of the EU (two thirds of a 60+ per cent turnout in 1975).

Immigration is a major feature of mankind: it has been going on for 400 years (Mayflower set sail in 1620). It is a worldwide issue which this country cannot fix on its own, hence a need for multi-national agencies.

The BNP thinks that being beastly to foreigners is all it takes, but people like me are glad of all the medals that our ethnically-diverse sports-people win.

EU labour law makes it possible for UK nationals to work all over Europe. The only law valid in this country is that which has been enacted by the UK Parliament.

The European court system is nothing to do with the EU: it is bound by treaties that all European nations have signed (including non-EU members). The BNP cannot organise and manage its own debts, let alone the nation's.

Many people see Nick Griffin and his band of goons as similar to the racist, anti-intellectual bully-boys who helped to form the Nazi Party in Weimar Germany.

Despite attempting to portray himself as a cuddly, user-friendly man of the people, Mr Griffin still has a big credibility problem. The BNP believes in divide-and-rule: most civilised folks prefer a life fully open for anyone to progress as far as their talent allows.

The only real lesson to be drawn from the recent election is that the major parties are now fully aware of the drawbacks of proportional representation: the fruitcakes can only get elected under PR.

Wilders strikes first blow for European extremists

Fears that low turnout and gains by far right will be repeated across the EU

The first killer punch of the European election campaign was struck yesterday by the maverick Dutch politician, Geert Wilders, who scooped 17 per cent of the vote and almost a fifth of his country's seats in the European Parliament running on a populist, anti-immigrant, law and order agenda.

The Dutch result, released two days early – before most Europeans had even cast their votes – sent jitters around a continent fearful that a miserably low turnout will help extremists on both the left and right.

Mr Wilders, refused access to Britain as a rabble-rouser earlier this year, has perfected a form of tolerant intolerance with his Freedom Party and its smartly-suited, middle-class, anti-Islamic and "pro-liberal" values. While the Christian Democrats of Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende managed to keep hold of the largest share of the votes (albeit with the loss of two seats and a mere three-point lead), the Freedom Party romped home in second.

The platinum-blond maverick shot to international prominence for branding the Koran a "fascist book" and releasing a film, Fitna, which depicted Islam as inherently violent. "This is fantastic, a great day for the people who crave another Netherlands, another Europe," declared a triumphant Mr Wilders who won four of the 25 seats up fro grabs. Having beaten the Labour party, the other main bloc in the Prime Minister's coalition, into third place, he claimed the government no longer had a mandate. "The cabinet should step down, the sooner the better," he told Dutch television, although analysts said that was wishful thinking.

In another worrying sign from this founding EU member, turnout in the Netherlands was reported to be down to 36.5 per cent for Thursday's poll, three points lower than the 2004 elections. With that in mind and with the majority of the 27 member states still to vote this weekend, European leaders urged people to the polls. "Everyone must understand that Europe is very important to daily lives," the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, pleaded.

At European Commission headquarters in Brussels there was anger that the Dutch, in clear breach of the rules, released their results before most of the continent was able to vote. It did "not comply with the spirit" of the EU vote, said spokesman Amadeo Altafaj Tardio. But the low turnout and the resurgence of extreme parties are expected to be familiar themes when the official results start coming in from the rest of the continent tomorrow night.

With the exception of Britain, Ireland and Spain – where those in power are expected to get particularly bloody noses – most ruling parties can expect to follow the Dutch pattern, seeing their support siphoned off by the extreme flanks but managing to eke out a limp endorsement from the electorate.

Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany, President Sarkozy in France and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Italy will escape the battering which seems certain for Gordon Brown and the Irish PM, Brian Cowen.

Europe-wide trends towards the left and right, pro or anti-Europe, will be difficult to discern. Most national campaigns, in so far as they have stirred popular or media interest at all, have been fought on national themes. Even the low turnout has no Europe-wide explanation. In some countries, such as Poland, it reflects a vague contentment with the EU; in other countries, such as Greece or the Netherlands, there's growing disenchantment.

Here is the great European paradox. European voters complain that the EU is too distant and too abstract; the more power their elected representatives in Brussels and Strasbourg are given, the more the voters shun the European elections. In 1979, turnout was nearly 62 per cent. In 2004, it was 45 per cent. Yet the European Parliament has acquired considerable new powers to amend European legislation. The newly elected assembly will – unless Irish voters reject the Lisbon Treaty again – become virtual co-legislators with governments across the spectrum of EU policy and law-making.

Country by country: How battle shapes up

• Germany: Like Gordon Brown, Chancellor Angela Merkel has campaigned as a "safe pair of hands" for hard times – only she has succeeded. Interest in the election has been low, but Ms Merkel's coalition is forecast to win up to 39 per cent of the vote, despite severe recession and a German habit of turning left, or to extremes, in times of difficulty.
• France: President Nicolas Sarkozy's centre-right UMP will top the poll with about 25 per cent, after stressing law-and-order issues and opposition to Turkish membership. However, the widely forecast meltdown of the divided main opposition party, the Socialists, has failed to materialise. The great winner may be Daniel Cohn Bendit, the student leader in the May protests of 1968, whose ecological, pro-European list may sneak into third place.
• Italy: Despite revelations about his friendship with a teenage girl, and a very public "no" vote from his wife, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will probably top the poll. The centre-left Democrats, founded only two years ago, have failed to impress, even with the recession.
• Poland: The centre-right party of the Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, (Civic Platform) is expected to take over 40 per cent. The Eurosceptic Law and Justice party of the President, Lech Kaczynski, and his twin-brother Jaroslaw, the ex-prime minister, is forecast to score only 30 per cent. The great paradox will be the turnout. More than 80 per cent of Poles say they are content with EU membership; less than 20 per cent may bother to vote to prove it.

Independent

Turkey urges police action on BNP flyers

The country's government is considering referring the party to the police over racist promotional material

The Turkish government has demanded the withdrawal of election leaflets distributed in Scotland by the British National party, claiming they are intended to incite racial and religious hatred.

Flyers promoting the BNP’s European election campaign suggest that millions of Turkish Muslims would flood into Britain if the country were to be granted full EU membership. One BNP leaflet being handed out on the streets of Glasgow said taxpayers’ money “shouldn’t be wasted on expanding Europe so that millions of Muslims in Turkey can join the invasion of foreign job snatchers”.

Another urges voters to “oppose the dangerous drive backed by the other main parties to give 80m low-wage Muslim Turks the right to swamp Britain”.

Officials at the Turkish embassy in London have complained to the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and have suggested the matter be referred to the police because the leaflets potentially breach race relations legislation.

“It is obvious that these are racist and highly inflammatory statements which insult both Turkey and the Turkish nation as a whole and put hundreds of thousands of Turks and Turkish Cypriots who live and have been born in Britain at risk of racist abuse and attacks,” said Orhan Tung, a spokesman for the embassy.

“I think the leaflets are a clear breach of both the Race Relations Act and the Racial and Religious [Hatred] Act, which makes it an offence to distribute written material with the intent to stir up religious or racial hatred. We believe that the relevant British authorities such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission should consider taking legal action against the party in question.”
The Equality and Human Rights Commission also criticised the material and warned that Scotland needed immigration to counter the effects of an ageing declining population. A spokeswoman said: “Because immigration to Scotland is necessary and because we want to build the population to meet the challenges of the future, we want to work against the tension and unease rather than ignite it as the BNP seems to be doing.”

A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it is examining the complaint and that the government is “firmly committed to the elimination of all forms of racism and intolerance”.

John Walker, a spokesman for the BNP, denied its literature was racist. “We oppose the creeping Islamification of Europe and our country which we see as a threat. If the Turkish embassy doesn’t like it, that’s tough — our duty is to look after Britain’s interests.”

Nick Griffin, the leader of the BNP, launched his party’s European election campaign earlier this month, setting out its opposition to Turkey joining the EU and putting British jobs at risk. He claims the party could win up to seven seats in next month’s European elections. Mainstream parties fear that it may win at least one seat, including in northwest England where Griffin is standing.

Times Online

BNP Euro election leaflet amended

Click on image to see it full-size

After being caught out this week the BNP have seemingly issued an amended Euro election leaflet. The new leaflet still has the same images but the text is a lot more accurate and clearer for the British public to understand.

Thanks to Tideswellman for the link. :-)

MPs’ expenses: BNP would be worse

The BNP is hoping to trade on voters’ disillusionment with politicians following the MPs’ expenses debacle. Nick Griffin highlighted the issue at the official launch of his party’s European election campaign, claiming that everyone except the BNP had “their snouts in the same trough”.

Yet the main reason Griffin, a former bankrupt, is so desperate to gain election to the European Parliament is to get his hands on the generous salary and expenses package paid out MEPs and even a share of official group funding if the BNP can join up with enough fascist MEPs from enough countries. The BNP has no interest in participating in forming European laws – the party objects to the European Parliament’s existence. It’s the money the BNP is after.

And the BNP has no compunction in sponging off public money. Many BNP councillors draw their full allowances but hardly attend any council meetings or do any work. One BNP councillor in Sandwell attended no meetings at all for six months, which got him booted off the council, but he still took his allowance.

Under Griffin’s leadership the BNP has blatantly avoided paying income tax and national insurance contributions by pretending that several of its staff were self-employed. And the party’s latest accounts, for 2007, failed their audit because several thousands of pounds of expenditure was not properly recorded.

Voters are rightly outraged by an expenses arrangement that allowed some MPs to exploit countless loopholes and profit from taxpayers’ money. But the BNP would be far worse, as shown by the party’s long history of financial irregularities, outlined in a Searchlight report presented to the House of Commons in December 2007.

Hope not hate

Church election pack highlights BNP threat

UK Churches have issued an election pack, highlighting the threat of the BNP and urging community mobilisation to combat extremist parties ahead of the European Elections. It comes after adverts were produced by the BNP featuring Jesus Christ, and ongoing efforts by the racist party over the last few years to mobilise support around ‘defending Christian Britain.’

The thinktank Ekklesia has been amongst those who have warned that rhetoric from church leaders about ‘Christian Britain’ has played into the party’s hands, feeding a sense of religious nationalism amongst those who associate ‘Britishness’ with Christianity.

An analysis of the BNP membership list by the thinktank Ekklesia revealed that some who attended Bible studies, ran Christian bookshops and were active in churches were cited as members.

The European elections take place on 4 June 2009 every. There will also be some English County Council elections.

A briefing from the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church highlights the ‘importance of citizenship’ and urges Christians to vote. A new toolkit has also been produced by the three churches specifically ‘to help equip and affirm local church leaders to take action to counter far-right and racist politics’.

Methodist President Revd Stephen Poxon said: “Voting isn’t just a right - it is a privilege that carries great responsibility. A high turnout at the ballot box is good for democracy and society and will make it harder for extremist parties to succeed.

“The European Union directly influences many aspects of our lives,” added Revd John Marsh, Moderator of the General Assembly of the United Reformed Church. “The European Parliament is the only EU body elected by its citizens, and it is a powerful and important legislature for all 27 member countries.”

Revd Jonathan Edwards, General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, said, “The toolkit for local church leaders is designed to help equip ministers and lay people alike with ideas and information about what they can do to counter racist politics. The appropriation of Christian language and imagery by the BNP is deeply offensive – we need churches across Britain to live out a faith that is open and inclusive, rooted in a commitment to love our neighbours as we love ourselves.”

The briefing and toolkit are available online at www.jointpublicissues.org.uk/jpitpolitics

Ekklesia

Don't play BNP's game, warns peer

Government told it must defend foreign workers

Politicians must start defending foreign workers to prevent extremist parties gaining sway during the recession, Britain's new European commissioner says today, in what will be seen as a veiled warning to the British government not to whip up nationalist sentiment.

Lady Ashton, who was until last autumn leader of the Lords under Gordon Brown, acknowledged in an interview with the Observer that there was a risk of significant advances in this spring's European elections for extremists in the present economic climate. She said mainstream politicians must be careful not to fan the flames: "In any kind of economic downturn, it is incumbent on us all to be putting across exactly the same message about the value and importance of having... diversity in communities; about the value and benefit of people from different countries coming and creating wealth.

"There are reasons we have to support that and not to get trapped into what the extremists would like, which would be to take their simplistic approach and fit it into a very complicated situation. So I hope that people will just reject as nonsense the idea that the solution lies in some kind of xenophobic attitude to people who live, work, study or travel in our country, because they bring the economy far more than they take out. The extremists have always relied on economic downturns ... as a way of recruiting people to what can be seen as a simple message, but actually is just hatred."

Her intervention comes amid warnings that the British National party could snatch a seat in the European parliament in June's elections, when Labour MEPs are privately predicting losses of up to three or four seats as voters respond angrily to job losses. The BNP took a council seat in Swanley, Kent, last week from Labour in a shock victory, suggesting it has begun to penetrate the southern English counties. It could profit in June both from a collapsing Labour vote in working-class areas hit by unemployment and the implosion of the hard-right Ukip, which took 16% of the vote at the last EU election.

Brown has been accused of fanning tensions by talking of "British jobs for British workers", a slogan promptly adopted by the BNP, despite the UK's obligation as an EU member to allow EU citizens free access to Britain to work.

The home secretary is expected to announce next week a reduction in permits for non-EU citizens to work in the UK. Brown's approach has caused private distaste in Brussels, but Ashton insisted it had been taken out of context and her former boss had been misunderstood. But in a warning to leaders tempted to pull up the drawbridge in a bid to protect jobs, she said Britain had traditionally benefited from bringing in workers to fill skill shortages, from Caribbean immigrants in the 1950s to Polish plumbers in the last decade.

Governing parties across Europe are braced for a backlash in June because of the economic crisis, and Labour MPs are concerned that in the UK the campaign for the local and European elections - being overseen by Harriet Harman, the deputy leader - needs a tougher strategy to combat attempts by the BNP to capitalise on the new nationalistic sentiment.

Yesterday the former cabinet minister Peter Hain warned that rising unemployment was a "heaven-made" scenario for extremists.

Observer

Far-right group destroyed by insult

Far-right politicians in the European Parliament will lose tens of thousands of euros to promote their ideas because their political group collapsed when five Romanian MEPs quit. The Identity, Sovereignty and Tradition group disbanded after ten months because the number of its members had fallen under 20, the minimum needed to form a political group, the EU legislature said.

The ITS included Jean-Marie Le Pen of France and Alessandra Mussolini, the granddaughter of the Italian wartime Fascist dictator. The seeds of the group’s collapse were sown last week when she insulted the Romanian people, a Romanian ITS member said.

The Greater Romania Party (PRM) said that her insults came in comments about the expulsion of dozens of Romanians from Italy after a Romanian Gypsy was arrested last week over the murder of the wife of an Italian naval officer. Ms Mussolini was reported to have said: “Breaking the law has become a way of life for Romanians.” The demise of the grouping was welcomed by EU mainstream parties.

Times Online