No solidarity with the BNP

People may have read recent events surrounding action being taken by Sunnydale Community College in Shildon, County Durham. The action relates to a teacher who is suspended for "misuse of technical equipment" while at school.

The individual concerned is a member of the far right, racist British National Party and the BNP organised an intimidating demonstration outside the school on Monday, effectively preventing the investigatory hearing from taking place. The TUC condemn this as wholly disgraceful, however, it is a clear indication of how the BNP view rational, legal processes where there is a grievance to be resolved. This is the kind of behaviour we could expect from any violent, anti-democratic organisation.

Any independent trade union would not seek to defend someone guilty of racism, but they would respect a process that ensures a fair hearing. The BNP-Solidarity organisation is not an independent trade union, despite describing itself as one, and its actions clearly show no respect for such processes. BNP-Solidarity should not be permitted to represent any individual in any workplace, though it claims it will consider establishing a picket, which it would expect other trade unions not to cross. As BNP-Solidarity is not an independent trade union, merely a front for a racist political party, I would expect all trade unions to in fact be opposed to any actions they take, especially if they include defending racism.

The statements around this issue indicate that the case seems to revolve around the right to be racist - a right that everyone has. However, it is illegal to incite or promote racial hatred. I very much doubt that any decent parent would want individuals expressing racist views anywhere near their children.

A fair hearing will be held, despite the usual BNP intimidation, but whatever the outcome we certainly don't want racists teaching in our schools.

TUC

BNP supporters disrupt school with demo and picket at gates

Monday morning saw the disruption of the first school day of the new year as the British National Party and two of its many front groups, Civil Liberty and Solidarity, gathered together outside Sunnydale Community College in County Durham to protest at the suspension of teacher Mark Walker.

Walker, BNP election candidate and agent for the former BNP's Andrew Spence in the recent Sedgefield by-election, was suspended from Sunnydale for 'misuse of school computer equipment', rumoured to be related to his visiting far-right websites during lessons while the children were getting on with their work.

The idiotic Phil Edwards, ever available to distort the facts on behalf of the BNP, was quoted in news reports as stating; 'The reason he's had this action against him was because he allegedly looked at the BNP website on the school's computer. It is disgraceful that anyone should be suspended for looking at the website of a perfectly legal political party. We are certain this action would not have been taken against someone who had looked at the websites of the Commission for Racial Equality or the Green Party.'

Well no, but neither the Commission for Racial Equality nor the Green Party attack Muslims using any pretext (or lie if a pretext isn't available), despise our multicultural society, seek the 'repatriation' of people with different skin colours who could be third or fourth generation UK born, oppose sexual diversity, demand the return of both corporal and capital punishment, have a Hitlerite background, a record of anti-semitism, an astonishing collection of criminals, liars and thieves in its ranks nor constantly steal money from its supporters.

Although both Edwards and the General Secretary of the hijacked Solidarity trades union both claimed that Walker's suspension was because of his political views, the school's head teacher, Sue Byrnes, said the claims of political persecution were untrue.

'We are happy to state categorically that Mr Walker has not been suspended because of any political affiliations he may hold. Any suggestion that this is the case is wholly false. Beyond that we cannot comment because of our respect for Mr Walker's rights to confidentiality with regard to the terms of his employment.'

The demonstration and picket only managed to attract 'up to 50 people', according to the BBC, even though it was heavily advertised on the BNP, Solidarity and Civil Liberty websites, and the extreme nazi forums Stormfront and Vanguard News Network (VNN).

BNP's Civil Liberty calls for demonstration and picket at school gates

Last March, Mark Walker, a teacher at the Sunnydale Community College for Maths and Computing in County Durham, was suspended from his job on full pay after it was found that he accessed the website of the BNP during a lesson. At the time, his candidature had been announced for the BNP in the local elections and he was also acting as election agent for the Sedgefield ex-BNP candidate Andrew Spence. His suspension was for 'misuse of school computer equipment'.

Sunnydale is a pretty standard school, a mixed comprehensive for 11-16 year olds, and certainly doesn't deserve a teacher who sees fit to wander around a fascist website whenever the fancy takes him, happy in the knowledge that one of the pupils could see what he's looking at any time they get too close to his screen.

Curiously, just a month before this incident, Walker's brother Adam did exactly the same thing but upon being suspended, resigned, to shouts of 'coward' and general abuse from the Stormfront nazi forum.

Attempting to play on the heartstrings of its audience, the press release from BNP front-group Civil Liberty (duplicated word for word on the Solidarity and BNP's own websites, on the Stormfront nazi forum and the even more hardcore nazi Vanguard forum) points out that much of the 'harrowing' period of Mark Walker's suspension coincided with his wife being pregnant. So did his own election in May and that of Andrew Spence in July but there's no mention of either of those as in any way contributing to his stress levels.

Now, rather than let this be a matter to be dealt with solely through the school's disciplinary procedure, all these BNP-related groups have combined to call for a demonstration and picket of the school on the first day of the new term, next Monday and, just to make sure they disrupt the pupils as much as possible, they're calling for the picket to begin at 8am. They also call for supporters to swamp the mail, email, fax and phone lines - let's hope none of the kids has an accident while the BNP and the other scumbags are taking up the lines with unnecessary calls.

Schoolteacher or not, to involve children in any way in this kind of action is despicable. There can be nothing wrong with Walker being present at his hearing with his union representative - even if it is just some buffoon from the fake union Solidarity - but a demo and a picket at the school gates is going too far. If for nothing else, Walker should be sacked just for encouraging this shameful demonstration to take place.