BNP attacks 'morals' of gay MP

A BNP leader has publicly criticised a Sussex MP for being homosexual and has called for kissing between men in public to be outlawed

A BNP leader has publicly criticised a Sussex MP for being homosexual and has called for kissing between men in public to be outlawed. Nick Prince, the leader of the BNP in East Sussex who is standing for parliament in Hastings, launched the verbal attack on Greg Barker, the Conservative MP for Bexhill. Barker last year made headlines when he left his wife and children to enter a gay relationship.

Speaking to local paper the Bexhill Observer, Prince criticised both gay adoption and same-sex public displays of affection such as kissing. He then turned on Mr Barker, saying:

“In the case of Greg Barker, it is a question of morals and honesty. He went to the electorate a married man with a nice young family but now he goes to the electorate five years later a homosexual man. I don’t believe it to be homophobic to raise this issue when we are talking about a guy in his early forties – it is a little late in life to be confused.”

Mr Barker, who has a majority of more than 13,000, responded by saying that the BNP was ‘beyond the pale’ but that he didn’t intend to enter a debate of that nature. The BNP are planning to field a local candidate in his constituency.

Prince's comments come after BNP leader Nick Griffin told an interviewer recently that his party had become more gay friendly.

Pink Paper

BNP barred from election debate

The British National Party has sensationally been barred from attending an election debate this evening

A row had broken out locally after Hastings MP Michael Foster refused to share the stage with his BNP rival Nick Prince at the hustings at the Crown House, Marina, St Leonards. This led to Tory hopeful Amber Rudd and Lib Dem candidate Nick Perry also pulling out of the event. This would have left just representatives of the BNP, United Kingdon Independence Party and the English Democrats.

However, the organiser of the event confirmed to the Observer this afternoon that the BNP candidate had had his invitation taken away. Brett McLean arranged the debate in his role as head of the local Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and described Mr Foster's stance as "a nail in the coffin for democracy".

However, he has been left facing an embarrassing climb-down after the national heads of the FSB ordered him to exclude the far-right party. He explained to the Observer: "I was told that the FSB wants nothing at all to do with the British National Party."

The Observer was unable to contact Mr Foster to ask whether he would now reconsider appearing. However, the MP had previously said he would turn up to the hustings - which gets underway at 6pm - and leave if the BNP were present.

Anti-fascists have also planned a series of demonstrations outside the venue and everyone going in will have to agree to be searched.

Bexhill Observer

Hastings MP says no to BNP debate

Voters will not get the chance to see a debate between all the election candidates after the Hastings MP refused to share a platform with the BNP

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) invited MP Michael Foster, Tory hopeful Amber Rudd, Lib Dem candidate Nick Perry, UKIP's Tony Smith, Rod Bridges, of the English Democrats, and local BNP leader Nick Prince to its hustings on March 25. The Unite Against Facism (UAF) group lobbied the candidates to pull out and still plans to protest at the event.

Following a meeting with the local Labour Party, Mr Foster has decided to pull out if the BNP attends. He said: "I have never shared a platform with the BNP and I do not intend to do so. Of course in a democratic society they have a right to express their opinions, as long as they are lawful, but equally I have a right not to sup with them.

"The purpose of debate is to challenge each other's views but there is no meeting of minds here and so debate becomes impossible. As we saw on Question Time it becomes all about the BNP and immigration which is not the issue which concerns most people most of the time."

Following his decision, the candidates of the other two main parties also pulled out. Amber Rudd said: "I respect Michael's decision and understand his reasons but I do not agree with it. I maintain it is a perfectly acceptable element of democracy to debate with people who have different views and I think we should challenge them. But I also want to challenge the MP and if he's not attending neither will I."

And Nick Perry said: "I believe that this is the wrong decision by Michael and the Labour Party, and will play into the BNP's hands on the doorstep. There is absolutely no point in having the event when the local MP will not be present, and it will not be possible to hold him and his party to account for the many and various mistakes that the Labour Government has made over the past 13 years."

Nick Prince, of the BNP, said: "I am bitterly disappointed not just for the BNP but also for the voters of this town who will not hear the main parties defend their records. What UAF is doing is undemocratic – we are a perfectly legal political party."

Brett Mclean, who is hosting the debate, said: "It is a great shame and a nail in the coffin for democracy. The FSB is a non-political organisation and so is duty-bound to invite all the parties."

Mr Mclean said the debate at The Crown House in St Leonards would go ahead, and UKIP and The English Democrats said they would attend. The Labour Party will be holding a Harmonious Hastings event on the same evening to discuss how to deal with the BNP threat and promote equality.

Today candidates from the three main parties will be debating at Sussex Coast College at 2pm. The FSB hustings was the only scheduled head-to-head between all six candidates.

Hastings Observer

BNP use memorial of racism victim to promote party

Foreign language student Mohammed Al-Majed, 16, died just two days after being attacked by racist drunken youths in Hastings, East Sussex, on August 22. A group of baying brutes attacked Mohammed in a racist frenzy as he left Kebab Hut & Pizza USA Fried in Claremont, Hastings, with fellow students at a language school. He was called “Saddam Hussein” and “Osama Bin Laden” during the shocking attack.

The Qatari teen suffered from severe head injuries, as a result of falling and knocking his head on the pavement. But it was the attendance of the far-right party British National Party (BNP) at a memorial held for the murdered student that angered many.

Al-Majed’s family, friends, hundreds of shoppers, locals and political leaders alike gathered outside the Town Hall to observe a two-minute silence in memory of the lost student. They were joined by a BNP member sent to voice his views.

Chris Barnett, a BNP activist took photographs of the mourners, laid flowers and prayed. He also spoke to mourners about how the Government was to blame for the incident, not the attackers. At this point, Barnett took the liberty of informing a journalist that Al-Majed had been escorted to hospital via a taxi, not an ambulance, a claim utterly refuted by local health authorities.

Fellow campaigner, Nick Prince, used the sombre occasion to publicise the BNP’s credentials stating that if his right wing-party was in charge, the assailants would be given the death penalty, and strict curfews would be imposed on students visiting the town.

He further said, “We did send a representative to the two minutes silence…and on behalf of all of the members and supporters of the British National Party in Hastings and Rother, I wish to send our deepest sympathy to the family of Mohammad Al-Majed. We will continue to increase our presence in Hastings.”

Gerry Gable, publisher of anti-fascist magazine Searchlight told The Muslim News, “This is the latest piece of hypocrisy from a political party that abuses and maligns people of the Muslim faith day in day out.”

Owner of the takeaway where the trouble began, Remzi Tanriverdi, said jealousy was one motivation behind the attacks. “They are layabouts and are jealous of the money that these Arab kids have. The foreign students are polite people. They are shocked by what they find in England. Many from the Middle East do not have a drinking culture and they are not used to this violence. Now there must be a big question mark over the future of Hastings as a place to come and study,” he said.

Peter Henworth, a Nigerian student described the horrific events in details. “The white gang walked out of the kebab house and came up to me and Mohammed and said, ‘What’s your problem.’ We tried to move away, we didn’t want any grief. They were swearing and aggressive.”

As the youths began to push them backwards, Al-Majed and Henworth turned and ran. Al-Majed made his way towards a pub 50 yards away whilst Henworth raced over the road to the promenade. The gang chose to follow Al-Majed...

According to Henworth, “I kept on running and then, from the promenade, watched what was happening to Mohammed over on the other side of the road. The gang caught up with him and he fell to the ground. They kicked him again and again until he stopped moving altogether. I crossed over from the promenade and went back to the kebab house. When I got there the gang arrived leaving Mohammed where he was along the road. They went up to one of his friends; a 15-year-old boy from Saudi Arabia called Mojeb, and hit him over the head with a glass. He needed six stitches.”

Al-Majed was admitted to the local Conquest Hospital for his head injuries at 1am, on August 23.

By the time it became apparent that the teenager required treatment in a neurological hospital; there were no beds available at the local specialist unit. It took a total of 15 hours for Al-Majed to receive the proper, specialist treatment he required. His father, Abdullah, criticised the NHS for taking too long to find the teenager a bed. Mohammed Al-Majed died just 24 hours after being admitted to Kings College Hospital; however it is unclear whether more efficient treatment would’ve saved his life.

Speaking to The Times, Ahmed Othman, 16, Al-Majed’s friend and eye-witness said, “I won’t come back here again. Students don’t want to return to this area, especially Hastings. Here we have fights and we go home scared.”

Councillor Peter Pragnell tried to dispel accusations that Hastings is becoming lawless. He told The Muslim News, “Despite the mass hysteria, knee jerk reactions and downright inaccurate reporting from some sections of the media might suggest, we are not a violent town.”

However police confirmed that three other Arab students had been attacked in Hastings a fortnight before the attacks and Mohammed’s friend Sultan Al-Dossary, 15, said other foreign students studying at Hastings’ language schools had been abused in the street and were now too frightened to go out. In fact police stats revealed that over the past three years, there have been 41 attacks on foreign students.

In response to accusations that the police were not efficient enough, DCI Graham Pitt told The Muslim News, “When Mohammed fell to the ground, officers immediately offered assistance and placed him in a police van awaiting an ambulance, which took a matter of minutes to arrive. He was then taken to the Conquest Hospital.”

Three men, aged 17, 18 and 20, have been arrested and released on bail following the attack.

Muslim News

BNP send representative to Mohammed memorial march

The British National Party (BNP) sent a representative to the two minutes silence in memory of Mohammed Al-Majed - and vowed to keep fighting in Hastings. Chris Barnett, a BNP activist from nearby Eastbourne, stood yards from Mohammed's grieving family as they laid flowers at the spot where he [died] on Sunday August 24.

As the family, many of whom were in tears, said a prayer for the dead 16-year-old, Mr Barnett took a series of photographs of the mourning. He was also telling anyone who would listen that the blame of the Qatari teen's tragic death lay not with the thugs who attacked him but with the Goverment.

Mr Barnett also told a nearby BBC journalist that Mohammed was taken to hospital not in an ambulance but in a taxi - a claim the local health authorities say is 100 per cent not true.

Fellow BNP campaigner Nick Prince, who is leader of the East Sussex branch, said: "As a father myself and like any sane thinking person, I was left horrified by the attack and murder of student Mohammad Al-Majed."

He then said that were his right-wing party in charge those found to have caused the death would be given the death penalty and strict curfews would be imposed on students visiting the town.

He added: "We did send a representative to the two minutes silence on Monday and on behalf of all of the members and supporters of the British National Party in Hastings and Rother, I wish to send our deepest sympathy to the family of Mohammad Al-Majed. We will continue to increase our presence in Hastings."

In February this year the BNP's national figurehead Nick Griffin made a secret visit to the Hastings - with the local party hiring out a charity's hall under a fasle name.

When asked about his party's presence leading to an increase on attacks on foreign residents, Mr Griffin said: "We do not condone attacks on anyone. Some of the people who are hostile in this way are just morons who will do it whatever the situation. Some though are people who have no outlet for their concerns.

"We (the BNP) are a safety valve for the tensions being caused by turning English homes into something resembling the United Nations."

Despite fielding four candidates the BNP failed to win a single seat at the last round of council elections.

Hastings and St Leonard's Observer