Has BNP rewritten its constitution?

Joan Walters, 'BNP the most open political party now', Points of view, December 4, wonders why I don't agree with "sensible BNP policies on limiting immigration and preserving our homeland for future generations of OUR people" (her capitals).

If the policies are now "sensible", do I take it that the party has re-written its constitution since the last General Election? Is it then no longer "committed to stemming and reversing the tide of non-white immigration" and to repatriating non-whites in order to restore "the overwhelmingly white make-up of the British population that existed in Britain prior to 1948"? While some in the BNP accept that the latter is probably not achievable, it still appears to be an aspiration.

Joan Walters evidently has a very different conception to mine of who "OUR" people are. In my mind, these include not only several British friends who are of Asian, African or Afro- Caribbean descent, but also the very large number of public figures of a wide range of ethnicities who most of us consider to be part of the grain of our society.

If the BNP's aspirations were fully realised, we would be saying goodbye to people like Kelly Holmes, Lenny Henry, George Alagaia, Moira Stuart, Sir Trevor McDonald etc, etc, and to a whole host of sportsmen and women, musicians and actors who enrich our lives.

It is perfectly legitimate for any party to have a policy of limiting immigration. But to discriminate on the grounds of race — on immigration or any other policy — is an insult to the millions of ethnic minority Britons who contribute greatly to our economy and culture, and to the many who have fought in our armed forces. And also to the rest of us who are proud to be part of a tolerant and diverse society.

The party has invoked the Human Rights Act in trying to limit publication of its membership list. Leigh Barnes, national legal unit co-ordinator, has even declared the Act to be his "legacy" because his relatives fought in the Second World War.

This is, of course, the same Human Rights Act described on the BNP website a couple of weeks earlier as "one of the most pernicious pieces of legislation ever passed by the mother of Parliaments" that would be "repealed during the first term of a British Nationalist Government".

Does anyone else detect a strong whiff of hypocrisy here?

Francis Kirkham
Email to Express and Echo

BNP Threatens Free Media

Indymedia is yet again facing legal threats to prevent the free flow of communication, this time from a political movement known for its hostility to free speech. On the 21st November 08 Indymedia UK received an email from someone claiming to be a legal representative for the British National Party, threatening to take legal action on a number of counts for publishing information on BNP members.

After the hilarity of the “little Fuhrer”, Nick Griffin, running to the safety of the Human Rights Act to try to prevent the publication of members’ details, Britain’s fascist party has resorted to threats.

The letter sent to Indymedia by Lee John Barnes LLB (hons), from the “BNP Legal Affairs Unit”, threatens to take legal action, on the basis of theft, data protection and contempt of court, unless the list of members is removed.

The “lawyer” also attempts to shoehorn his charges into the form of anti-terrorism legislation, “The use of this information we feel is being hosted on your site for use only to incite acts of harassment, incite violence and direct targeted attacks against our members in the Leeds area”. He then goes on to explain the sections of the Terrorism Act under which Indymedia would be charged.

Indymedia rejects any accusation that the information could be used to incite violence and has strived to remove any comments that may be seen as incitement. One volunteer explains that there are many legitimate uses for the information, “for individuals to be able to check that their doctor, teacher, nurse etc. isn't a member of the BNP, for example”.

Indeed, Merseyside Police has already used the information in such a way to dismiss an officer, PC Steve Bettley, who has been exposed as a member. A spokesperson for the police said: “Chief Constable Bernard Hogan-Howe has reiterated our position that membership of the British National Party is totally incompatible with the duties and values of Merseyside Police”.

Most incredibly Mr Barnes then explains, “I will also be issuing a request to our internal investigations team to initiate actions to collect your home addresses, contact details and financial details relating to you personally as persons running or hosting the Indymedia website”. Internal Investigations? Once the BNP has this information, it “will be used to initiate legal actions upon yourselves, to initiate financial sanctions against your company and also will be publicised on various websites so that people may contact you and address any legal issues they may have”. Pot, kettle, black?

Indymedia’s legal volunteers have been somewhat baffled by Mr Barnes’s email. One volunteer explains, "the BNP has been terrified by the fact that its members are being outed. You might expect these mouthy nationalists to wear their membership with pride, but this email exposes the BNP yet again as a bunch of cowardly thugs, utterly incoherent and amateurish."

Indeed, it seems to Indymedia that the BNP’s “Legal Affairs Unit” is about as impressive on law as its Policy Unit is on policy. Mr Barnes – now Director of the unit – proudly displays his incompetence in noting that the list of ALL members in the country leaves room for concern only for “our members in the Leeds area”.

The references to the Terrorism Act were described by Indymedia Legal as “plain stoooopid”, and it is doubtful that any qualified legal practitioner would make such claims. The threat may have joined the growing list of worrying misapplications of the Terrorism Act had it not been so laughable.

Mr Barnes’s threat to post personal information about Indymedia participants may in itself be illegal – it certainly would cause a registered legal practitioner to lose his credentials. Perhaps then, it comes as no surprise that the Law Society confirms that Barnes is NOT a qualified lawyer at all.

In fact, Mr Lee John Barnes LLB (hons) is an incoherent, buffoonish windbag who could well be charged with incitement himself.

Believe it or not, Mr Barnes lists his favourite music as Morrisey, Sinatra, Manic Street Preachers, Public Enemy and the Sex Pistols! But then fascists have always tended to like self-flagellation (for those of you unfamiliar, the bands range from the left to the far left).

http://www.blogger.com/profile/16093052197059748663

If that weren’t enough, Mr Barnes’s mysticism should impress. In Mr Barnes’s fantasy world, he hails from “The Barnes Clan”, which “are of the Bjeorn bloodline - Bjorn meaning bear was changed to Barnes - and this is the surname of those that were once the Berserkers - the bodyguards of Norse kings and the fiercest men in battle”. Yes, indeed.

http://leejohnbarnes.blogspot.com/

Such is Mr Barnes’s buffoonery, there are now whole web sites dedicated to “all things that are John Lee Barnes LLB (hons)” and to particular instances of his many gaffes.

More sinister material can be found elsewhere. Particularly disturbing is Barnes’s claim that, “This is not a game we are playing, this is a war and in times of war unquestionable obedience and loyalty to the commander in the field must come first, The 'First Law Of Nationalism' is - If you work with the enemy, then you are the enemy.”

http://www.joechapman.org/thebnp/bnphistory.htm

http://leejohnbarnes.blogspot.com/

http://lancasteruaf.blogspot.com/2008/05/lee-barnes-lays-down-law-to-challengers.html

See also

http://ambientroutmask.livejournal.com/39557.html

imc uk legal

BNP's former top Scot denies list leak

A former Scottish secretary of the BNP has denied he is responsible for leaking the membership list which has triggered calls for some members to be sacked from their public sector jobs.

Kenny Smith, who lives in Falkirk, last night said: "There is absolutely no purpose for me in publishing a membership list. I spent my life protecting that information. I value the BNP members and I would never do such a thing. I haven't got the faintest idea who did do it, I honestly don't. I think whoever did it is despicable."

Mr Smith, who was expelled along with several other prominent members of the party last December, said he had been ousted for exposing incompetence and unprofessionalism within the party.

Publication of the 12,000-strong list – which includes around 450 Scots – yesterday led to the departure of Rod Lucas, a TalkSport radio DJ, and an investigation into alleged BNP links of a police constable in Liverpool. In Scotland, the BNP counts a doctor, ex-servicemen, a retired chief inspector and a driving instructor who offers discounts to fellow party members among its supporters.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown's own constituency, Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, has a smattering of activists, while numbers are stronger in Glasgow. Two members of the Black Watch are also named on the year-old list.

The leak will worry those whose names are on the list, regardless of whether they work in the public sector or not. While it is legal to be a supporter of the party, its views ignite strong passions and private firms may be embarrassed to find their staff named as supporters of the party. There were reports that members had received abusive phone calls after the list found its way on to the internet.

The NASUWT teaching union said no member of the BNP should be left in charge of a classroom. Chris Keates, the union's general secretary, said: "I believe that the release of this list is nothing more than a cynical attempt by the BNP to present themselves as victims and to gain publicity for their vile agenda."

A ban is already in place on BNP members joining the police force or prison service, for fear of harming race relations. But Downing Street last night refused to be drawn on the position of public sector workers who had also been revealed as BNP members.

"This is really a matter for the relevant public sector professions. In relation to the police, membership of the BNP is prohibited," the Prime Minister's spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the party said the human rights of its activists had been breached. Nick Griffin, the BNP leader, said dissident former party executives suspected of leaking the organisation's membership risked going to prison. However, the National Union of Journalists accused the BNP of "staggering hypocrisy" over claims that the publication of the list of its members had breached their privacy. Jeremy Dear, the general secretary, said the BNP failed to condemn other websites which sought to intimidate journalists who exposed racist views of BNP members.

"We have never heard a single condemnation of this gross breach of privacy or unlawful harassment and intimidation from Nick Griffin or the BNP," he added.

Scotsman