BNP candidate denies having a conviction

The BNP by-election candidate yesterday insisted he had not been in trouble with the law claiming he was a victim of a smear campaign.
Danny Cooke, 29, hopes to be elected as ward councillor for St Helen's in next weeks poll.
On Monday, a Daniel Paul Cooke, 29, appeared before Barnsley magistrates and admitted criminal damage. The address given was Commercial Road, Skelmanthorpe.
He was bailed until November 7th for a pre-sentence report.
When The Chronicle contacted Danny on Wednesday to ask if it was him he said "no" and said he had been out in Huddersfield all day.
Yesterday The Chronicle was shown documents linked to the case which included the Skelmanthorpe address and another on Highstone Road, Wosbrough Common.
Highstone Road is listed as Danny's address on his nomination form for the election. The electoral register shows a Daniel P Cooke lives there.
Yesterday Danny said he lived on Highstone Road but insisted he had not been in court "I've no idea. it's certainly not me"
He said he was employed in security and could not work if he had a conviction.
When told The Chronicle like to report on the mystery he said there was another Danial Cooke who lived in Wosbrough.
He said various stories about him were being put around the St Helen's Ward, Athersley. "It's probably and English Democrats smear campaign." he said.
A woman called Rachel Firth lives at the address in Skelmanthorpe. Newspaper reports on the internet claim Danny Cooke has a girlfriend called Rachel Firth but Danny denied knowing her.
The pair are friends on Facebook. When told this Danny said he had about 1000 friends and he did not know them all.
I know of her. She's not my girlfriend

Barnsley Chronicle


Clicky for bigger

BNP Official Convicted for Racist Tirade.

A BNP organiser and local candidate was yesterday found guilty of using racially aggravated threatening or insulting words and behaviour after he called a petrol station worker “A black bastard”.

Darren Lumb, the BNP organiser for Wakefield, was found guilty at Pontefract Magistrates Court following an altercation with garage staff regarding the price of its diesel.

Lumb had already been banned from the petrol station in March 2011 following a similar argument with staff; however he returned on St George’s day in May and following his racist outburst staff demanded he left and called the police who later arrested him for the offence.

Lumb who was flanked by a dozen BNP members & supporters at court pleaded not guilty, claiming that he never visited the garage and that he was at a BNP St Georges Day event in Rotherham.

This was the same event that a number of BNP officials including Firth and Cooke were photographed drunkenly handling firearms http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/news/article/1876/gunning-for-st-george

BNP officials Danny Cooke and Rachel Firth all gave evidence on his part, failing to mention the fact that both hold senior positions with the party.

Unemployed Lumb who has previous convictions for assault and disorder was found guilty by magistrates and was given a conditional discharge and ordered to pay £250 in costs.

Griffinite Lumb, who once declared on Facebook that he was a “Hard line, anti establishment Aryan", has a 'Tree of life' tattoo on his forearm. This symbol, also known as the life rune, is a favourite among nazi groups worldwide, several of which have adopted it as their logo. Under Hitler it was the symbol of the SS Lebensborn project, which encouraged SS troopers to have children out of wedlock with “Aryan” mothers and kidnapped children of Aryan appearance from the countries of occupied Europe to raise as Germans.

Outside the court some of Lumbs BNP supporters attempted to intimidate local journalists by taking their photographs and threatening to post their details on the neo Nazi website Redwatch.

Thanks to HOPE not Hate

Of poisonous ink and lies

How many people can there be who still believe the old lie that the BNP is not a racist and Nazi party? No matter how many cheap suits they slip on, the hatred remains strong beneath.

Last week we wrote about Darren Lumb, the Hemsworth organiser and Wakefield Council candidate who was part of a group of drunken BNP officials and candidates exposing their backsides while posing with toy guns during a violent St Georges Day celebration in Rotherham. ( http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/news/article/1876/gunning-for-st-george )

Of course, the BNP has made absolutely no comment about and taken no action against these people and their actions despite claiming that they would expel people “who bring the organisation into disrepute”. Lumb is of course a hardened racist, so I can only assume that does not bring the party into disrepute, either.

Lumb is another one of the BNP whose social network pages are full of vile racist comments, most too disgusting or crude to show here. One that does stand out is: “I’ve been a rebel since 1985 nothing will change me, anti-etablishment (sic) Aryanism, wish I was in London I’d give the law grief”.

And then, despite BNP press officer Simon Darby waxing lyrical on his blog-cum cooking page about the Royal wedding and all the lovely white faces on display, Lumb does not appear to share Darby’s joy. Indeed, in one posting Lumb writes: “F*** the queen (sic) and her facist regime “

But there is something even more sinister about Lumb. Tattooed on his right arm is the Nazi SS-style "tree of life" tattoo. Often called the "life rune", this was also the symbol of the SS's Lebensborn project. To white supremacists, it signifies the future of the white race. The ancient runic symbol was adopted in the 1930s by the SS's Lebensborn project, which encouraged SS troopers to have children out of wedlock with "Aryan" mothers and even kidnapped children of supposed “Aryan” appearance from the countries occupied by Nazis, to be raised as Germans. The neo-Nazi National Alliance in the United States also adopted this symbol as their logo.

Another one of the drunken “gun club” and one of Lumbs close friends is the Kirklees organiser Rachel Firth. Firth, who is a mature student at Huddersfield University and also a BNP candidate standing in the Denby Dale ward of Kirklees also flirts with extreme racism on her Facebook page. In one comment she threatens to take a poisoned cake down to her local Mosque while describing one Asian person “Like head lice in the hair of society”.

And it seems Firth has the same taste in tattoos as her friend Darren Lumb, as tattooed on the top of her back is the word “Aryan”

Of course, this will not make a blind bit of difference to the shrinking fortunes of the BNP. Their leader Nick Griffin made a tanned return to the party today helping their underfire candidates in Northern Ireland put up a few cheap and tatty election posters, something like a month later than the other parties did. And to be honest, when they were not photographing themselves doing it, they weren’t really that into it either. The people on Newtonards Road were less than impressed to see the English racist there with his bodyguard and his racist, sectarian, rape-joking, boneheaded candidate. He didn’t hang around too long either, as there are a few people in east Belfast who would like a word with Griffin about some unpaid bills. Still, it was finally nice to see their candidate Steven Moore come out of hiding after a difficult week. What his racist comrades will think of him when they pick up a copy of tomorrow’s Sunday World remains to be seen. What they’ll think of the north east regional organiser’s pro-Irish republican protestations of late, remain to be seen too.

They can lie and say that they’ve been hacked, they’ve been naive or that they’re misunderstood, but we know the truth and there is no disguising it. In most cases, the vile morons have it tattooed on their bodies.




Thanks again to Nick Lowles at HOPE not Hate/Searchlight

BNP Kirklees candidate poses with gun at Yorkshire campsite

A COUNCIL candidate has been pictured brandishing a gun.

Rachel Firth, who is standing for the British National Party (BNP) in Thursday’s Kirklees Council elections, was photographed holding a handgun.

The Skelmanthorpe mother-of-two was pictured along with other senior party activists at a campsite.

Mrs Firth, who is the BNP’s Kirklees organiser, was snapped standing next to a Renault aiming a black handgun.

The weapon is believed to be a replica.

Mrs Firth’s boyfriend Danny Cooke, BNP organiser in Barnsley, is also pictured brandishing a gun.

Salford candidates Gary Tumulty and Keith Fairhurst were snapped posing with replica automatic weapons.

The photos were taken at a BNP St George’s Day celebration at Hooton Lodge Country Inn campsite near Rotherham.

The manager of the campsite is believed to have been unaware of the fact the get-together was organised by the BNP and that replica guns would be used.

Mrs Firth, who is standing for the BNP in Denby Dale in Thursday’s Kirklees election, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The pictures are believed to have appeared on Facebook last weekend before being reproduced on the Hope Not Hate website run by anti-fascist group Searchlight.

The pictures include a snap of three men mooning to the camera.

Earlier this month the Examiner revealed that many BNP activists in Kirklees had left the party in protest at the leadership of Nick Griffin.

The defectors, who have joined the English Democrats, complained of the BNP’s “terrible image”.

David Exley, a former BNP councillor for Heckmondwike, is among those who have quit the party.

He said yesterday that the pictures of party members brandishing guns vindicated his decision to leave.
Mr Exley said: “When I joined the BNP, I joined what I thought was a serious political party with serious aims and people who wanted to achieve those aims by democratic means.

“But all the people who have tried to do that have been got rid of by Nick Griffin.

“All the quality people have now gone and, as you can see in these pictures, we’re left with a bunch of idiots.

“I’m glad I’m out of the BNP.”

Clr Andrew Cooper, who leads the four-strong Green group on Kirklees Council, also condemned the pictures yesterday. The Newsome man said: “If this is how the BNP celebrate St George’s Day, then they are out-of-touch with what it means to be English.

“We’re not the sort of country like the US where lots of people have guns.

“We’re a civilised country which doesn’t use guns as common currency.

“I think this is part of the culture of the BNP, it’s a party which believes in allowing large-scale gun ownership.

“I’m very suspicious of any politician who uses guns as an acceptable photo opportunity.”

Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Couple's poppy protest against BNP

There will be no Remembrance Day poppies in the Custance household this year. Jenefer Custance, 57, and her husband Terry, 59, say they will not be donating when a Royal British Legion collector calls at their home in Western Avenue, Henley. They are protesting at the legion’s decision to accept a donation from the British National Party.

Mrs Custance, a shop assistant in Henley, said: "I was so shocked and angry when I read that the British Legion had accepted a donation from the BNP. It is dirty money. The BNP is a racist organisation and accepting money from it is disrespectful to all the men and women, whatever colour or creed, who have served, or are serving, or have died fighting for their country. We have always supported the Poppy Appeal but this year we will not be buying any. All charities are desperate for money but I cannot understand what the Legion is thinking in allowing this to happen."

The British Legion accepted a donation from a member of the BNP after earlier this year distancing itself from the party. The cash was raised by Rachel Firth, who spent 24 hours in a cardboard box collecting donations to draw attention to former soldiers who are forced to sleep rough. The sum she raised has not been disclosed but she donated half to the party and half to the Legion.

Mr Custance, a print industry salesman, said: "It beggar’s belief they have done this. I am sure the vast majority of the British people and members of the British Legion will be appalled when they learn of this donation." He added: "Although we won’t be buying poppies, we will be giving a donation to Help for Heroes."

In June, the legion took out a full-page advert in a national paper, accusing BNP leader Nick Griffin of politicising the poppy and asked him to stop wearing it. The party has also been accused of exploiting the donation by publicising it on its website.

Brigadier Malcolm Page, chairman of Henley branch of the Royal British Legion, said the issue had been dealt with by the legion’s head office. He added: "I think that by donating this couple will not be hurting the BNP but will not be helping veterans. I hope for their sake that Mrs Custance reconsiders.

Henley Standard

BNP exploits plight of former soldiers

The decorated SAS veteran Andy McNab has condemned the British National Party after it tried to associate itself with his heroism by auctioning two signed copies of his books to raise money for Help for Heroes, a charity that helps wounded soldiers.

“I was sick to the stomach,” stated McNab, whose works include Bravo Two Zero, when he was told about the BNP stunt. “I served with men of all colours and from many nationalities. They were all equal to me. That’s what the army teaches you. Nick Griffin thinks differently…I’ve asked for my books back. Because I don’t want anything to help the BNP promote their poisonous politics of segregation and hatred.”

This is not the BNP’s only attempt recently to link itself to armed forces charities. The Huddersfield branch of the Royal British Legion (RBL) recently accepted money raised by a BNP supporter, seemingly in contravention of its own strictly non-political stance.

The RBL had originally refused to accept the money from Rachel Firth, who spent 24 hours in a cardboard box to highlight the plight of ex-service personnel forced to sleep rough after leaving the Armed Forces. Firth said she would divide the money equally between the RBL and the BNP.
The rejection angered Robert Walker, a BNP member who organises the Poppy Appeal for the charity in Golcar. He tried to pile on the pressure by stating that he had already agreed to accept the money and that the Golcar branch was happy with this.

The laudably robust stance of the RBL soon softened, however, and within days of the row hitting the pages of the Huddersfield Examiner the RBL had agreed to accept the cash on the grounds that the donation was not made on a political basis and that Firth “is an individual raising funds for her favoured causes and wants to split those funds between the causes. We have no problem with this.”

The BNP has also targeted FEBA – a military term meaning “Forward Edge of Battle Area” – a financially hard-up veterans’ charity based in Lanarkshire.

FEBA, which does not receive government funding and relies on donations, was approached by BNP activists in Glasgow, who offered to raise £50,000 to help keep a drop-in centre open. Tommy Moffat, FEBA’s founder and a former Queen’s Own Highlander, said he rejected the offer but told the press that he may now have no alternative but to accept the money if the charity is to continue operating, after a number of grants allegedly promised by the Ministry of Defence failed to materialise. The MOD denied his claim, saying it had only offered FEBA a team of experts to help the charity obtain grants.

Gary Raikes, the BNP’s Scotland organiser, met Moffat at the charity’s Glasgow drop-in centre and immediately posted photographs of the two men shaking hands on the BNP website to boast about how the BNP was coming to the aid of veterans. Moffat conceded he had already accepted £3,000 to help with the rent as well as a delivery of radiators from the Scottish BNP activist Walter Hamilton, though he denied he knew Hamilton was a BNP activist at the time.

“It was only later that he told us he worked for the BNP,” Moffat said, “What were we supposed to do? We had nothing. We were sitting with no heating and it was freezing.” The story on the BNP website appeared to imply that it was Moffat who contacted the BNP for assistance, however.

Trying to recruit serving soldiers and ex-servicemen has played a growing part in BNP strategy in recent years, signalled by the heavy promotion in 2007 and early 2008 of its front group the Association of British Ex-Service Personnel (ABEX), now defunct again. Of greater importance has been its use of the predicament of ex-servicemen for political purposes that has seen the party target areas such as Catterick for its propaganda drives. More recently BNP activists in Wales have tried to gain mileage out of the plight of vulnerable veterans by campaigning under the name “Soldiers Off Our Streets”.

Griffin’s public attitude to Britain’s armed forces has changed since a few years ago. During the 1990s an article appeared in The Rune, an antisemitic magazine Griffin edited, praising the Waffen-SS as “no worse” than any other army. The Waffen-SS were of course condemned as part of a “criminal organisation” at the Nuremberg Trials. Griffin, however, believed the Waffen-SS was praiseworthy for its “courage and sacrifices”.

Hope not hate

RBL dithers while BNP donations con-trick is exposed

For a so-called political party that constantly appears to be teetering on the edge of financial collapse, the BNP seems to have become astoundingly generous to charities in the past couple of months - or that's what it would like us to believe.

In fact, it has done very little for charities except to make hollow promises that are exploited for its own purposes on the BNP's website, giving the visitor the impression that the party is acting responsibly by supporting its chosen causes while actually doing nothing except taking the kudos for its unperformed acts of generosity.

A week or two ago, we reprinted an article in which the Institute of Fundraising Scotland, a leading fund-raising body, warned charities to beware of undeclared donations from the British National Party after a number of good causes claimed they were duped into accepting money from the far-right group. In several cases, the BNP claimed credit for donations to charities who have never knowingly accepted money from the party and in several cases would refuse it if it were ever to be openly offered.

Colonel William Shuttlewood, a director of the Gurkha Welfare Trust, one of the charities the BNP claims to have made donations to, said it would never knowingly accept money from the BNP. Al Sutton, chairman of Troop Aid, another unknowing possible recipient, said: 'We are not associated with any political party, especially the BNP', while the Down’s Syndrome Association vehemently denied a claim on the BNP website that it had asked the party to help it raise funds.

Another more dramatic (and consequently more exploited) donation has been that which the BNP claims it is negotiating with FEBA, a charity which is negotiating £50,000 a year from the BNP to keep open its veterans' drop-in centre in Lanarkshire. A lot of fuss was made about FEBA a few weeks back, with the BNP taking full credit for keeping it open, yet 'negotiations' between Nick Griffin and Tommy Moffat, the charity's administrator, seem to have stalled. No great surprise, as Griffin has already got what he wanted from the announcement - the publicity.

FEBA did receive a donation of sorts from the BNP - or rather the wealthy BNP supporter Walter (or William, depending on which story you read about him) Hamilton - a consignment of radiators allegedly worth £3000 (which may well have fallen off the back of the Lie Lorry). Radiators notwithstanding, FEBA still needs £50,000 a year to run - if the BNP is near-bankrupt, where is that money going to come from?

The truth is, naturally, that it isn't coming from anywhere and there was never any intention of donating such a large sum to anyone (except possibly King Nick himself), only to reap the rewards of the very rare positive publicity that the story generated.

There's a short aside to this story which is worth mentioning. The BNP survives on donations from its gullible members, thanks to the never-ending stream of increasing desperate begging letters from Welshpool. Even though most of the money raised goes directly to non-member Jim Dowson, the organiser of the begging campaign and owner of the Lie Lorry, and a hefty percentage goes to Nick Griffin and various acolytes and hangers-on (including would-be schoolie-bonker and all-round shit Mark Collett, who is allegedly paid £50,000 per year for designing the BNP's propaganda), that leaves little to be used for the BNP for its 'political' work. So who decided to spend substantial chunks of that money by donating it to various charities and were the members asked if that was the way they wanted their donations to be spent?

But now we come to the latest twist in the BNP/charities mess, the bit that is currently (and rightly) causing great embarrassment to the Royal British Legion.

Back in October 2008, one of our contributors Eric the Fish wrote about the BNP's attempted hijack of the Poppy Appeal, the RBL's long-term and popular fundraser. Eric reported;

Neil Griffiths, of the Royal British Legion Scotland, said: "We abhor any association with the BNP. I worked most of my military career with Gurkhas and feel angry by any level of racism when I encounter it. The BNP seem to have forgotten that the Indian Army in the Second World War had two million members. It was the biggest volunteer army in military history and it played a huge role in the war."

and

Jim Panton, chief executive of Poppyscotland, said: "I had no idea the BNP have tried to get involved in the Poppy Appeal. It's outrageous for any organisation or group to try to hijack the poppy for their own benefit or gain. It is a misuse and misrepresentation of the sentiment of the appeal and we would take a strong line against that. We are apolitical and have not asked any party to back us."

So strongly did the RBL feel that it demanded that Nick Griffin stop wearing the Poppy during the European Election campaign and also that he stop using the armed forces to further the BNP's agenda. To no effect, because Griffin continued to do both.

Having seen that the BNP doesn't give a toss for the armed forces except where they can be used for political and financial gain, one would have expected the RBL to respond vigorously to any attempt by the BNP to directly make capital from any contact. Thus, when BNP member Rachel Firth announced that she would pledge half of the funds she raised by spending twenty-four hours in a cardboard box in the street to the legion and the other half to the BNP, it was no great surprise when the legion refused the donation.

When Firth then clearly stated that the donation would not be used for partisan political activity, the RBL naively accepted her assurance and announced that it would accept the donation, at which point the news of the donation and the RBL's acceptance of it appeared on the BNP's website (August 30th: see image below).

Rachel Firth - where's the RBL's donation?

As it happens, even though Firth's little stunt took place way back in August, the RBL still hasn't had its donation and according to Third Sector (the UK’s leading publication for everyone who needs to know what’s going on in the voluntary and not-for-profit sector), the RBL is now seriously considering whether to reject it even if it is (finally) offered, on the grounds that the party has used it to make political capital.

The dithering of the Royal British Legion over this matter is shameful. The offer of a donation should have been refused outright because of the ridiculous proviso that half the money raised from the stunt was going to the BNP. Under its own rules, that was grounds for the RBL to say thanks but no thanks. Instead, it took the party at its word, was taken in and now has to make the choice again, assuming the offer is ever forthcoming.

The whole issue of charities taking money from political parties is difficult, particularly when the charity appears to be in dire straits and feels that it needs that money simply in order to carry on. FEBA hasn't got any cash of its own and, let's face it, is unlikely to be getting £50,000 per annum from the BNP - but should it even have entered negotiations with such a party anyway? Personally I would say no unless the charity also supports the party's racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-Muslim rhetoric and the BNP leader's constantly recurring bouts of anti-Semitism. Easy for me to say, I know, as I do not run a charity that is unable to continue through lack of cash. Nevertheless, there are principles at stake here and there are times when, no matter how painful it might be, it is right and proper to stand up for them.

The BNP as a party has NO real interest in supporting charities unless it can make some political gain from so doing. At the moment, it sees a lot of interest in armed forces personnel and is exploiting that to the full. A couple of months ago, it was a small bird sanctuary that was the focus of the party's attention for as long as it got a little publicity out of it and the the Poppy Appeal - next month it could be sanctuaries for disabled donkeys or depressed circus clowns. As long as there is something to exploit, the BNP will attempt to exploit it because it is a party without ethics whose only great ability is the skill of jumping on the next available bandwagon. Anyone who believes otherwise is doomed to disappointment.

Royal British Legion rejects Huddersfield BNP member’s money

The Royal British Legion has rejected a British National Party member’s charity fund-raiser. But the decision has caused a row with one of the charity’s campaigners in Huddersfield.

Single mum Rachel Firth planned to spend 24 hours inside a cardboard box to highlight the plight of ex-service personnel who are forced to sleep rough. The Skelmanthorpe mum-of-two, 36, planned to raise money for the Royal British Legion, the charity for ex-servicemen and women. But she also intended to give half the cash to the far-right British National Party, of which she is a member.

She claimed the government failed to do enough for ex-servicemen and women.

“It’s a crying shame ex-servicemen and women are having to sleep rough because they don’t get enough support from the Government. I think the Royal British Legion do an excellent job. They provide welfare services, and are custodians of remembrance, and I believe a stay in a cardboard box for 24 hours is nothing compared to the dedication of the service men and women and the commitment of the Royal British Legion.”

But the British Legion’s central office says the charity does not want her money. A spokeswoman said: “The Royal British Legion has remained scrupulously above the party political fray for its entire existence and does not accept donations from either Government or any political party. This allows us to maintain the independence necessary to campaign effectively on behalf of the entire armed forces family, past and present, and their families. As a result, we do not participate in joint fundraisers with political parties. We have not authorised this particular fundraising event, nor will we be accepting funds raised as a result.”

The statement has put the British Legion on a collision course with one of its campaigners in Huddersfield. BNP member Robert Walker, who organises the Poppy Appeal for the charity’s Golcar branch, had already said he would accept Rachel’s donation.

Mr Walker said: “I will be talking to senior people about it. I had already discussed this with the Golcar branch and they were happy with it and we had told Rachel we would be happy to accept her money. She is very upset.”

He said he would still be accepting the money raised from the event.

Rachel said she was disappointed by the response.

“It’s political correctness gone mad,” she said.

Huddersfield Daily Examiner