How the flying Dutchman was stopped in his tracks

In a blaze of publicity, the anti-Islam campaigner was refused entry to Britain

Three days ago, few people in Britain, other than those of the far right, knew of the Dutch politician Geert Wilders. Yesterday though, in an own goal by the British Government, the anti-Islamist was handed a stunning PR opportunity when he was turned away from Britain.

Apart from two empty rows at the front – reserved for Mr Wilders and his two giant, shaven-headed bodyguards – there wasn't a spare seat on flight BD104 from Amsterdam to London. One third of the plane was filled with reporters and cameramen, there to chronicle the moment the Dutch demagogue defied a Home Office ban on him entering the country.

Mr Wilders, 45, had been due to show his film Fitna, which equates Islam with fascism, in the House of Lords last night. He never arrived – but did garner much helpful publicity. At the front of the plane, Mr Wilders held court. "I am no champion of anything," he said. "I'm just trying to exercise my right to free speech.

"My message to the British Government is that I am sad that the ghost of Chamberlain still resides in Britain instead of the ghost of Churchill. I would say to [Britain], even if you don't like me, even if you don't like my thoughts, be brave and defend freedom of speech. If you don't then you are weak and you are cowards."

When the plane landed at Heathrow at 2pm, the circus continued. Two plainclothes immigration officers walked on to the plane and escorted Mr Wilders off for questioning – pursued by the media pack and bodyguards. "Is this how Great Britain meets a democrat?" the blond populist demanded.

He was sent back to Amsterdam on the next flight at 4.30pm. It is thought to be the first time Britain has refused entry to an elected European politician since the creation of the EU in 1993.

Mr Wilders seemed happy to have used the one-hour flight to rail against the British Government, which he accused of appeasing "Islamofascists" and stifling free speech. He repeated some of the criticisms of Islam that have made him so reviled.

Most Dutch passengers seemed to understand what all the fuss was about but Bridget Naughton, an Australian living in Utrecht, was nonplussed. "To be honest I don't even know who he is," she said. "All I do know is that he's taken my seat. When I checked in online last night I was in the front row, but now it appears this Mr Wilders has taken it."

Mr Wilders had been invited to the House of Lords by Lord Pearson, a Ukip peer. His 17-minute-long documentary Fitna is named after the Arabic word for "civil war", and was shown last night regardless. The film links Islamic texts with footage of terrorist attacks and calls the Koran a "fascist book". It has caused waves of protests across the Muslim world, which Mr Wilders responded to by warning of a "tsunami" of Islam swamping the Netherlands; calling for an outright ban of the Koran in Holland and a halt on the construction of any new mosques. He faces prosecution in Holland for inciting hatred and discriminating against Muslims and their religion.

Yesterday, he denied any suggestion that he was being hypocritical to demand a ban on the Koran while simultaneously criticising the British Government for attacking his right to free speech. "I don't see a problem there," he said. "I'm talking about the Koran, I'm not talking about the people. Unlike in the UK, in Holland we have banned [Hitler's] Mein Kampf and I see a comparison between the two books. They are both books full of totalitarian ideologies and they both incite violence."

Muslim groups in Britain reacted angrily to his comments yesterday and praised the Government for deporting him. Mohammed Shafique, director of the Ramadhan Foundation, a group that promotes interfaith dialogue, said: "Mr Wilders' film is all about demonising and attacking Islam and Muslims. He is a modern-day Hitler, his hatred on Islam is based on fiction and his presence in the UK may lead to community tensions. This is not about freedom of speech but about stopping the incitement to religious hatred this man promotes. The Government has been right in banning this man and there should be no let-up in letting him through."

Mr Wilders said he intended to return the UK soon, regardless of whether or not the ban on him is lifted. The Netherlands has pressed for a reversal of Britain's decision to ban him.

Holland's Foreign Minister, Maxime Verhagen, said: "It is highly regrettable that a Dutch MP should be denied entry to another EU country." The Dutch ambassador to Britain, Pim Waldeck, was at Heathrow to offer Mr Wilders assistance.

In a final, somewhat surreal gesture on the flight to Britain, a Dutch gossip journalist handed the politician a pink burqa and said he should try to enter the UK wearing it in order to fool immigration officials.

Double Dutch: The view from Holland

NRC Handelsblad

"The British ban appears to trample on fundamental rights enshrined by the EU and the Council of Europe but it also harms the concept that Europe is one open space. London used to be a refuge for extremists and radicals who came from all corners of the world. Russians, Chechens, Algerians and other radical Muslim groups were allowed to settle there. Karl Marx fled to London from Paris. Wilders had a return ticket. Even under a stricter regime, it should be possible for him to come to London.

De Volkskrant

"Whatever one thinks of Wilders' views, he is an elected representative of an EU country. He has a diplomatic passport to allow him to travel freely. The EU is a symbol of the free exchange of persons and ideas and Britain cannot swoop down on this freedom just by using the argument that Wilders wanted to spread 'extremism'. The British appear unimpressed by efforts by Dutch ministers to get them to reconsider. But the Dutch will have to take them to task over this."

Independent

Banned Dutch politician lands in Britain

A right-wing Dutch politician banned from entering the UK over his anti-Islam views landed in Britain today.

Geert Wilders was invited to Westminster to show his 17-minute film Fitna, which criticises the Koran as a "fascist book", by a member of the House of Lords. But on Tuesday he received a letter from the Home Office refusing him entry because his opinions "would threaten community security and therefore public security" in the UK.

Mr Wilders, a member of Holland's Freedom Party, condemned the British Government as "weak and cowardly" and vowed he would make the trip anyway. He left Amsterdam on a BMI flight at lunchtime, a party spokesman said.

The aircraft touched down at London's Heathrow Airport at about 2pm.

BMI refused to confirm that Mr Wilders had booked a flight with the airline, citing data protection laws. A spokesman said only: "We are obliged to observe Government-enforced travel restrictions. If they are imposed, we are duty-bound to abide by them."

It is understood that the controversial politician's passport will be flagged up at Heathrow immigration and he will be refused entry to Britain at that point.

Mr Wilders has urged the Dutch government to ban the Koran and warned of a "tsunami" of Islam swamping the Netherlands. His film sparked violent protests around the Muslim world last year for linking verses in the religious text with footage of terrorist attacks. He has launched an appeal against an Amsterdam court's order that he should be prosecuted for hate speech.

Mr Wilders said he had already shown his film to Denmark's parliament and would take it to Italy and the US House of Representatives in the coming weeks. He told the BBC: "I was very surprised and very saddened that the freedom of speech that I believe was a very strong point in UK society is being harassed today."

Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said the government of the Netherlands would press for a reversal of the travel ban.

UK Independence Party peer Lord Pearson, who invited Mr Wilders to Britain, said the screening of the film would go ahead today "with or without Mr Wilders". In a joint statement he and cross-bench peer Baroness Cox said they were "promoting freedom of speech" and accused the Government of "appeasing" militant Islam.

They added: "Geert Wilders' Fitna film, available on the web, is not a threat to anyone. It merely suggests how the Koran has been used by militant Islamists to promote and justify their violence. They react in fury and menace to our intention to show the film and have boasted that their threats of aggressive demonstrations prevented its previous showing in the Mother of Parliaments.

"This was not the case - the event was postponed to clarify issues of freedom of speech. The threat of intimidation in fact increases the justification for the film to be shown and discussed in Parliament and by the British and international press."

The Home Office said: "The Government opposes extremism in all its forms. It will stop those who want to spread extremism, hatred and violent messages in our communities from coming to our country, and that was the driving force behind tighter rules on exclusions for unacceptable behaviour that the Home Secretary announced in October last year."

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: "Freedom of speech is our most precious freedom of all, because all the other freedoms depend on it. But there is a line to be drawn even with freedom of speech, and that is where it is likely to incite violence or hatred against someone or some group. Where there is risk of harm to others, there has to be some limit.

"Having watched Geert Wilders' movie Fitna, with its raw and emotional appeals to anti-Islamic feeling and its shocking images of violence, there is no doubt in my mind that he has overstepped the line that should be defended in a civilised society and that the Home Secretary's ruling is right."

A spokesman for the Conservative Party said it did not wish to comment.

The National Secular Society's president said he wrote to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith arguing that she had made a mistake in denying an application by a "democratically-elected politician from a sovereign state who wants to come and express an opinion".

Terry Sanderson said: "It may be a controversial opinion but he is entitled to express it. We think that the wrong people are being targeted here because the reason they have given for refusing him entry is that it may result in some kind of public disturbance. We think that is not a good enough reason. It's very disturbing that they are prepared to do this just on the basis that somebody might object."

Mr Sanderson said that, while the organisation did not agree with a lot of what Mr Wilders said, the right way to deal with it was to "argue with him, debate and discuss - not silence him".

A spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain said: "Geert Wilders has been an open and relentless preacher of hate - there is little difference between his views and those of the far right. We have no problem with the challenge of criticisms to our faith, but the film that will be screened by Lord Pearson and Baroness Cox is nothing less than a cheap and tacky attempt to whip up hysteria against Muslims.

"Mr Wilders' xenophobic views have been identified as repugnant by a Dutch court, and is now confirmed by his official exclusion from the United Kingdom. It is now time to ask why Peers of the Realm who promote such demagogues without any censure are allowed to be regarded as mainstream, responsible leaders in our community."

Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of Muslim youth organisation the Ramadhan Foundation, supported the Government's stance. He said: "His hatred of Islam is based on fiction and his presence in the UK may lead to community tensions. We in the UK value freedom and also our communities have worked so hard to build understanding and respect for each other. Mr Wilders and his fascist views are not welcomed to our country where we pride ourselves as a multi-faith society. This is not about freedom of speech but about stopping the incitement to religious hatred this man promotes."

After leaving the aircraft, Mr Wilders was taken into a side room to be interviewed, witnesses said.

The Dutch ambassador to Britain, Pim Waldeck, was at Heathrow to offer assistance.

Among those waiting for Mr Wilders in arrivals at the airport was Gerard Batten, UK Independence Party MEP for London. He said: "I thought it would be a nice touch to turn up and welcome him here if he gets through."

Independent

One Flew Over The Pig Farm: the BNP and us in 2008 - August

Summer arrives with a vengeance and a nicely sarcastic series of articles by our friend Iliacus, who begins the task of inspecting and analysing the BNP's accounts for 2007 - delivered to the Electoral Commission late, as usual. Iliacus points out the highlights, which to the untrained eye, show a party in great financial trouble, as shown by the auditor for the accounts who states 'the financial statements do not give a true and fair view of the state of the party's affairs'.

• Donation Income falls by 32%
• Membership income up by 38% (?)
• Income from commercial activities down by 68%!
• Deficit for year is £50,000 (against £18,000 surplus in 2006)
• Current cash accounts in chaos
• Balance sheet shows net liabilities of £85,000+
• Party owes £20,000 + in PAYE and VAT - (that's £20k less for schools and hospitals!)

Who is to blame for all this? The party's chairman? Its incompetent treasurer? Perish the thought. Nick Griffin has the answer and says so in his Chairman's Report.

'Oxfordshire police; Labour Party thugs; illegality by Labour Cabinet Ministers; undemocratic thugs from the far-left; local newspapers; the police and the Electoral Commission; third party disparagers; the unions; the Daily Mirror; postal fraud by Labour and LibDem activists; unscrupulous council officials; a small clique of staff and middle ranking officials [within the BNP !]; the violent far-left of the Labour regime; the viciously anti-BNP neo-Nazi fringe. (All listed and identified in Griffin's 'Chairman's Report' as acting against the BNP, and many of them accused of illegal behaviour. Only surprised that he forgot the BBC. Thank goodness he isn't paranoid!)'

Iliacus' masterly summary of the mess that is the BNP's accounts can be read by clicking the links below:

The Accounts (1): First Impressions
The Accounts (2): "We wuz robbed"
The Accounts (3): Figure Skating
The Accounts (4): "and for my next trick"
The Accounts (5) : "a slender merit of providing cosmetic comfort"

Meanwhile the BNP, the party that has nothing but respect for all things British (ho-ho), pisses off everyone by flogging fake Victoria Crosses, thus showing its contempt for our armed forces and incidentally using the income from sales to fund more of the party's extremism and racism. Hero Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry, 28, who won the VC four years ago for saving 30 pals in Iraq, condemned the BNP. He said: “Selling fake VCs is very disrespectful. The honour of the medal and its history shouldn’t be tarnished like this. I take so much pride in my medal and I hate seeing it abused. The medal is not about money or politics and it shouldn’t be worn for fun – that devalues the sacrifice of the soldiers who won it.”

The BNP's Lie Lorry looks to be one of its key moneymakers if the number of begging letters sent out referring to it are anything to go by. You'll recall that the party asked for £30,000 to buy the truck but now they are asking for more to actually put it on the road. No-one in the party (apparently) has the sense to ask why this wasn't factored into the original appeal.

The truth is that the Lie Lorry is yet another of Griffin's scams - remember Boudicca the amazing invisible bus? How much money was raised by the membership for that? Nobody knows, except Griffin and co. And where is the bus? Nobody knows that either. The Truth Truck, being shared with UK LifeLeague, will no doubt appear and will cost the membership dearly. It already has - but this is just the beginning of the scam. And I'll bet there are many more to come.

News reaches us of plans to change the constitution of the BNP to allow leadership challenges to take place quadrennially, rather than annually. There are many changes in the pipeline as Griffin seeks to consolidate his slippery grip on the BNP, many of which are planned for an Extraordinary General Meeting which is to take place at the Red, White and Blue later this month.

The moronic Tommy Williams (he of Covert fame) got in trouble for trying to claim on the nazi Stormfront forum that a bomb had been set off at the entrance to the RWB site. A complete lie that he only told because he thought 'reds' (meaning anyone who opposes the BNP) would get the blame. Silly boy. After a snorter of a telling-off from Nick Griffin, who could obviously imagine the cash-carrying punters melting away into the sunset, Williams quickly printed a retraction, blaming the incident on local children setting off fireworks. Strangely, there is no record of any such incident taking place - not with the police, the local newspapers or any local residents I asked. Am I surprised? Well, no.

Mid-August saw a 700-strong demo against the RWB in Denby somewhat disproportionately policed by 250 officers, many in riot gear. This huge number was supplemented by as many (it seemed) on the BNP's security team. There's a full report of the demo here but one of the highlights was a group of anti-fascists listening to Martin Reynolds, the BNP's then head of security, being told in no uncertain terms by police control to 'breathe deep and calm down' after he called for help in a mad panic. Since then, Reynolds appears to have been replaced by the arrogant Cumbrian and dandy Clive Jefferson. The RWB had a bright spot for Nick Griffin though - he walked away having secured a severance package that could bankrupt the BNP overnight.

At the end of August, the BNP stepped up its production of racially-inflammatory material with yet another leaflet blaming the heroin trade entirely on Muslims via its Preston branch, which seems to have permanently renamed itself the Preston Pals. As usual, the police seem reluctant to take any action despite the fact that there have been numerous complaints about the leaflet. One wonders why...

The month ends with the news that a group calling itself Daten-Antifa has hacked into the servers of the Blood and Honour neo-nazi group, pinching nearly 32,000 items of data on members, their email addresses and their messages from all over the world. While we naturally disapprove of this sort of behaviour, the databank can be found here.

Meet the BNP hijacker … or maybe not

As part of our service of keeping BNP members informed about what is going on in their own party, we pass on details of a Hounslow BNP branch meeting featuring the guest speaker Paul Golding, well known in the party as a "London super-activist" and driver of the BNP's lie lorry.

In an attempt to round members up for the meeting on Friday 13 February, Councillor Bob Bailey, the BNP's London organiser and leader of the BNP group on Barking and Dagenham council, says: "Paul is an excellent speaker and leading light in the south east and London. He is the candidate in a by election in Seven Oaks [sic] Kent. Polling day Thursday 12th so with any luck we may be greeting Councillor Paul Golding!"

This may cause consternation among BNP activists being dragged over to Swanley St Mary's ward, Sevenoaks, to carry on canvassing for their candidate right up to the actual polling day on 19 February. This latest blunder by Councillor Bailey follows his glowing endorsement of the BNP's candidate in the Waddon ward, Croydon, by-election on 12 February, Charlotte Lewis. When her animal rights terrorism conviction was revealed, Bailey told the local paper it would increase the BNP's share of the vote.

Why Bailey was acting as as a BNP spokesperson for Croydon, south London, is unclear. Party members are wondering what has happened to Bob Gertner, the south London organiser.

Members and supporters wanting to attend the Hounslow meeting in west London are told to make their way to the rendezvous point at Uxbridge underground station at 7pm and "look for activists with Union flag". Is that the Union Flag Golding claimed to have hijacked in his recent statement, widely publicised by Searchlight: "We have hi-jacked the Union Flag, now we must hi-jack the word ‘British'"?

Confused? Why not give the Hounslow organiser, Dan Finch, a call on 07722 166755?

Stop the BNP

Take down your flags, ex-BNP candidate told

A 70-year-old man who has been told to remove a flagpole from outside his sheltered accommodation home is trying to win the right to continue flying fly his flags.

A row broke out last week when 70-year-old Patrick Sullivan [left] put the 20ft flagpole outside his bungalow in Highwoods Square, Colchester. Within days he was asked by Colchester Borough Homes, which owns the building, to take it down, following complaints from other residents.

Mr Sullivan said he wanted fly the Union Flag because he is very “patriotic”. Independent ward councillor, Beverley Oxford, who received the complaints, said the council had no authority to ask Mr Sullivan to take it down because he was breaking no planning laws. Mr Sullivan unsucessfully stood for the BNP in last year’s council elections.

Gordon Steed, tenancy services manager, said: “We asked Mr Sullivan to take his flagpole down, because he put it up without asking us for permission.

“All tenants need to have written permission from us before making alterations to their homes, irrespective of whether they need planning permission or not for those changes. The decision to ask him to take down the flagpole was purely made on this basis. It was not taken because of the views held by the tenant. We are investigating the complaints which have been made about the flags. Our tenancy conditions say people should not cause nuisance or annoyance to their neighbours. We will examine whether or not it is happening in this case, and take appropriate action. Our goal is to make sure people feel happy and safe in their homes. We respect the fact that many people are patriotic, and do not discriminate against them because of this.”

Mr Sullivan said he would write and ask for permission, but he is also planning to launch a petition in the area to find out what people really think of the flagpole.

Colchester and North Essex Gazette

Banned from Britain, Dutch campaigner against Islam

A far-right Dutch MP whose film linking Islamic texts with the terror attacks on New York sparked protests around the Muslim world was last night banned from entering Britain.

Geert Wilders, who leads the small Dutch Freedom Party, was due to show his controversial 17-minute film at an event in the House of Lords tomorrow, but was informed yesterday by British officials that he would not be allowed to enter the country. The decision sparked an immediate diplomatic row after the Dutch Government pressed Britain to reverse the ban.

The film Fitna, which criticises the Koran as a "fascist book", sparked violent protests around the Muslim world last year. The film, which has been posted on the internet, juxtaposes images of the Koran with footage of the 9/11 twin tower attacks and other terrorist atrocities. Mr Wilders had been invited to show the film at an event in Westminster hosted by Lord Pearson of Rannoch, the former Conservative, who is now a UK Independence Party member of the House of Lords.

The film starts with an image of the hugely controversial cartoon of the Prophet Mohamed with a bomb as a turban that sparked global protests after it was printed in a Danish newspaper. The film then shows images of the 9/11 aircraft flying into the World Trade Centre, with quotes from calls to the emergency services from people inside the buildings.

It also contains images of bloodstained corpses following the 2004 Madrid rail bombings before showing gruesome images of beheadings and attacks. The film then shows statistics indicating a growing Muslim population in the Netherlands .

Last night, the Home Office refused to comment on Mr Wilders' case. But a spokesman said: "The Government opposes extremism in all forms. It will stop those who want to spread extremism, hatred and violent messages in our communities from coming to our country. That was the driving force behind tighter rules on exclusions for unacceptable behaviour that the Home Secretary announced in October last year."

Mr Wilders, who lives with round-the-clock security after receiving death threats, said a letter from the British embassy informed him he was being refused entry because his views "threaten community harmony and therefore public security" in the UK. He condemned the British Government's decision as "cowardly".

"This is something you'd expect from Saudia Arabia, not Great Britain," Mr Wilders told a parliamentary session. But he signalled that he might make the journey to London on Thursday despite the ban.

"I am seriously considering just trying it out and just getting on the plane," he said. "Then I'll see what happens. Let them handcuff me," he was quoted as telling Dutch newspaper NRC.

The Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said his government would continue to press Britain to reverse the ban. He said he "deeply regretted" that a Dutch lawmaker had been barred entry to the UK. Mr Verhagen said he had first contacted the British ambassador in The Hague. Having failed, Mr Verhagen then telephoned his British counterpart David Miliband. "It is highly regrettable that a Dutch parliamentarian is refused entry to another EU country," he said in a statement.

Mr Wilders, whose Freedom Party holds nine of the 120 seats in the Dutch Parliament, said he was shocked by the travel ban. He said: "We are talking here about a European Union country, one of the oldest democracies in the Western world."

Lord Pearson, who invited Wilders to show Fitna at the House of Lords, said he was "very surprised" at the news and was looking into what had happened to the Dutch MP.

Independent

Clergy banned from BNP membership

"Dammit, now I'll never be the Bishop of Welshpool..."

The Church of England voted today in favour of banning clergy and some lay staff from joining the far-right British National Party

Members of the General Synod voted to back a motion brought by Metropolitan Police civilian worker Vasantha Gnanadoss calling on bishops to formulate a comparable policy to the Association of Chief Police Officers' ban on police membership of the BNP.

Miss Gnanadoss, who received support at the General Synod from former Met Police commissioner Sir Ian Blair, said passing the motion would make it "much more difficult" for the BNP or other similar organisations to exploit the claim that they had support within the Church of England.

She said: "If supporting organisations like the BNP is inconsistent with Christian discipleship, it seems obvious that clergy and others who speak for the Church should not be members."

Acpo policy states that that no member of the police service may be a member of an organisation whose constitution, aims, objectives or pronouncements contradict the "general duty" to promote race equality. This specifically includes the BNP, the policy states.

The motion backed today by the General Synod called for the Church of England bishops to draw up a similar policy to apply to all clergy, ordinands and employed lay persons who speak on behalf of the Church of England. The motion received support from the Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu and the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams.

Dr Sentamu told the Synod he was a member of the Baganda tribe. But he said: "As a Christian, I joined another tribe, it is the tribe of Jesus Christ, and in that tribe all are welcome."

The vote from the General Synod comes in spite of a warning in a background paper prepared by William Fittall, secretary general of the General Synod, warning of possible legal difficulties. He said clergy could not currently be disciplined for lawful political activity and the BNP was not a proscribed political party. He also warned that the Church could be open to discrimination claims under such a policy.

Those backing the motion included the Rt Rev Nicholas Reade, Bishop of Blackburn. He said it was "timely" in view of the recession.

He said: "In these difficult economic times there are those who could be tempted to look for solutions among extreme political parties and we need to underline that the politics of hatred can never come up with a solution to our problems."

He added: "The religion of the incarnation cannot support in any shape or form racist policies and those who exercise the representative ministry cannot be members of racist parties or organisations for it is just not possible to be racist and speak in the name of Jesus Christ."

Independent

Case of BNP teacher adjourned

Technology teacher allegedly posted unacceptable comments on forum

A teacher accused of using a school laptop to spread religious intolerance on the internet had his misconduct case adjourned today.

Adam Walker, a member of the British National Party, is alleged to have posted comments "suggestive of racial and religious intolerance" in an online forum between February and March 2007. At the time, Walker was a technology teacher at Houghton Kepier sports college in Houghton-le-Spring, near Sunderland.

Walker, an ex-soldier, asked the General Teaching Council's panel, which was hearing his case in Birmingham today, to stay the proceedings because he was not represented by a lawyer.

Patrick Harrington, Walker's trade union representative, told the panel his client was being denied a right to a fair hearing. The panel rejected this, but granted his request for an adjournment.

Walker, from Spennymoor, County Durham, plans to examine whether he is able to seek a judicial review of the panel's decision that he did not have to be represented by a lawyer. The case was adjourned until April 29 – unless an application for judicial review is made before April 22.

Guardian

Birmingham clashes feared at demo over BNP teacher hearing

Adam Walker talking rubbish through a megaphone

Labour and Liberal Democrat city councillors are backing a demonstration being held in Birmingham against a teacher who faces the sack for allegedly contributing to a British National Party website discussion on asylum seekers and homosexuality while conducting a lesson.

Adam Walker, a BNP member from Sunderland, is appearing this week before the General Teaching Council in Birmingham. The GTC will decide what action to take against Mr Walker, 39, who is being defended by the BNP’s general secretary.

Paul Tilsley, deputy leader of Birmingham City Council, became the most senior figure to promote Wednesday's rally, which is due to get under way at 12.30pm in Victoria Square, yards from the General Teaching Council headquarters. Coun Tilsley (Lib Dem Sheldon) said: “I am happy to support the anti-BNP demonstration, as they have no part to play in a modern multi-party democracy. Their platform is divisive and supports the Nazi policies that caused death and destruction and the deaths of 30 million people.”

Sparkbrook Respect councillor Salma Yaqoob added: “The BNP is a racist, fascist organisation. It is not a legitimate political party. Their policies are openly racist and would be a catastrophe for the people of Birmingham. We can discuss and argue with parties we disagree with but there can be no discussion with people who want to remove us from the country.”

Organisers of the protest fear that the BNP is planning its own demonstration in support of Mr Walker – raising fears of a clash between left and far-right groups.

Yardley Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming accused the BNP of being the “heirs of Hitler parading in Victoria Square”. Mr Hemming said: “We call on the people of Birmingham to express peaceful opposition to the politics of racial and religious hatred and to make it clear there is no place in Birmingham for organisations which wish to expel religious and racial minorities.”

In a statement, also signed by Ladywood Labour MP Clare Short, the councillors said: “Birmingham is famous as a vibrant multicultural city composed of people from many parts of the world. The BNP wants an exclusively white Britain and is led by a person who has denied the Holocaust and who now blames Muslims for Britain’s problems.”

BNP West Midlands spokesman Simon Darby accused the councillors of “meddling in matters that are not their concern”. Mr Darby added: “They are basically trying to get someone the sack because he does not support their political views, and that has got to be wrong.”

Birmingham Post

Church of England General Synod to consider BNP membership ban

The Church of England General Synod will today consider a motion that would ban its clergy and lay staff, from being members of the British National Party (BNP).

The motion points to the policy used by the Association of Chief Police Officers, which prevents police officers from becoming members of the BNP or other organisations whose aims contradict the duty to promote race equality. The BNP campaigns controversially for the voluntary repatriation of immigrants and for the interests of the “indigenous” people of Britain. The party is often charged with being extreme and racist, a charge its leader Nick Griffin denies.

The motion has been put forward by Vasantha Gnanadoss, who works for the Metropolitan police. She claims the motion is needed to prevent parties like the BNP associating themselves with the Church. A ban on membership would also send a clear message against racial prejudice, she claims.

Until now there have been no rules banning membership of any political party for clergy, although in the past Church of England leaders have encouraged voters to stay away from the BNP during elections. The Church of England has also previously passed a resolution against the “sin of racial prejudice”.

Last year, a list of 12,000 BNP members was leaked to the public, which included five members of the Church of England clergy. The Church noted at the time that none of them were serving Anglican priests.

Speaking to the BBC, Canon Ivor Smith Cameron, former chaplain to the Queen, said that "very, very few" members of the clergy had joined the BNP. He said that he supported the current proposal for a ban on membership, saying, "One of the reasons for my existence as a clergyman is to preserve racial and community harmony and the work of the BNP clearly does not do that. Furthermore, in its websites, its blogs ... it is proclaiming itself to be a Christian organisation and I resent that deeply."

Alison Ruoff, a lay member of the Synod, said such a ban was wrong in a “free country”.

"I think it's totally over the top, totally unnecessary. I want to trust clergy. The more you say, 'Thou shalt not,' the more people want to," she said. "And of course, even if you don't join it, anybody, but anybody, including clergy, can vote BNP without anybody knowing."

The Church of England General Synod got underway on Monday at Church House, Westminster, with an address from the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, on the prospects for communion between the two Churches.

In his first and almost certainly last address to Synod before his retirement, the Cardinal said the Anglican and Catholic Churches needed to continue working towards the goal of full communion "even if it still seems so distant". He went on to express his regret over challenges to unity among Anglicans.

"Divisions within any church or eccclesial community impoverish the communion of the whole Church. We Roman Catholics cannot be indifferent to what is happening to our friends in the Anglican Communion and, in particular, in the Church of England,” he said.

In the coming days, Synod will debate the uniqueness of Christ, a draft Covenant to mend rifts in the Anglican Communion, human trafficking, the impact of the financial crisis, and the damaging effect of rising water bills on many parishes.

Christian Today

Standing up to fascism

The Spiro Ark, Jewish Cultural
and Educational Trust, presents

Standing up to fascism

A celebration of the 43 Group, who fought fascism
in postwar Britain, and those who fight fascism today

The 43 Group consisted of Jewish ex-servicemen and women who stood shoulder to shoulder with non-Jews to halt Oswald Mosley’s attempt to revitalise a fascist movement in postwar Britain.

Between 1946 and 1952 they combined intelligence gathering and street fighting to drive Mosley’s thugs from our streets. In 1948 many supporters of the 43 Group volunteered for MAHAL.

A decade later old 43 Group members and a younger generation formed a new group that fought fascism using similar tactics. The 1962 Committee, better known as the 62 Group, carried on an intelligence-led battle against the remnants of Mosley’s Union Movement, the original British National Party, Colin Jordan’s National Socialist Movement and the emerging National Front.

The internationally famous Searchlight magazine and its campaigning, research and educational arms arose out of this struggle.

And today’s Jewish Community Security Trust grew from these roots, learning from those who had led in earlier years.

Today the largest ever anti-fascist campaign in Britain, HOPE not hate, works together with many of these veterans to defeat the British National Party and defend democracy.

You can meet the veterans of the 43 and 62 Groups and MAHAL, and today’s activists at an evening event on Sunday 15 February. The programme includes short talks, a film about the 43 Group narrated by the late Harold Pinter, an exhibition of unique material, a bookstall with most items free and refreshments.

Bring your family and especially the next generation to an event that will help them hold up their heads in today’s troubled times.

Sunday 15 February 2009, at 6.30 for 7pm
At Hampstead Garden Suburb Synagogue,
Norrice Lea, London N2 0RE
Nearest Tube East Finchley
(Northern Line Barnet branch). Bus route 102.

The fight goes on

Entrance £10, concessions for senior citizens, children and students.

The Spiro Ark, 25-26 Enford Street, London W1H 1DW
Tel 020 7723 9991, email education@spiroark.org, www.spiroark.org.

Holocaust-denying bishop removed from seminary post

Ultra-conservative Society of St Pius X relieves British-born Richard Williamson of duties at seminary in Argentina

A Roman Catholic bishop who said he does not believe the Nazis murdered millions of Jewish people in gas chambers has been removed from his seminary. Richard Williamsom caused outrage with his remarks, which surfaced shortly after the Vatican's decision to welcome him back into the Catholic church last week.

The Diarios y Noticias news agency reported today that the ultra-conservative Society of St Pius X was relieving the British-born Williamson of his post as the director of its seminary in La Reja, Argentina.

Williamson is reported to have claimed in a television interview last month that historical evidence was "hugely against six million having been deliberately gassed in gas chambers as a deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler ... I believe there were no gas chambers". He added: "I think that 200,000 to 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps, but none of them by gas chambers."

In a statement, Father Christian Bouchacourt, the head of the Latin American chapter of the Society of St Pius X, said Williamson had been relieved as the head of the seminary on the outskirts of the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. "Monsignor Williamson's statements do not in any way reflect the position of our congregation," the statement, reported by Reuters, said.

The row led the Vatican to order Williamson to recant his views last week. It issued a statement saying the bishop must accept the widely accepted historical truth that millions of Jews had been killed by the Nazis.

"Bishop Williamson, in order to be admitted to the episcopal functions of the church, must in an absolutely unequivocal and public way distance himself from his positions regarding the Shoah [Holocaust]," the statement said.

Pope Benedict XVI faced anger in his homeland of Germany and severe criticism from Jewish groups over his decision to lift an excommunication of the bishop. Williamson's excommunication was lifted along with those of three other bishops ordained without Vatican permission by the renegade French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

The Vatican said the Pope did not know about Williamson's views on the Holocaust when he agreed to lift the excommunication. The pontiff's actions led to him being criticised by the German chancellor, Angela Merkel.

Guardian