Call for public inquiry into policing of English Defence League rally

A group of antifascist protesters are calling for a public inquiry into the policing of last year’s English Defence League rally in Bolton.

Justice4bolton claim Unite Against Fascist members, who were protesting against the EDL in Victoria Square last March, were “mistreated” by police. The group is now calling for a public inquiry into the policing of the event, with particular focus on the arrest of protestor Alan Clough.

Alan Clough, of Ainsworth Road, Radcliffe, was due to stand trial at Bolton Magistrates’ Court accused of threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour at the rally, but the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to proceed after viewing video footage of the rally. Justice4bolton alleges that the footage shows Mr Clough being pushed by police officers and hit on the head with a baton before being pushed to the ground and arrested.

An independent investigation into the day’s events, which is being led by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, is already underway, including the circumstances of Mr Clough’s arrest.

Justice4bolton also wants the government to create “enforceable procedures” on how to police protests and is asking the trade unions to fund their list of demands, or action plan.

A spokesman for the group said: “In light of all of these incidents, and the treatment of many others who have chosen not to pursue their treatment through legal means but have expressed very serious concerns to Justice4bolton, it is plain the policing of the demonstration was blighted not only by the misconduct of individual rogue officers but by organisational failings on the part of Greater Manchester Police.

“Such failings must be addressed at an organisational level and the lessons learned from this — and other — protests so the police change the way they police protests.”

The group held a meeting in the Houses of Parliament last week in which they agreed their list of demands. Bolton MPs David Crausby and Julie Hilling have backed the group’s action plan, and said it was proper for the day’s events to be investigated.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said it would be inappropriate to comment until the IPCC investigation had concluded.

Bolton News

justice4bolton

20,000 anti-fascists against Nazis

Mounting many varied blockading actions, 20,000 anti-fascists from all over Germany and other European countries prevented a planned large-scale Nazi march in Dresden on Saturday 19 February.

There were massive clashes with police acting extremely brutally. They attacked the blockers with batons, pepper spray, water cannons, armoured vehicles and newly acquired pepperball guns. Several people were seriously injured. But the brutal police violence didn’t stop the broad spectrum of activists who’d travelled to Dresden from making its centre impassable for the fascists. In addition to mass squats, in the old quarter there were also many barricades.

Only about 2,000 fascists of both sexes had dared to go to Dresden and failed with every attempt to carry out demonstrations. Even a spontaneously demonstration called by them in nearby Leipzig ended on the rails of its main railway station before it even began.

All in all a very successful day for the anti-fascist movement in Germany.

Naturally not everyone is happy about that. While the Nazis are sulking, the Saxony police are also proving sore losers and on Saturday stormed the press office of the “Dresden Nazi-free” alliance. The alliance people present were forced to strip naked and submit to a registration of personal data.

Information available so far is that they’ll be charged with conspiracy and public incitement to criminal acts as well as breaches of public order. The raiding police took all computers and storage media. That has led so far to 79 arrests of anti-fascists.

Indymedia

Thanks to NewsHound for the heads-up

Anti-fascists slam English Defence League

Croydon BNP election candidate guilty of attacking four anti-fascist protesters

A British National Party election candidate for Croydon Council has been found guilty of attacking four anti-fascist protesters

David Clarke [pictured, left, grinning on his way into court] of Dunley Drive, New Addington, was found guilty of four counts of assaulting protesters outside of East Croydon station on May 27 and May 29 last year. Mr Clarke is currently running for election as a councillor for Heathfield Ward.

Croydon Magistrates Court heard the first incident occurred at 6.50pm on May 27 as anti-fascist protesters were handing out leaflets in an attempt to try and dissuade people from supporting the BNP at the station. Two days later on May 29 he is accused of assaulting another two protesters, James Cox and his partner, Lorna Nelson-Homian.

Clarke will be sentenced on May 18.

Lorna Nelson-Homian, one of Clarke's four victims, said: "I think the verdict today shows that the BNP's veil of credibility has once again fallen down. BNP policies are racist, and this case shows they always resort back to their violent roots."

Croydon Guardian

Scuffle breaks out at BNP candidates meeting

A scuffle erupted on the streets of Croydon as the British National Party presented some of its candidates for the forthcoming local and Westminster elections. One anti-fascist protester broke through a police cordon and tried to punch a BNP member before being tackled to the ground and taken away by police officers.

The BNP was presenting its candidates outside the headquarters of the UK Border Agency, in south London. Anti-fascist protesters were waiting for the BNP outside Lunar House where the event was taking place. They shouted "Nazi scum. Off our streets" and "Smash the BNP".

BNP London organiser Robert Bailey, who is standing as a parliamentary candidate in Romford, Essex, had earlier told a group of around 40 BNP candidates that they were there to put immigration on the election agenda. He said: "The leaders of the main political parties will be holding a meeting tonight at the TV studios to discuss the future of Britain. Up until this moment, nobody has mentioned immigration. The reason why the British National Party is here today is to draw the public's attention and the world's attention to the immigration crisis that is facing ordinary British citizens."

Mr Bailey, who is also a local councillor in Barking and Dagenham, said immigration was the second-biggest issue after the war in Afghanistan for politicians and the Government to face up to.

The BNP plans to field around 350 parliamentary candidates for the forthcoming General Election on May 6. Party leader Nick Griffin was not present at the gathering. Asked where Mr Griffin was, Mr Bailey replied: "You will have to ask him."

Press Association

Leeds Market Stall Removes Nazi Icons

The Towel Shop in Leeds Kirkgate Market, who were reported as selling neo-nazi memorabilia, have been forced to take the white power flags off sale perminantly as a result of continued actions by local anti-fascists; including giving the owner a regular reminder of the opposition to his disgusting items on sale.

The final straw was when Leeds Council had received so many complaints, they wrote a letter to the stall owner requesting that the offending articles were taken off show and not sold on their property.

This is a victory for local anti-fascist activists and goes to show that no symbol or part of fascism will be tollerated on our streets.

Yorks Antifash at Indymedia

The Lefties - A Warning from History

BNP supporters often gloat about what they see as the historical "failure" of left-wing politics in post-war Britain, while, on the other hand, constantly complaining about the huge successes that the liberal left has had in influencing public policy on issues of equality, anti-racism and human rights, in influencing the media and popular culture, and in creating what the right-wing try to misrepresent as "political correctness". In contrast to the successes of liberal leftism, the radical and militant left have been in overall decline since the 1960s, marginalised by mainstream society absorbing the best ideas produced by their ideological experiments, ham-strung by dogmatic beliefs, and defeated in major industrial disputes.

In comparison, since the collapse of the NF in 1979, the racist movement slowly learned from its mistakes, and Nick Griffin used the BNP to re-build British Fascism around the pretense of a more moderate image, with the failure of the militant left creating a vacuum which the BNP now try to exploit. Because militant left dogma insists that the glorious workers must be above criticism, and that therefore Fascism MUST be "middle-class", left-wing and anarchist militants often refuse to acknowledge facts which everyone else knows full well - namely the strong middle-class influence in left-wing movements, and the strongly working-class nature of most support for the BNP. Since a temporary peak in radical activism in the early 1980s, instead of learning from their mistakes like the BNP did, some militant left groups purged their middle-class supporters, successfully alienating millions of potential sympathisers and reducing themselves to the pathetic state they find themselves in now.

Anti-Fascists all talk the talk when it comes to being "united" against the BNP, but not all Anti-Fascists walk the walk. Some militant Anti-Fascists seem to spend nearly as much time insulting other Anti-Fascists as they spend attacking the BNP, and dissipate their energy in Anti-Fascist turf-wars which the BNP covertly encourage. There is no doubt that working people should take control of their own lives, and that militant Anti-Fascists are often very brave and noble people, but left-wing opportunists dividing Anti-Fascism with "class struggle" rhetoric totally misunderstands the aspirations of white working-class and migrant communities, alienates moderates, is disastrous for Anti-BNP campaigning, and is music to the ears of the BNP.

bnpinfo

National Front lose their flag and are chased out of Ripley

Derby Midlands National Front called a 'day of action' in towns across Derbyshire today. Only five 'warriors' of the 'master race' bothered to turn up in Ripley, only to have their union jack and literature taken off them by antifascists. They were then chased out of town.

Hoping to create a bit of a stir, these fascist scum said they would be selling papers in Heanor, Ripley and Ilkeston. They didn't even bother showing up in Heanor and were then spotted in Ripley town centre. Antifascists marched up to the hapless fuckwits and, without any struggle, they gave up their flag and large stacks of racist literature. The tiny crew then had to leg it out of town followed by taunts and abuse. They made a brief trip to Ilkeston later on but had turned tail and run home before we caught up with them.

The National Front were hoping that this would be a great boost for them but instead it has been a dismal (and very funny) failure. These fascists will be resisted wherever they raise their ugly Aryan heads.

Antifascists at Indymedia

Anti-women BNP must be exposed, say delegates

Unison women's conference 2010: Anti-fascist organisations must highlight the anti-women views of the BNP as part of their fight to defeat the far-right, delegates have urged. National women's committee speaker Davena Rakin demanded that the labour movement oppose the BNP on an "anti-racist and pro-feminist" platform.

"The BNP's racist views are well known. But we also need to highlight its views on women," she stressed.

In a series of motions, delegates argued that women had a crucial role to play in the fight against the rising threat of fascism. The BNP is militantly against abortion rights, wants to repeal all equalities legislation and some members had described rape as "simply sex" and said that women should be hit regularly "like a gong," conference heard.

Greater London region delegate Louise Cooling, who lives in the BNP stronghold of Barking and Dagenham, called for widespread support to stop party leader Nick Griffin's attempt to become her MP.

"This is not a battle for Barking, this is a battle for Britain," she told delegates gathered in Gateshead.

Morning Star

BNP humiliated in Fazakerley

The racist BNP have been HUMILIATED in the Fazakerley by-election. Their vote was almost HALF what they got in the 2008 contest, due not least to the determined campaign run by Liverpool Anti-Fascists. Over 5,000 anti-BNP leaflets were delivered in the ward and the message hit home. Voters in a working-class area of Liverpool totally rejected the BNP’s message and the thuggish, intimidatory tactics that this fascist party tried in the election.

Despite having a candidate who lived in the ward, and who had stood there before, the BNP came a miserable third out of four contenders. This was regardless of the fact that the Conservatives and UKIP did not even stand candidates. In 2008 the BNP received 440 votes in the ward - this time they only got 234. Their percentage of the vote in 2008 was 14% - now, with less candidates standing, they have dropped to 8. 8% - complete humiliation.

On polling day, already knowing that the voters had rejected them, Liverpool BNP arrived outside the home of a Labour councillor, Steve Rotherham, and used loudspeakers and intimidation in a vicious last stand. The police were called and the BNP were forced to move on. THIS is the real face of the BNP — they pretend to be a normal, democratic political party, but when the voters turn against them, the old fascist tactics of fear and thuggery come to the fore.

Let the Fazakerley campaign be a lesson to anti-fascists everywhere. The way to combat the BNP’s appeal to working-class voters, and to counter their bogus slogan of ’British Jobs for British Workers’, is to clearly make the case that fascism and racism offer nothing but division and defeat to working people. There is no alternative in the struggle against the BNP but to get out onto the doorsteps, as they do, and put a class analysis against fascism. The BNP are nasty racists, but they are more than that. They are a fascist party, and fascism is a weapon, waiting to be picked up by the ruling class. The way to counter fascism is by promoting working-class solidarity.

The voters of Fazakerley have shown that they will not be divided by the BNP. Liverpool Anti-Fascists have shown that the BNP can be stopped by a vigorous and determined campaign, as they were in the Halewood by-election recently — another mainly white, working-class district in Liverpool that rejected a local BNP candidate and the BNP’s message of hate and division after a strong anti-fascist campaign. We are going to break the BNP in Liverpool. This is just the start.

Liverpool Anti-Fascists

German riots on 65th anniversary of Dresden bombing

Neo-nazis beaten back by anti-fascists at Dresden

More than 1000 neo-Nazis were confronted by around 10,000 of their left-wing opponents as they protested in Dresden on the 65th anniversary of the Allied bombing at the end of World War II.

More than 5,000 police were dispatched to try to prevent the groups from clashing but there have been scuffles on the streets and damage to property.

Tristana Moore has been tracking the day's events from the German capital Berlin. Watch the BBC report here.

Thanks to Sue for the heads-up. :-)

BNP's Lie Lorry zooms around Lancaster...

The BNP's Clive 'Am I drooling again?' Jefferson

A couple of days ago, Lancaster was treated to an extremely brief glimpse of the BNP's Lie Lorry as it zoomed around the city centre and back off to the motorway at high speed.

In the very short time it was passing through, an alert was sent out to supporters, though this had hardly been sent when we received confirmed information that the lorry, complete with the BNP's Chief North-Western Dimwit Clive Jefferson in the shotgun seat, was speeding away from Lancaster. Frankly, if it hadn't been for the excrutiatingly loud music and Thicky Jefferson's squawking through the sound system, no-one would have noticed the visit at all.

Naturally, the BNP and Jefferson in particular, can't bear to tell the truth about anything, and this day out for the lads was no exception. On his peculiar Cumbrian Patriot blog, he has this to say;

'The people of Longtown all came out of their houses and shops and lined the main street applauding us...'

Jefferson has posted a video on his blog - made on the day - and it at once struck me as bizarre that he didn't include this inspiring event for us all to watch. But maybe that's because it didn't happen and Jefferson is just bullshitting as usual.

Here he is trying to take a sideswipe at Lancaster anti-fascists;

'Another highpoint was Lancaster, its really interesting to see the effect music such as Rule Britannia and the colours Red, White and Blue have on the small zealot communist element of Lancaster. Some of the scruffy louts where actually jumping up and down shaking their fists at the Truth Truck...'

Er, no, they weren't. Nobody saw it for long enough to shake their fists. And as far as I know, there isn't a 'small zealot communist element' in Lancaster. There are a lot of people who hate the BNP and all it stands for though, and if Jefferson and his fascist chums had the balls to come here and stop for a while, they'd find out that the number of anti-fascists here has grown considerably since their last (short and expensive) visit. There is, needless to say, no video of anyone jumping anywhere or shaking anything.

We all know the BNP is riddled with thugs whose only talent lies in intimidation, and Jefferson proves this very nicely by standing outside the offices of the Cumbrian Newsgroup HQ, raving like a mad drunk, or as he puts it;

'we stopped outside the Cumbrian Newsgroup headquarters and I couldn't resist getting on the tannoy and having a little bit of fun with the editor - Neil -the zealot - Hogekinson, the anti-BNP Editor of the News & Star.'

Perhaps the editor of the News and Star could get his own Tannoy and respond by asking (at top volume) why Jefferson is driving around in a hired lorry that was meant to have been paid for outright by donations from the BNP's members. And then he could ask where the donations actually went. Then maybe he could ask Jefferson how long he's been paid by the party and how much - and precisely when he stopped claiming benefits. And what his views are on drug dealers...

If I were Thicky Jefferson, I'd spend a bit more time tucked away quietly indoors and a lot less time shouting my mouth off and telling porkies.

Harrow mosque shunned by Islamophobics over request for dialogue

Anti-Islam campaigners refused requests for a dialogue from Harrow Central Mosque at a rally today

Ajmal Masroor, a spokesman for the religious institution, crossed police lines to talk to affiliates of the English Defence League (EDL) and Stop Islamisation of Europe (SIOE) at an anti-mosque rally, in Station Road. He invited representatives of the two groups to come into the mosque and discuss their objections to Muslim religion, but the protesters rejected the offer.

SIOE leader Stephen Gash said: “What's the point of me discussing with an Imam at the mosque. What we want is the debate with John Denham and the Home Office.”

Mr Masroor said: “An invitation was made to the groups but they've refused. We spoke to SIOE, extended the arm and invited them to the mosque and they refused. Stephen Gash said it was not worth his time to come and talk to us. As a community of people we have demonstrated we are united, we are not going to be hijacked by right wing fascist and racist groups. You are not going to be able to hijack [our] harmony and peaceful existence.”

Mahmood Awan, trustee of the mosque, said: “It's a shame that they are not prepared to have a dialogue. We could have tried to build bridges but they don't seem to want to do that. All they want is to come here and disrupt our community.”

Anti-fascists confronted the English Defence League and Stop Islamisation of Europe in a peaceful protest in the car park of Harrow Civic Centre, in Station Road. Members of the two organisations chanted slogans at each other from behind metal crowd control barriers and lines of police officers.

Mr Gash said: “I don't wish to be disruptive, especially around Christmas, but I say the only recourse available to us is the streets. Nobody will allow us to talk on TV.”

Paul Brown, of central London, an affiliate of EDL, said: “We are here to protest against the relentless march of Islam in Britain and across the world. It's been going on for centuries. People have been planning this. This is what Islam is all about. They go into areas and take over and crush everyone.”

Tony McNulty, MP for Harrow East, said: “They don't know what they are talking about. It's a protest fuelled by ignorance. It's a matter of profound despair to them that Harrow is such a united, multi-faith community.”

Harrow Times

A message from Harrow Central Mosque

Victory for the peace loving people of Harrow

Today’s demonstration by the Stop Islamisation of Europe and the English Defence League was in every measure a miserable defeat for the hate mongers and the Islamaphobes.

The Harrow Central Mosque is extremely grateful that people from so many backgrounds and faiths stood shoulder to shoulder in support of and in solidarity towards this great centre of peace and harmony. The Mosque would also like to express its grateful thanks to the youth of Harrow and its surrounding areas for heeding the call to not attend this event.

During the afternoon the Mosque extended an invitation to both the groups and at one stage even directly invited the leaders of EDL to have face to face and civilised constructive dialogue with Mosque representatives. Initially they agreed but then changed their minds and went home. However, the SIOE declined to accept the invitation point blank and the leader of this group, Stephen Gash, said ‘this will be a total waste of time and fruitless exercise’.

The Mosque is always ready to welcome all people regardless of faith or background and is proud of its well long standing track record to uphold the principles of a multicultural and cohesive society.

So today was a victory for the people of Harrow and defeat for the racists and the fascists. There is only message the Mosque is willing to give- this is our home; Britain is our country; British people are our people; and we will do everything for its well-being.

Harrow Central Mosque

Question Crime - Taxpayers' £143k bill to protect Nick Griffin at the Beeb

Nick Griffin's disastrous appearance on Question Time landed taxpayers with a £143,000 security bill for protecting the BNP leader. That's how much police spent dealing with angry protesters outside BBC Television Centre, closing roads and using a helicopter to keep the far-right boss safe.

Furious critics have demanded Beeb chiefs cough up the cash out of the £17.5million they pocketed in bonuses last year.

Labour MP Andy Slaughter, whose constituency covers TV Centre at White City, West London, said: "It was a decision by managers to put him on the programme so maybe they should put their money where their mouth is. People will be horrified to find out that so much public money has been spent giving a fascist party their best-ever publicity."

The decision to invite Griffin on to Question Time sparked a furious backlash. Police had to draft in thousands of officers after anti-fascist groups called a demonstration. Diverting cops who should have been fighting crime in other areas cost £109,000 alone. Another £13,000 was spent on overtime pay for extra officers. The helicopter, transport costs, barriers and sign posting road closures added a further £21,000 to the bill.

BBC heads refused to say how much it spent on extra security for Griffin, claiming freedom of information laws didn't apply because staff may be put in danger. But Mr Slaughter branded the notion "ludicrous".

He added: said: "If the police can tell you how much it cost why can't the BBC? They should come clean about how much money they have wasted."

Mr Slaughter had tried to persuade the BBC to film Question Time at another location where Griffin's appearance wouldn't cause as much disruption. And he argued that allowing the racist BNP a platform in such a diverse area of the country was an insult to locals.

Before the show Beeb staff went around removing signs so any protesters who did break in would not be able to find senior managers' offices.

Griffin was humiliated when the audience and fellow panellists exposed and ridiculed his vile views. But he later presented himself as a victim in a bid to win sympathy.

Mirror

Controversial historian suffers email hack

Holocaust-denying, Hitler-worshipping, crap historian David Irving

Activists steal account data from David Irving

Author and historian David Irving has become the latest high-profile individual to suffer an email account breach. Details from Irving's accounts on AOL and his personal web site were obtained by self-described "anti-fascist hackers" and posted online on November 13. Among the data is Irving's email archives on both accounts, as well as customer lists and attendee lists for three of Irving's planned speaking trips in the north eastern US.

"Hitler-loving Holocaust-denying David Irving's speaking tour is being attacked on the streets and on the internet as he makes his way to speak on Saturday in New York City," wrote the hackers. "We did this to expose this Nazi-sympathiser for who he is and to shut down/disrupt any possibility of Irving rearing his fascist head in public during his tour."

Hacking and information disclosure have become increasingly popular mediums for those involved in political actions in recent years. Denial-of-service attacks by Russian hackers have played a prominent role in that country's recent conflicts with Estonia and Georgia.

In 2008, a political opponent hacked and posted the email archive of US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, while opponents of the British National Party publically posted the party's complete membership list.

Secure Computing

Note: WikiLeaks is your friend.

Welsh Defence League show true colours

They denied being fascists ahead of their first Welsh march – but at yesterday’s Welsh Defence League protest against Islamic extremism onlookers were confronted with scenes of jeering men giving Nazi salutes.

It was the first time the newly-formed group have been out on the streets in Wales. At a similar event in Birmingham a few weeks ago trouble flared when the English Defence League, which describes itself as “peacefully protesting against militant Islam”, and anti-fascism groups fought on the street. At the gathering in Swansea, a 25-year-old man was arrested for a racially-aggravated public order offence.

The controversial march had sparked a counter-demonstration, with about 200 protesters occupying the city centre. A heavy police cordon on either side of Castle Street in Swansea city centre kept the two groups apart.

Speaking before its demonstration, the Welsh Defence League (WDL) said the event would be peaceful, and consistently denied allegations of fascist tendencies. But the ugly scenes, in which grown men among the group of around 60 were seen making Nazi salutes in front of small children, seemed to prove otherwise.

Keith Ross, one of the organisers of the counter demonstration by groups including Swansea City of Sanctuary and Searchlight Cymru, said: “My first reaction to the WDL is who are they defending us against? I don’t need to be defended against Muslims and I’m sad that the WDL has made a public call for no more mosques, which is a breach of human rights. Yet they have been given the right of freedom of speech.”

Plaid Cymru Assembly Member Leanne Woods was among those who had turned out to oppose the Welsh Defence League. She said: “This is the first time they have come to Wales and a lot of people from different organisations have come out to say far-right extremism isn’t acceptable on the streets of Swansea. We are happy to live together with the Muslim community and we are not prepared to accept divisive and hate-based politics on our streets.”

Dr Mohammed Rahman, who attends Swansea Mosque, said Muslims in Swansea were very much an accepted part of the community. He said: “In any society in the world there will be some elements who will be against Islam or Christianity or some other religion, so this is a normal thing to happen. But it is a very, very minor percentage of people. I feel very secure in the community here because most of the people support us.”

Speaking after the demonstrations, chief superintendent Mark Mathias, of South Wales Police, said he had hoped the two sides would be separated but was pleased with a relatively peaceful outcome.

“When you bring two groups together there’s going to be passion, and that’s what we have had today,” he said. “I am pleased with the success of the police operation, which allowed the protests to pass off peacefully, whilst taking into account the rights of the people of Swansea to go about their normal business.”

Wales Online

Inside view on the BNP

Burly security staff in heavy, black coats guard the door while police pace outside the Frank Townend Centre in Cleveleys.

It's not the usual midweek sight outside the Beach Road community centre where children go for dance classes and ladies meet for art and craft sessions. But it's not every night the BNP holds a rally in the quaint seaside town. And it's certainly not often the press get invited to see what goes on behind those well guarded doors. So when Clive Jefferson, North West BNP regional organiser, ushered me into their meeting room, I was quite taken aback.

Going inside, I pass a passionate group of anti-fascist protesters waving placards and shouting. One protester, Jane from Blackpool Trades Union Council told me: "We will fight wherever the BNP stand. If we stand together, we will oppose them quicker."

Then there's an army of bouncers, wearing BNP badges, to negotiate. I join around 40 people – BNP members and invitees – who have turned up to listen to the party's policies and their plans to form a branch in Wyre.

Stood in front of a large banner proclaiming "British jobs for British workers" with a Union Jack flag beside him Mr Jefferson said: "We are a legitimate party, we have a right to hold a meeting here. We want British jobs for British workers. We want the troops out of Iraq."

The audience – a few women but mainly men in their 50s and 60s – burst into applause. But what about their ideas for Cleveleys? James Clayton, candidate for next week's Jubilee ward by-election, said: "The major problems are anti-social behaviour and drug use in Cleveleys, needles being found on the Promenade, mess in the roads, grass cuttings and street lighting. A lot of people have shown interest in our party and this is our chance to show ourselves for who we are, which isn't the skinhead or thugs and yob image."

One member offers me a drink as he says: "We're not intimidating are we? We get a lot of bad press but we're not thugs."

But I don't like what I hear next as around six people put their hands up to request an application form to become a BNP member. One convert shouts: "I'll have an application form, but not a coloured one!"

It was greeted with laughter by most in the audience, and was a deeply unpleasant reminder of where I was. I had a distinctly uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. While inside the building the recruitment drive was in full flow, it was a different story outside as four people got turned away. All were either black or Asian. There were no members of the ethnic minorities inside.

As I left a security guard told me: "After a while it was getting full up so we decided it had to be members only."

Strange that, as I was given a seat all to myself and I'm not a member. And I swear there was plenty of space.

Madhvi Chabba-Moudgil, 35, from St Annes, was one of those turned away, along with partner Vishal Moudgil and brother SK Chabba. She said: "Allowing a party that only allows certain people to join only goes towards a breakdown of relationships between all sections of the community and further leads to spoil the good work of people who work towards integration and good relations between different communities and classes of society. In this day and age, for a society of this kind to require police presence at a community centre, is a very sad statement in humanity. What hope is there for integration of society?"

Stephen Howard, 32, who is black and from Cleveleys, who was also turned away, said: "When I asked why, they said: 'what does BNP stand for?'"

The refusals put Bernie Naughton off from going inside. The 42-year-old from Poulton said: "I came down to hear their opinions but then I saw they were not letting Stephen in I changed my mind."

Around seven police officers were outside to make sure the rally and protest passed off peacefully. Supt Richard Spedding said officers would be looking into the circumstances surrounding people being refused entry. He then praised protesters, including those from Unite Against Fascism, Lancaster Unity and Blackpool Fylde and Wyre Trades Union Council, for how they behaved during their demonstration.

Anti-fascist campaigners are planning a protest in London against the BNP leader's presence on BBC One's Question Time on October 22. Black writer Bonnie Greer will take part in a televised debate with far right party leader Nick Griffin. They will be joined by Justice Secretary Jack Straw – the first senior Labour politician to say that he was willing to appear on the show with Mr Griffin.

* The other candidates for the Jubilee by-election are: Roy Hopwood representing the UK Independence Party, Wayne Martin for Labour and Tory David Walmsley.

Fleetwood Today

BBC to vet BNP Question Time audience for anti-fascists

Audience members for the Question Time edition featuring BNP chief Nick Griffin are being rigorously' vetted by BBC producers to weed out likely anti-fascist demonstrators, it was confirmed today.

BBC bosses fear protesters could disrupt the recording of the programme, due to take place at the Wood Lane studios on 22 October. As well as filling out the normal detailed questionnaire, applicants to become audience members will also be checked for membership or involvement in organisations such as Unite Against Facism. Many are likely to be questioned personally and be asked to prove their identities on the door.

Unite Against Facism, which is planning a mass blockade of the BBC studios on the day, has also urged its supporters to apply to join the audience, putting a link on its website to the audience application form.

The Corporation has confirmed that it is working closely with the Metropolitan Police and Hammersmith and Fulham council to keep a lid on the protests. The council is concerned at the potential for disruption to local people and has asked the BBC to pay for extra policing, which the Corporation has rejected.

Today, the BBC said it would not discuss security issues ahead of the programme, which will also feature justice minister Jack Straw and black writer and academic Bonnie Greer. But a Corporation insider said: "Question Time has been going for many years and they have very tried and tested procedures for weeding out potential troublemakers which for obvious reasons cannot be aired publicly.

"But it is a very rigorous process. Because it is a programme which has featured cabinet ministers and others for whom security is an important consideration, the people involved in producing the programme are extremely aware of what needs to be done to make sure there is no danger or disruption from the audience."

Before being accepted, audience applicants are asked what political party they support, whether they back the leader of that party and their views on issues such as the Iraq war and Europe. Scotland Yard intelligence officers are also likely to be closely monitoring the demonstrators in order to head off any planned disruption.

Corporation sources have dismissed suggestions that the recording could be brought forward to avoid the protests, which are due to begin with a picket line at 9am on the day. Similar protests are planned at other BBC studios around the country. Question Time is normally recorded live at 8.30 pm, two hours before transmission, which also allows any disruption or interruptions to be edited out.

The possibility of moving the recording to another location has been considered and although ruled out at the moment, BBC sources have stressed the security situation is being monitored on a daily basis.

The source added: "What would be the point of moving it elsewhere when the Metropolitan Police has extensive experience of dealing with protests in London generally and outside the BBC in particular, where there are demonstrations over something almost every week. At the same time, the studios as Wood Lane are themselves a fairly secure environment, which is one of the reasons why the programme is being recorded there in the first place."

Most editions of the programme are recorded in public or significant buildings around the country, which would be less secure. It was also pointed out that given the large public involvement, shifting the programme to another studio at the last minute was a difficult proposition - and moving it sooner increased the likelyhood of the new location being leaked.

London Evening Standard

Peter Tierney faces court date for assaulting anti-fascists

In April, I reported on an attack perpetrated by Merseyside BNP activists Steve Greenhalgh and Peter Tierney [left], which took place in Liverpool City Centre on St George's Day. Greenhalgh and Tierney used an upended table and a folded camera tripod respectively as weapons against anti-fascists who had routed their leafleting with counter-leafleting in and around their location.

Despite Tierney's lies, which got one anti-fascist arrested for "assaulting" him, he was ultimately taken into custody and released on bail. The arrested anti-fascist was also bailed, but only after being held in the same station as Tierney and subsequently followed home by a car full of BNP activists threatening "we know where you live, we’re going to fucking kill you."

On Monday, Tierney answered his police bail at St Anne's Street police station. The bail conditions for both Tierney and the victim he claimed to be his assailant included a ban on entering the City Centre, and those conditions were reasserted. Tierney is set to face trial at the Liverpool Magistrates Court on the 5th of August and, as the Merseyside BNP blog reports, BNP activists "will be holding a 2nd Demo outside of the Magistrates Court as he attends." Their intent is to show that they "will not be intimidated and bullied by the state" who have "set a dangerous precedent that decent members of the public CAN NOT defend themselves against attackers." They are in fact demonstrating that their party stands in defence of savage violence by those who grap weapons when faced with non-violent opposition.

As of yet, no counter-demonstration has been arranged to face the fascist contingent outside the courthouse. Even if, as in countless prior Liverpool demonstrations, their numbers barely scrape fifty, they need to be opposed. Merseyside anti-fascists need to show that we will not accept fascist violence under the transparent pretext of "self-defence" against the non-violent, and Tierney needs to learn that the opposition and dissent he so hates will not simply fade away because he picks up a weapon.

Truth, Reason and Liberty

Lancaster unites against the nazi BNP

Part of yesterday's impromptu anti-fascist demo in Lancaster

This article was submitted by one of our readers, Barry Kade. We welcome any contributions from our supporters (as long as those contributions conform to the law and are in reasonably good taste). Please send your articles to us via email.

As people finished work on Monday evening a crowd began to gather in Lancaster's Dalton Square, where they soon began to line the edge of the city's busy one-way traffic system. Hastily-made placards were passed around and held aloft.

By 6pm, a headcount revealed that over one hundred local people were now gathered. What was happening was a sudden and spontaneous outpouring of popular anger, sparked by that morning's news - a notorious Nazi extremist had taken a Euro MP's seat for our region. A megaphone arrived and rousing anti-fascist speeches filled the air, invoking the memory of our ancestors who sacrificed themselves in the battles to stop fascist rule in Europe. As the numbers swelled people stood on traffic islands and roadsides holding aloft signs that said 'Stop the BNP' and 'Unite Against Fascism'.

Lancaster folk united in their opposition to the nazi BNP

What was amazing about this gathering was that it had been announced only a few hours before. Word got out via SMS text messages, facebook and email, spreading rapidly around networks of families and friends. People had woken up that morning to hear the dismal news of Nick Griffins elevation to the EU gravy train. You can tell when people are really angry when sizeable protests seem to come out of nowhere, and take a only few hours instead of weeks to organise. It was like this with the poll tax and the build up to the Iraq war. People seem to be desperately seeking an outlet for their opposition, concern and rage, and take to the streets almost instantly. The same was also happening at the same time across the North West and Yorkshire, with reports of 2,000 gathering in Manchester, and many other hastily called protests each growing hundreds strong in Preston, Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield.

For there is a rising level of anger in this country. It is more than anger against the sick politics of the BNP. It is also anger against the degeneration and corruption of our political life that has lead to this humiliating spectacle - of Britain sending two Holocaust-denying, Hitler loving Nazis as our representatives to the European Parliament - on the very 65th anniversary of our victory over the Nazi war machine!

Yet the BNP still only have support from a small minority of the population. They only received 6.2% of the Euro-election vote across Britain and the actual number of votes they got went down this year. The BNP have experienced no great surge of support, even though Britain is in such a deep economic and political crisis, for while the majority of people have heard their siren calls, they have firmly rejected them. The real shift in this election is the collapse of the Labour Party and its vote, paying the price of years of betraying its grassroots voters, of putting profit before people and selling its soul to big business, war, and greed. Yet still people retch and recoil from the BNP, choosing either UKIP for an anti EU protest because of its lack of Nazi background, or the Greens for a leftish alternative to Labour.

It is worth noting that in the total vote for these Euro elections across Britain, the Green Party polled more than the BNP, receiving 8.6%. It also saw a bigger increase in its vote than the Nazis. It achieved this while standing on its most left-wing yet 'green new deal' platform, which proposes to create a million new green jobs. However, in the North West region, the vote panned out at 8% for the BNP, which due to the proportion of parties and seats, let them scrape in by the tiny margin of just a few thousand votes, only narrowly beating the Greens.

More protestor's at Lancaster's Dalton Square yesterday

Now the fear is that Griffin and fellow ex-National front leader Andrew Brons can leap on the EU gravy train. By linking up with dodgy Nazi groups from Hungary, France, Italy and elsewhere, Griffin can now get millions of Euros of taxpayers money to spend on spreading his poisonous gospel of race war into our communities. As the ordinary people of Britain we face enough problems - we live in fear of job losses, home repossessions, attacks on our rights to pensions, we face being ripped off by greedy bankers and corrupt politicians. Yet now we face another threat, an additional problem - Nazi politicians like Griffin trying to elbow their way into the scene.

But today's protests revealed another side to the situation. Thousands of people are willing to stand up and fight, to oppose the BNP and drive it back. Every advance made by the BNP will generate increased resistance: the more serious a threat it appears to be, the more the anti-fascist majority will want to fight it back. The fascists shall not pass. We shall never surrender; we will never let their jackboot settle upon our necks.

Barry Kade's blog is here.