BNP election candidate arrested over Qur'an burning

A senior member of the BNP who burned a copy of the Qur'an in his garden has been arrested following an investigation by the Observer.

Footage of the burning shows Sion Owens, 40, from south Wales and a candidate for the forthcoming Welsh Assembly elections, soaking the Qur'an in kerosene and setting fire to it.

A video clip of the act, leaked to the Observer and passed immediately to South Wales police, provoked fierce criticism from the government.

A statement from the Home Office said: "The government absolutely condemns the burning of the Qur'an. It is fundamentally offensive to the values of our pluralist and tolerant society.

"We equally condemn any attempts to create divisions between communities and are committed to ensuring that everyone has the freedom to live their lives free from fear of targeted hostility or harassment on the grounds of a particular characteristic, such as religion."

Owens, who has previously stood for a council seat, was last Tuesday unveiled by the BNP as a candidate for next month's assembly elections. Several photographs place him alongside party leader Nick Griffin, including one showing the pair embracing during a party conference.

The footage comes at a time of heightened tensions. Internationally, protests continued in Afghanistan last week against the recent Qur'an burning by the US pastor Terry Jones in his Florida church.

Jones's act triggered a wave of global violence that nine days ago led to protesters storming a UN Afghan compound, killing three UN staff members and four Nepalese guards. Police had feared that far-right British extremists might attempt to stir tensions here by replicating Jones's stunt.

Superintendent Phil Davies of South Wales police, who led the investigation, said: "We always adopt an extremely robust approach to allegations of this sort and find this sort of intolerance unacceptable in our society."

Owens was arrested within hours of police receiving the video. A second person, believed to have filmed the Qur'an burning, is also in police custody.

It is unclear when the incident took place, but the five-minute footage is already understood to have been circulated to extremists. There is no evidence that Griffin was aware of the film.

When Jones went ahead with his "punishment" of the Qur'an on 20 March it was initially largely ignored until it was streamed on the internet and preserved on YouTube.

The footage of the burning in Britain clearly identifies Owens, who is wearing a "Whitelaw No Surrender" T-shirt. The film starts with the Qur'an lying in a Quality Street tin before Owens begins dousing the holy book in flammable liquid and then setting fire to it. The camera zooms in as the Qur'an burns.

Saqed Mueen of the international security thinktank, the Royal United Services Institute, described the act as proof of the "globalisation of outrageous stunts". Concern over Islamophobic provocation among far-right elements is epitomised by the rise of the English Defence League, which was founded in 2009 and claims to have thousands of members in scores of regional branches.

The EDL's rise coincides with the decline of the BNP as a political force, evident during last year's poor general election performance. Although Griffin's party had 338 candidates in the parliamentary elections, a record number for a far-right party in Britain, its share of the vote in key seats fell.

The BNP fared little better in the council elections, failing in its concerted attempt to win control of Barking and Dagenham council and losing all but two of its 28 wards.

The news that a senior BNP figure has been arrested after a film showing him burning the Qur'an will only discredit the party further, according to anti-fascist campaigners.

Photographs show Owens at a Welsh Defence League demonstration with a group of alleged Nazis including Wayne Baldwin, who has been pictured posing in front of a swastika flag. The Observer has also been passed images that show Owens's face apparently superimposed on Hitler's body.

Owens was officially announced last week as the BNP's number three candidate for the South Wales West constituency of the Welsh assembly.

In 2008 he stood for the BNP in council elections, polling almost a fifth of votes in his ward but finishing last out of three candidates. His campaign posters at the time show him standing on a ticket against "mass immigration, enforced multiculturalism, political correctness".

Although the BNP announced a record number of candidates for the Welsh assembly elections last week, anti-fascist groups maintain the party is a fading force, claiming that it has struggled to field candidates in the forthcoming local elections in areas that used to be target seats.

The Guardian

No prosecution for burning Koran

Seven men accused of burning a Koran in a pub car park and posting the video online will not be prosecuted.

Wendy Williams of the Crown Prosecution Service said the majority of people would find the inflammatory incident "repugnant". But she added there is not enough evidence to create a realistic chance the men would be convicted of any offence.

Mrs Williams said: "If any further evidence comes to light and is sent to us, we will look at it."

Police arrested seven men on suspicion of inciting racial hatred after a video recording was posted on YouTube last September. It showed a group of young men in hooded tops or wearing scarves over their faces pouring petrol on a book and setting it alight. They cheered as the book bursts into flames during the incident in a car park behind a Gateshead pub.

Those involved later told police they did not intend to offend anyone and very few people saw what happened at the time.

The men may have been copying Terry Jones who threatened to burn the holy book on September 11. The Florida-based pastor sparked an international outcry but did not go ahead with the provocative plan.

Prosecutors said police could not identify who recorded the video and posted it online and there was not enough evidence those involved were threatening anyone. They added that the men could not be charged with a religiously aggravated public order offence because they could not prove anyone was there who was distressed.

Belfast Telegraph

Carlisle man arrested after 'Koran burning' in city centre

A police officer next to the burning book

A man has been arrested after he allegedly burned the Koran holy book and made an anti-Islamic speech yesterday in Carlisle city centre.

One eye witness who spoke to the News & Star described seeing the man standing in the city centre, near to the market cross, loudly making anti-Islamic pronouncements in front of a large crowd. He then set fire to the book he was holding, which said the witness was a Koran, before discarding it and hurrying away.

Police arrived at the scene a short time later and are now investigating. A spokesman for the force confirmed that a man has been arrested.

The incident came just a day before a controversial American preacher, who had threatened to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in new York, was told he would barred from visiting the UK.

A spokesman for Cumbria police said today: “Just after midday on Wednesday, January 19, police received reports that a Koran was being burned by a man in Carlisle city centre. Police have seized the remains of the book and a 32-year-old male has been arrested on suspicion of using racially aggravated threatening words or behaviour. The man remains in police custody where he is helping officers with their inquiries.”

Police confirmed that the man was arrested at his home address in Carlisle.

A woman who saw the book burning incident said: “There was a big crowd gathered in the city centre and he was basically burning the Koran in the middle of town. He was carrying the book around while it was burning and then threw it on the floor for a second and then left. He was shouting anti-Islamic comments. People were horrified. It was a bit shocking to see that in Carlisle city centre. The whole thing lasted about three or four minutes.”

Meanwhile, Pastor Jones said today that he was disappointed to be barred from the United Kingdom, describing his exclusion from the country as “unfair”. Speaking after the Home Office announced it would not allow him to enter the UK, he insisted he was not against Muslims or Islam, only the “radical element of Islam.”

News and Star

US pastor who vowed to burn Qur'an will not be at EDL rally

The English Defence League has cancelled a planned appearance by church
pastor Terry Jones at a rally in February. Photograph: John Raoux/AP

Far-right group announces that Terry Jones is no longer welcome due to his 'homophobic and racist' views

The US pastor who planned a mass burning of the Qur'an on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks this year will not be attending a far-right rally in the UK, it emerged tonight.

The English Defence League said at the weekend it was "proud to announce" that Terry Jones would be speaking about "the evils of Islam" at its rally in Luton in February. However it issued a new statement on its website today saying Jones was no longer welcome because it had "reservations" about some of his views.

"The EDL can confirm that Pastor Jones will not be attending the English Defence League demonstration against sharia in Luton on 5 February," it read. EDL spokesman Guramit Singh said the decision had been taken after the group carried out "further research" on Jones and discovered he held some "homophobic and racist" views.

This evening Jones, a pentecostal preacher who runs the Dove World Outreach Centre in Gainesville, Florida, denied he was homophobic or racist, adding that the EDL had bowed to pressure from the government and media. "Of course there are issues they do not agree with us on just as there are issues on which we do not agree with them. But I was coming to speak on the dangers of radical Islam and I think on that there is agreement."

Jones said he still planned to come to the UK in February but would not be attending the EDL rally in Luton.

Tonight Nick Lowles, from anti-racist group Hope Not Hate, said a campaign to persuade Theresa May to ban Jones would continue. "We don't trust Jones or the EDL so we will continue to call on the home secretary stop this man coming into the country."

The home secretary has the power to exclude or deport Jones if his presence in the UK could threaten national security, public order or the safety of citizens, or if she believes his views glorify terrorism, promote violence or encourage other serious crime.

Jones made headlines earlier this year when his plans to burn copies of the Qur'an caused widespread alarm. Barack Obama warned Jones that his actions would boost al-Qaida and put US citizens and soldiers at risk. The president's intervention is believed to have persuaded Jones to call off the stunt with just a day to spare.

The EDL claims to be a non-racist, peaceful organisation. However, demonstrations over the past 18 months have attracted support from a number of known rightwing extremists – from convicted football hooligans to members of violent rightwing splinter groups. Many of its protests have descended into violence and racist and Islamophobic chanting, and during its last march in Luton, 250 EDL supporters rampaged through an Asian area, attacking people and damaging property. On Saturday, 500 people marched in Peterborough, leading to 11 arrests.

Guardian

Theresa May pressed to halt visit by anti-Muslim US preacher

Pastor Terry Jones at the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, where he
had threatened to burn copies of the Koran on church grounds. Photograph: John Raoux/AP

Pastor who threatened to burn Qur'an plans to address far-right English Defence League in February

Home secretary Theresa May is under intense pressure to ban controversial anti-Muslim preacher Terry Jones from Britain after far-right activists said he had agreed to address them at a demonstration about "the evils of Islam".

The English Defence League (EDL) said it was "proud to announce" that the US pastor, who caused outrage with plans to burn the Qur'an on this year's anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, would be attending the event in Luton in early February. Jones confirmed that he would be arriving in the UK. The pastor's website said he intended to visit the EDL's "biggest demonstration to date" in February. The website stated: "During the protest, Dr Terry Jones will speak against the evils and destructiveness of Islam in support of the continued fight against the Islamification of England and Europe."

President Barack Obama warned in September that Jones's planned Qur'an burnings would be a "recruitment bonanza" for al-Qaida and the US state department said it would put the country's citizens at risk across the world.

Tonight the British anti-extremist campaign, Hope Not Hate, launched its own petition urging May to ban Jones from Britain, while MPs demanded immediate action from the home secretary. Hope Not Hate's campaign co-ordinator, Nick Lowles, said: "Pastor Jones's presence in Luton will be incendiary and highly dangerous. He will attract and encourage thousands of English Defence League supporters to take to the streets of Luton.

"Like the EDL, Pastor Jones indiscriminately targets all Muslims and their actions can only lead to increased tensions and racism in our communities. His appearance will rightly cause concern and fear among Muslims across the country."

Jon Cruddas, Labour MP for Dagenham, said he would table an urgent parliamentary motion tomorrow demanding that the pastor be banned from coming into the country.

"We have seen how Pastor Jones, with a very small congregation in Florida, created a firestorm by urging the Qur'an to be burned," Cruddas said. "We should not allow racial hatred to be whipped up in this manner in our country."

The EDL announced Jones's planned visit on its Facebook site today, saying he would attend "our biggest demo to date" and describing it as "the big one". There are fears that copies of the Qur'an could be burned by extremists.

The last time the EDL marched in Luton, 250 of their supporters went on the rampage through an Asian area of the town. Shop windows were smashed, cars overturned and a number of people were attacked. Thirty-five people were arrested as a result of the violence. Eleven people were arrested yesterday as 500 EDL supporters marched in Peterborough.

"The EDL march in February has the potential to be far worse," Lowles said. "Only extremists will benefit from his visit and, as we know, extremism breeds hatred and hatred breeds violence. Pastor Jones, a preacher of hate, must be stopped from entering the UK."

The home secretary has the power to exclude or deport an individual if she thinks their presence in the UK could threaten national security, public order or the safety of citizens. She can also do so if she believes their views glorify terrorism, promote violence or encourage other serious crime.

May has been keen to show that she is tough on extremism. Five weeks after the coalition government came into power, she banned a radical preacher who claimed that "every Muslim should be a terrorist" from entering Britain. Zakir Naik had been due to give a series of lectures at Wembley Arena and in Sheffield in June.

However, visitors from other countries cannot be banned just for having opinions that other people would find offensive. In the past, May has said the powers can only be used in "very serious" cases. She has already acted against the EDL, banning a march in Leicester in November.

News of Jones's planned visit comes as the head of the police intelligence unit on domestic extremism reveals that the EDL and related splinter groups have become his biggest concern.

Adrian Tudway, the national co-ordinator for domestic extremism, told the Observer: "We look at the extreme right and left, but currently our biggest single area of business are the various groups which call themselves defence leagues. These defence leagues can be found across England."

The unit is monitoring a "number of individuals" connected to extreme rightwing groups, details of which are disseminated to local police forces.

At the height of the controversy over Jones's threat to burn the Qur'an, effigies of the pastor were burned in Afghanistan and there was widespread condemnation across the Muslim world. Jones is a Pentecostalist who bases his theology on the literal text of the Bible. He runs the Florida-based Dove World Outreach Centre, which objects to Islam because it "teaches that Jesus is not the son of God, therefore taking away the saving power of Jesus and leading people straight to Hell".

Observer