Demonstrations against BNP in Liverpool

Anti-fascist campaigners demonstrated outside the Wavertree Cricket club where the British National Party was holding its two day conference.

The far-right group's leader, Nick Griffin, was at the event, and was met with boos from protesters as he arrived. Police officers attended but it is understood the demonstrations passed off peacefully.

Wavertree ward Cllr Jake Morrison said the presence of the BNP had come as a shock and most of the community had been unaware the event, which started at around 9.300am, was being held in the city.

Cllr Morrison, who joined with protesters outside the venue, on Long Lane, said: "It's been a peaceful protest, but some of the BNP members have been hanging out of the windows sticking their fingers up at us. Local residents are deeply angry that they've chosen our neighbourhood for their annual conference. We are here to protest against them and will remain until they are gone."

Liverpool Echo

Tell us more, say police as BNP chooses secret venue for conference

Police have asked for more details of a British National Party conference coming to Derbyshire so that they can plan the security operation. The party, which held its Red, White and Blue festival in Denby for three years, has announced that its annual conference will take place in South Derbyshire in December.

Anti-fascist groups are planning protests during the three-day event. Security at the Red, White and Blue festival cost police £500,000 a year but Superintendent Gary Parkin said he expected the conference bill to be lower.

He said: "We have had no confirmation of where the conference will take place or how many people are expected to attend. We are pressing the BNP for these details. We do not anticipate that the policing operation will be as large as the occasions when the Red, White and Blue Festival was held in the county."

The BNP said it would not reveal the exact location of the conference "because it is usually threatened by the left". But it confirmed that leader Nick Griffin would be the keynote speaker.

Last year's conference was held near Wigan and attracted protests from groups such as Unite Against Fascism. Protesters gathered outside the conference venue, chanting "Black and white unite and fight" and "Smash the BNP". Dozens of police were called to separate rival factions.

Graham Lewis, secretary of Derby Campaign Against Racism and Fascism, said: "We will definitely be holding a protest, although we do not expect to be facing large numbers of supporters, because of the current division in the BNP. We would aim to keep it peaceful. We have no intention of turning it into a fist fight."

He said he would be "trying everything possible" to discover where the conference was being held.

Mr Griffin has written to BNP supporters, urging them to book a place at the 2010 conference. He wrote: "We are pleased to announce the BNP's Annual Conference 2010, which will take place at a first-class venue in the South Derbyshire area on December 10 to 12. This year's conference, unlike previous events, is going to be a spectacular combination of political speeches, audio-visual displays, training, policy debates, stalls and entertainment."

It would be at a "four-star venue complete with restaurant, bar and a whole range of suitable accommodation to fit your needs", he said.

This is Derbyshire

Caption Competition

What are these two pillocks up to?

Grimy BNP-link hotel 'a hazard to humans'

New Kimberley Hotel 'a hazard to humans'

The Blackpool hotel used by the far right British National Party for its annual conferences was branded a hazard to humans by health chiefs.

Officers investigated after guests complained about diarrhoea and vomiting while staying at The New Kimberley Hotel, Blackpool. They were also told of guests being given uncooked food and meat which smelt bad. Officials found the kitchen of the 50-bedroom hotel on South Promenade was filthy and discovered food which was out-of-date and in danger of cross-contamination from bacteria.

Peter Metcalf, 45, of Wyredale Road, St Annes, the hotel's former-leaseholder, admitted nine offences of breaching food hygiene safety rules and was found guilty of 11 similar offences after a trial. He was fined £1,000 with £500 costs and ordered to pay the £15 victims' surcharge by Blackpool magistrates.

Victoria Cartmell, prosecuting for Blackpool Council, said there were complaints in 2006 about the hotel.

Health officers first visited the hotel in July 2006 and Metcalf was given numerous chances to clean the kitchen. Officers again visited on August 14 last year and found the kitchen was filthy. Ceilings, walls, sockets, surfaces, pipes, floors, a cooker, fryer and freezer were greasy and dirty and food debris was scattered around. Black mould was on chopping boards, freezer seals and an ice-making machine. A wash basin was dirty and there were no paper towels.

Ms Cartmell said: "Double cream in the fridge was past its use-by date. Containers of ice-cream were stored next to boxes of raw bacon which could have caused cross-contamination of bacteria."

Mitch Sarangi, defending, said at the time Metcalf's mother-in-law had been diagnosed with a terminal illness. He and his wife travelled to and from Scotland to visit her before she was transferred to a hospice and died. Metcalf had now been declared bankrupt and he no longer held the hotel's lease.

The hotel hit the headlines in November 2006 and 2007 when it twice held the BNP's annual conference.

Tim Coglan, head of trading standards at Blackpool Council, said: "The conditions were disgusting and totally unacceptable. We know the majority of premises in the town are well run but we will continue to crackdown on those that aren't. Blackpool has the most robust enforcement regime in the country."

The hotel is now under new management.

Blackpool Gazette