Bercow breaks convention to attack BNP

He swept to office on the back of a promise to break with tradition. But John Bercow, the Speaker of the Commons, has been accused of taking his shake-up of the role too far after he unleashed an attack on the British National Party.

Centuries of political impartiality demanded of the Speaker were rolled back in spectacular fashion by Mr Bercow yesterday, as he described the far-right party as "evil", adding that it was a "poison which we could well do without". It is thought to be the first time that a Speaker has ever launched such an assault on a legal party.

Mr Bercow, who was in the Speaker's chair to oversee the first ever UK Youth Parliament session taking place in the Commons, earned cheers and even a standing ovation from the delegates for his outburst. "I'm under absolutely no obligation whatsoever to be impartial as between the forces of democracy on the one hand and the forces of evil on the other," he said. "I do feel very, very, very strongly as someone from a Jewish background that the evil of the BNP is that its whole politics is based upon and driven by hate. That is a poison which we could well do without."

While the Speaker is always expected to remain independent while overseeing business in the Commons, Mr Bercow may be saved from censure because Parliament was not technically sitting. The ornamental mace, which marks that the Commons is in formal session, was not in place during his comments.

Mr Bercow asked the delegates to reflect on history, during which political extremists had always sought to capitalise on discontent. "The Nazis in Germany in the 30s, and the neo-Nazis today, seek to scapegoat whole communities as they peddle their message of hate and scurrilously appeal for support," he said. "They depend on either ignorance, or apathy. And the counter to ignorance and apathy is education, interest and participation – all of which you have displayed today."

Simon Darby, the deputy leader of the BNP, said the outburst was "quite shocking" and broke the rules of the office of Speaker. "He is meant to be independent and this kind of outburst is quite extraordinary," he said. "We are hopeful of performing well at a general election and if he is still the Speaker, I do not see how he could possibly continue in the role. He has jeopardised his position."

Overseeing the Youth Parliament session, the first time non-MPs have ever been allowed to use the Commons, Mr Bercow said that MPs had been "vindicated" in allowing the chamber to be used by the 300 delegates, who were aged between 12 and 18. More than 100 were given the chance to speak in debates on tuition fees, crime, transport, the economy and the voting age. A small group of Tory backbenchers had tried to block the move.

Independent

What does the Serbian wife think of her husband... BNP's biggest donor?

Multicultural marriage: Charles Vernon Wentworth - the BNP's largest cash donor - and Eastern European wife Zorka

His family's power and influence may have waned since the days when they owned great swathes of England, and a castle and country estates were named in their honour.

In his Suffolk manor, however, Charles Vernon Wentworth, 52, millionaire scion of an aristocratic clan dating back to the Domesday Book, still carries considerable clout.

His inherited wealth includes a 660-acre farm in Friston - a pretty hamlet of pink-washed cottages and narrow lanes. The village green and meeting hall also belong to him, so parishioners must seek his permission to stage fairs and other events there, just like commoners of old.

Inevitably, Mr Wentworth's importance makes him the subject of much local gossip; and the fact that he is a rather reclusive, enigmatic figure who has been married three times and habitually goes unshaven and wears scruffy old clothes only adds to the air of intrigue that surrounds him.

Tongues were wagging again this week when newly-released documents revealed him to be the British National Party's most generous benefactor, having reportedly donated some £38,000 to Nick Griffin and his extreme Right-wing cronies in recent years.

'Fancy him supporting that lot - he's a disgrace to the Wentworths,' sniffed one long-time resident, who declined to be named for fear of offending the man who also funds the annual children's Christmas party.

Others were astounded, pointing out that their timeless rural idyll is hardly an obvious breeding ground for the politics of fear and bigotry. Most people here are relatively well-off, crime is virtually unknown (according to one parish councillor, there have been two burglaries in 25 years) and ASBOs are something you only read about in the Ipswich newspapers.

Furthermore, Friston appears to be the exclusively white Anglo-Saxon community of Griffin's dreams. Among those residents I spoke to this week, no one could think of a single person among its 300-odd inhabitants who comes from an ethnic minority.

Clearly, then, they don't know much about their own squire's new bride. For, by the deepest of ironies, the Mail has discovered that the latest lady in the Wentworth manor is of Eastern European extraction.

Strolling along a damp autumnal lane in her Wellingtons and padded jacket this week, her pet Doberman straining at the leash, the wife of the BNP's arch-backer looked every inch the English landowner's wife.

Yet the maiden name of 39-year-old Zorka Wentworth was Ilic. Her mother is from Kosovo, her late father Serbian. Having fled to Britain in the 1950s to escape the tyrannical communism of Yugoslavia under Tito, they were precisely the sort of immigrants who would be barred from entering the country if Griffin had his way.

Although she was born in Bedfordshire, Zorka considers herself half-English and half-Serb, speaks with a very slight Eastern European accent (presumably because she was raised to be bilingual), is Serb Orthodox by religion and celebrates both Serbian and English festivals.

This kind of duality would hardly be welcomed in Griffin's ethnically sanitised Utopia. After all, during last week's Question Time debacle, the BNP leader described white Britons as 'aboriginals': English, Scots, Irish and Welsh people 'who have been here for the last 17,000 years'.

Ludicrously, Mrs Wentworth - who met her husband eight years ago, when she was working as a chef in the local pub, and became his third wife last year - would not even be permitted to join the party her husband bankrolls so generously.

Charles and Zorka Wentworth are evidently struggling to see the irony.

Talking to the BNP's most unlikely darling couple this week, over cups of tea in their stylish country kitchen, I began to understand why.

They seem far removed from the hate-filled BNP rabble-rousers who wave banners in Northern mill towns. And as Mr Wentworth remarks wryly, he is no 'knuckle-dragging' skinhead.

Yet they give the distinct impression that they don't know nearly enough about Griffin and his racially divisive policies, even though Mr Wentworth says he read 'the bulk of' the party's manifesto before opening his cheque-book. 'Is it really £38,000? I thought it was £28,000, but I can't recall. I don't keep personal bank records.'

Does he support them, then, because he has some longstanding connection with Griffin, who was raised just a few miles away in Suffolk and attended fee-paying Woodbridge School, where two of Wentworth's four children were educated?

The squire scratches a stubbly chin and ponders. No, he replies, he wasn't acquainted with the BNP leader until they were introduced at a party rally a few years ago.

'I was smoking one of these, and Griffin didn't like it,' he grins, pointing to his hand-rolled cigarette. 'Nick hates smoking.'

But why was he at the rally in the first place? What common ground does he share with Griffin?

He grins again and continues: 'I think the death penalty for serious crimes is an issue. I don't know how that would go down in a referendum. But for the likes of the Harold Shipmans, and serial rapists and killers, I would like to see it re-introduced.'

A short, square-built man with a complexion which suggests he enjoys his wine (Serbian reds are a favourite), and a sardonic wit, Mr Wentworth shoots his wife a meaningful glance, then adds: 'And obviously you are going to ask me about immigration.'

His five-figure donation is all the more surprising given his experiences as a young man in the United States.

Grand roots: Wentworth Castle in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, was named in the family's honour

After leaving public school, he went travelling there and his girlfriend fell pregnant. Needing a job to support her, he joined the U.S. Air Force and served for four years. This was long before 9/11 and he says they had a policy of actively enlisting foreigners.

He says he formed friendships with several Hispanic servicemen. And later, when he left the military and lived on the West Coast (he worked for a U.S. pest control company before returning to his Suffolk estate), he also saw how multiculturalism worked.

But why, if he accepts it works over there, would it not work here?

'America is historically a melting pot, isn't it?' he says, adding that its vast size meant it was better able to accommodate people of diverse nationalities. In contrast, he argues, this country is too crowded a nation to cope with an influx of foreigners.

He recites the familiar argument about Britain being 'overloaded'; and since none of the other parties seems willing to pull up the drawbridge, he has joined, and funded, the BNP.

'I'm not vile or odious - the adjectives they always attach to the BNP. I don't agree with everything they're saying on this, but I'm sure you get die-hard Labour supporters who don't agree with every policy their party has. Or Liberals or Tories.'

Zorka interjects: 'He's not a racist; I'm not a racist. I know the man here. He's not a Nazi.'

Perhaps not, but how can he possibly fund a party who would have turned away his refugee parents-in-law, and possibly his wife?

'I don't think they would send her back home,' he says uneasily, then, almost in the next breath, admits that he is not 'completely au fait' with BNP immigration policy.

'As far as I'm concerned, if anyone's here legally, I think they should be allowed to stay. They're not going to send her back home and neither will I.'

The new Mrs Wentworth grasps her husband's hand and smiles at him. She has met 'Nick', she says, and found him charming. In any case, she and her parents aren't the type of Eastern Europeans he wants to see the back of.

'You can't tar everyone with the same brush,' she argues, seemingly unaware that the average BNP thug, who lives in a very different Britain from the one she has married into, does precisely that.

'My father got a job in the brickworks at 16 and worked hard all his life. My mother came here at 14 and, at just turned 70, she has only just retired. They never claimed benefits in their lives, and worked to make this country better.

'They aren't the same as the influx who have come here since the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, and still come here now, demanding mobile phones and houses.

'A lot of them are Bosnian Muslims, but there are also Croats and Serbs. They are so-called asylum seekers and refugees, but they are a lot of s*** basically. They just came over to milk the country.'

Sensing that she is going too far, she catches herself and adds: 'Not all of them, obviously.'

Soon, though, she is sounding off again. 'Britain has huge problems - with everything. I find it absolutely frightening. Youngsters nowadays terrify me; you only have to pick up your newspaper every day.'

Does she have some first-hand experience of this? Do muggers lurk in the hollyhocks?

'No, no - but we are lucky to live in a tranquil part of the country,' she says. 'Others are not so fortunate.'

My morning with the Wentworths left me perplexed. Since I find their politics so abhorrent and worryingly ill-informed, I had expected to despise them. When the conversation moves away from politics, however, they turn out to be a rather engaging pair.

Mrs Wentworth has taught her husband some Serbian, and over a traditional Serb dinner - made with their home-grown vegetables - they sometimes converse in her language.

Connection? Fee-paying Woodbridge School, where Nick Griffin and two of Wentworth's four children were educated

He is also knowledgeable about Balkan history, reminding me that the Serbs were among Britain's greatest allies during the War and how thousands were slaughtered by the Nazis. (Just how this squares with Griffin's admiration for Hitler, he struggles to explain.)

There is much that is decent about Charles Wentworth and his 'alien' wife, too. Each night, they invite the old man who lives alone nearby into their home for supper.

And in addition to funding a Christmas party for every child in the village, Mr Wentworth has purchased much of the play equipment on the village green - anonymously, so as not to make a fuss.

Given his charitable nature, and his readiness to embrace her family's customs and traditions, it comes as no surprise to hear that Zorka's mother 'adores Charles', as did her late father.

Clearly, theirs is a model multicultural marriage - one whose very success makes a nonsense of the BNP's opposition to the mingling of races, ethnicities and cultures.

This reinforces one's impression that the couple, though not by nature malevolent, are dangerously naive and that - in the absence of persuasive policies from the main parties - the BNP are playing on their fears to maximum effect.

Judging by the names listed among the party's major financial backers this week, other unlikely figures are falling into the same trap.

They include Plymouth widow Mrs Sheila Butler, the 83-year-old greatniece of World War I hero Lord Horatio Kitchener, who has donated her £11,032 savings to the BNP, because, she told me: 'Nick Griffin is a patriot - like my great-uncle.'

She said she had abandoned the Tories, and then UKIP, because 'I don't like it that most people [here] are brown, yellow or green these days', and the BNP was the only party that promised to recreate Britain as the country of her youth.

Another prominent donor is Kent fruit farmer Adam Champneys, who is reported to have given the BNP £15,000 in the past year alone. He is battling a serious illness and was unavailable for comment this week.

However, like Charles Wentworth and Kitchener's great-niece, this accomplished pilot and antiques collector, who served in the Intelligence Corps, is far removed from the disaffected, down-at-heel rabble one normally associates with the BNP.

Whether or not we believe the BNP's spin doctors when they claim that membership inquiries have soared on a wave of public sympathy after Griffin's Question Time mauling, it would be foolish to ignore their broadening appeal.

For when a wealthy English landowner places one hand around the shoulder of his new Eastern European bride and with the other signs a £38,000 cheque to a party who would banish her from the country of her birth, we should all feel more than a little worried.

Daily Mail

Couple's poppy protest against BNP

Jenefer Custance

THERE will be no Remembrance Day poppies in the Custance household this year.

Jenefer Custance, 57, and her husband Terry, 59, say they will not be donating when a Royal British Legion collector calls at their home in Western Avenue, Henley.

They are protesting at the legion’s decision to accept a donation from the British National Party.

Mrs Custance, a shop assistant in Henley, said: "I was so shocked and angry when I read that the British Legion had accepted a donation from the BNP.

"It is dirty money. The BNP is a racist organisation and accepting money from it is disrespectful to all the men and women, whatever colour or creed, who have served, or are serving, or have died fighting for their country.

"We have always supported the Poppy Appeal but this year we will not be buying any. All charities are desperate for money but I cannot understand what the Legion is thinking in allowing this to happen."

The British Legion accepted a donation from a member of the BNP after earlier this year distancing itself from the party.

The cash was raised by Rachel Firth, who spent 24 hours in a cardboard box collecting donations to draw attention to former soldiers who are forced to sleep rough. The sum she raised has not been disclosed but she donated half to the party and half to the Legion.

Mr Custance, a print industry salesman, said: "It beggar’s belief they have done this. I am sure the vast majority of the British people and members of the British Legion will be appalled when they learn of this donation." He added: "Although we won’t be buying poppies, we will be giving a donation to Help for Heroes."

In June, the legion took out a full-page advert in a national paper, accusing BNP leader Nick Griffin of politicising the poppy and asked him to stop wearing it.

The party has also been accused of exploiting the donation by publicising it on its website.

Brigadier Malcolm Page, chairman of Henley branch of the Royal British Legion, said the issue had been dealt with by the legion’s head office.

He added: "I think that by donating this couple will not be hurting the BNP but will not be helping veterans. I hope for their sake that Mrs Custance reconsiders.

Henley Standard

BNP woman quits school

THE GOVERNOR of an Eastbourne primary school – who is also a BNP member – has resigned.
Josephine Macaulay became a Langney School governor two years ago after being appointed by the local education authority.
She was not appointed through the school and has no close links with the school. Ms Macaulay has not been active on the board of governors in recent months because of ill health.
Her name was among a number of people from Eastbourne who appear on a leaked list of BNP members published on the internet.
Ms Macaulay stepped down shortly afterwards.
She said, "I was going to resign about September as my health is not good now."
A spokesperson for the local education authority, East Sussex County Council, said, "We welcome the governor's decision to step down given the negative publicity it may have attracted and the affect that could have had on the school."
The spokesman said they had been unaware of her membership of the far-right political party led by Nick Griffin, who last week appeared on BBC Question Time for the first time.
Ms Macaulay describes herself as a 'lapsed member' of the British National Party and said she has not renewed her membership this year.
Asked her reasons for joining, the 65-year-old said, "I'm only anxious on mass migration. It is a middle-class protest vote."
Asked what black and Asian parents of Langney School children would think of a school governor who is a BNP member, she said, "It's not immigration as such, it's mass asylum that is my anxiety. It needs to stop for the interim and get sorted out with what we've got."
Ms Macaulay explained that she is not an active member of the BNP and said, "There is no branch in Eastbourne and I don't leaflet anything."
Her name does not appear on the electoral roll so she could not vote. She said, "I must get my name on the register and vote."
And her vote may not go to the BNP in the next election if anyone stands in Willingdon, where she lives.
She said, "I'm looking at another party that's not into Nick Griffin's politics."
She would not disclose which party but said, "I feel attacked as an individual. No one else has been victimised."
She said, "How could I possibly harm the school? I don't think I'm dangerous."
But not everyone will agree.
Speaking to The Guardian newspaper last month about fears that BNP councillors could become school governors, Chris Keates, the general secretary of teaching union Nasuwt, said, "The BNP stands on a ticket that breaches the Race Relations Act.
"There is therefore an inescapable logic: how can people who hold BNP views hold a public service like being a member of a school governing body without compromising the school?"
Ms Macaulay thinks it is the county council's responsibility to ask prospective governors if they do not want BNP members to stand.
But a county council spokesperson explained, "There are rules about what we can and cannot ask potential governors to disclose during the appointment process.
"By law we cannot ask anyone to declare political allegiance and even if they did tell us we would be unable to use that information to help form a decision about their appointment.
"However, there is a code of conduct which all our governors must follow and had that code been breached they would be dismissed."

Bexhill Observer

Outrage as BNP hijacks South Wales VE Day photograph

FORMER residents of a South Wales street have hit out at the BNP for “hijacking” a picture of their VE Day party.

Family members were shocked to see the photograph of the event in Cromwell Street, Merthyr Tydfil, used as a backdrop by the far-right party at an event in Manchester.

They have now called on BNP leader Nick Griffin to apologise for using the image and to stop using the picture in publicity.

It is not the first time the BNP has been attacked for using a wartime image. It was previously accused of attempting to “hijack” the reputation of the military by using images of Spitfires and caused outrage by claiming that Winston Churchill would join the British National Party if he were alive today.

The Cromwell Street image appeared in the background when BNP leader Mr Griffin addressed a media conference at a Manchester pub in June, days after he was elected as MEP for the North West of England.

The 1945 picture had been superimposed on a backdrop for Mr Griffin, and emblazoned with BNP and VE DAY.

It wasn’t until after the picture was printed in a national newspaper that people in Merthyr became aware of its use by the party.

Irate former headteacher and ex-serviceman Lyn Perkins was reading the article when he spotted what he thought was a familiar face in the foreground. As he took a closer look he also recognised the street.

Mr Perkins, now 82, had enlisted in the Navy, aged 17, two months before the war ended.

“I suppose there are many people in this photograph still alive and there must be lots of people who, like me, would be incensed that the photograph was used in support of the BNP,” he said.

“I was looking at it and thought ‘Good gracious. I’m sure I know that girl’ and that’s what made me look at it more closely. I would think most of the people in that photograph would not want to be associated with the BNP. I certainly think there should be an apology from Nick Griffin.”

When Malcolm Sweet, 66, who was at the party as a small boy, saw the representation for the first time he said: “I think it’s a total disgrace that the BNP has done this. I certainly don’t agree with Nick Griffin’s politics.

“My mother and father are also in the picture but are obscured by him. I’d like to know where they got this.”

Alan George’s mother Phyllis can be seen on the extreme left and sister Brenda is second from left on the left-hand bench.

“I’ve seen the picture used before but I really don’t like this,” said Mr George, 64, who runs an Old Merthyr picture archive website.

“I’m pretty much disgusted.

“I don’t like anything the BNP do or represent.

“I think an apology is in order. They should not use it as part of any campaign and should withdraw it.”

And sister Brenda Prosser, 68, said: “I find it offensive. The BNP has now hijacked our street party.

“I don’t particularly like the idea of being associated even in this way with the BNP. I don’t like their politics.”

But BNP spokesman John Walker defended the use and was adamant the BNP would not apologise for using it.

“This was a grainy black and white photo, which was only partly visible because it was used with logos over it,” he said.

“It was a representation of the wartime theme that we used to great effect as part of our European election campaign which we called The Battle for Britain Campaign.

“The BNP was not even in existence when these photographs were taken. So how could there be any suggestion that these people could be associated? How could anyone infer that from a photo taken in 1945?

“Do people expect the BNP to have to try to trace every single person in a grainy old photograph from 1945?

“It’s a ridiculous proposition and people should just see this for what it was.

“It was a representation of the wartime spirit . It doesn’t imply any of these people would support the BNP 70 years later.

“Most of the people must be dead to be honest, all the adults would be.

“At the end of the day we are not going to stop using it and not going to apologise.

“We just see this as another pathetic attack against the BNP.”

Wales Online

BNP farmer on explosives charge

Davis Lucas: found with explosives and an illegal weapon

A BNP candidate who built hangman's gallows for export to corrupt regimes has been charged with possessing explosives in suspicious circumstances.

David Lucas has also been charged with owning an illegal weapon and ammunition with intent to endanger life.

The 49-year-old, who stood for the far-right party in this year's European elections, was arrested when police swooped on addresses in East Anglia in April.

He is due to appear before Bury St Edmunds magistrates in Suffolk on November 10.

Lucas hit the headlines in May 2006 when he revealed that he was sending his gallows and £100,000 execution systems to countries such as Zimbabwe.

He said he stopped making them in July 2006 after the export of hangman's equipment was made illegal by an EU directive.

But the death penalty campaigner still has a gallows complete with noose on show at his farm in Lakenheath, Suffolk, to demonstrate his belief in 'law and order'.

The Metro

Great Private Eye Front Cover

We'll set dogs on you: BNP thugs

TWO anti-BNP protesters were told they would have their throats ripped out by Rottweilers if they continued to disrupt a fundraising dinner in Ross-on-Wye.

Mother-of-five Antoinette Beizsley, 47, said she was also "pushed hard" by BNP-hired thugs at the town's Chase Hotel when she and members of her family breached a police line to enter the hotel's grounds, before being verbally threatened.

Antoinette's aunt Sue Fellows, also received the threat.

Sue, who is a youth worker at Cinderford's CANDI drop-in centre, said: "They told us if they saw us again they'd open the back of their van and set their Rottweillers on us. They said the dogs would rip our throats out."

One protester, a 19-year-old from Worcester, was given a fixed penalty notice by police for a minor public order offence.

Up to 100 anti-fascist demonstrators – many from Ross-on-Wye and the Forest of Dean – protested as guests of the BNP's Trafalgar Club arrived for a dinner fundraiser for the extreme right-wing party on Saturday evening. One vehicle was pelted with eggs.

Antoinette, who now lives in Wiltshire, said: "I used to be politically active against fascists a long time ago and Ross is my hometown, so I felt incensed when I discovered BNP members were there.

"I have always been against bullies, and the BNP are the worst kind.

"With their racist and discriminatory beliefs, I don't think they should be legal.

"I was proud to be there demonstrating against neo-Nazis with six members of my family.

"I was shocked at the behaviour of the security officers."

Her son Adam is now organising an online campaign on Facebook urging businesses and travel websites to boycott the hotel for hosting the annual dinner.

Sue Fellows said: "I live only a few hundred yards from the Chase Hotel and I've used it in the past. It's shameful that the hotel took the booking, and didn't even inform its staff or other guests until the last minute.

"My grandfather fought against the Nazis and Hitler in the Second World War, and now we have fascists on our doorstep. We had to make a stand against them and their hateful beliefs. Britain has always been a multi-racial society and I see nothing wrong with that."

On Sunday morning BNP leader Nick Griffin was spotted with his entourage taking a pleasure cruise along the Wye at Symonds Yat.

A spokesman for West Mercia police said: "The protest went ahead peacefully and there was no need for any proactive police intervention.

"Disruption to local residents and visitors was kept to a minimum."

While a recently leaked BNP members' list showed the party has just six members within the Forest of Dean constituency (down from nine in 2007), the Hereford constituency, which includes Ross, has its own branch and membership has risen from 15 to 25 within two years.

The Hereford branch was set up by a leading BNP member and convicted terrorist Dr Lambertus Nieuwhof, whose company hosts a number of party websites.

Chase Hotel general manager Colin Parcell was unavailable for comment.

This is Gloucestershire

British No-show Party as Nick Griffin bottles it

BNP leader Nick Griffin chats to reporters outside the charity Feba in Hamilton yesterday. Pictures: Ian Rutherford

THE previous week, Nick Griffin had braved death threats, run the gauntlet of rioting protesters outside BBC studios and been heckled by a baying crowd during his appearance on Question Time.

But even for a hardened neo-fascist, it appears the streets of north-east Glasgow are a step too far. The photographers were waiting, unemployed locals had something to watch, Greggs was doing a roaring trade in steak pies and coffee. The only thing missing was the man himself.

Mr Griffin, we had been informed, would be arriving in Springburn at noon to campaign for the British National Party ahead of the Glasgow North East by-election on 12 November.

At 1:30pm, it was confirmed he would not be coming at all.

Faced with the prospect of meeting some of the country's more forthright observers of political life, the saviour of Britain's victimised white race appeared to have bottled it.

Mr Griffin's day in Scotland had got off to a trying start. In the morning, arriving at the Hamilton radio studios of L107, which had decided to run a phone-in with him, the BNP leader was pelted with eggs by about 40 protesters.

The phone-in itself proved to be commercial suicide for the station, which later revealed that at least three advertisers had withdrawn support in protest.

But at least at Springburn shopping centre Mr Griffin would finally have a chance to speak to some genuine voters.

BNP candidate Charlie Baillie, a Glasgow-born contractor, was there, waiting for his leader, mobile phone pressed to his head.

Mr Baillie was having mixed results whipping up support. Walking past was 82-year-old James Murray, a former Royal Engineer who saw service in the Second World War, fighting his way into Nazi German territory in the Allied advance at the end of the war.

"I used to shoot people like you," Mr Murray called cheerfully to Mr Baillie.

Three paid-up Glasgow neds, however, proved more fruitful territory. "All these black c**** are getting housing. Excuse my language," declared one.

Mr Baillie nodded sympathetically, telling him the problem was the influx of asylum seekers who were changing the identity of the country.

The first sign that things were going wrong came a few minutes after 12. Mr Baillie informed the waiting media that Mr Griffin would be late, having been held up. Mr Baillie disappeared.

Forty-five minutes after that, two BNP men emerged from a Mercedes people-carrier.

Mr Griffin would not be coming at all, they said. He had been invited to a veterans' charity in Hamilton.

"Rather than cut short his visit to the servicemen, he is taking time with them," one of them said. He hadn't bottled it at all, they added – he had simply decided to spend more time with deserving veterans.

The media headed for Lanarkshire, where Mr Griffin was found at the headquarters of Feba, a charity set up last year to offer support to veterans.

Feba founder Tommy Moffat has said he was forced to accept support from the BNP, because he was turned down for help by government.

"I will be down in Springburn later," Mr Griffin insisted.

But his minders said he had an important speaking engagement. In St Helen's, Lancashire.

Mr Griffin and Mr Baillie posed for pictures. "Sorry I didn't get there," said the leader to his colleague. And with that he disappeared into a waiting Volkswagen. The march of the far-right on to Scotland's turf, it appeared, would have to wait for another time.

• The BNP could be invited on to Question Time up to once a year if it maintains its current support levels, BBC director-general Mark Thompson has said.

The Scotsman

Yolk’s on you, Nick

Protests ... Nick Griffin on air

BNP leader Nick Griffin was pelted with eggs outside a Scots radio station yesterday as he arrived to take part in a phone-in show.

Around 40 demonstrators shouted abuse at the fascist bigot outside the HQ of L107 in Hamilton.

Police arrested two protesters for a breach of the peace and another man was lifted for waving a Nazi flag. Hated Griffin took eight calls during an hour-long slot in the morning.

L107 programme director Derek McIntyre defended the decision to have Griffin on - but admitted it was "commercial suicide".

He said: "We have received 50 emails from people withdrawing their support for the station and two or three advertisers have said they are pulling out.

"Nobody is going to benefit from having the BNP on their station but we felt it was right for our listeners to be able to put their points to him and ask questions."

Griffin had later been due on the campaign trail in Glasgow North East but failed to turn up.

Instead, he met the party's candidate Charlie Baillie at the offices of a war veterans' charity in Hamilton.

Last week the BBC sparked controversy by having loathed Griffin on their flagship Question Time show, where he took a pounding.

The Sun

Nick Griffin slapped 20m times in web game

The Slap Nick Griffin online game

The BNP leader Nick Griffin has been slapped more than 20 million times in a new online game released since his appearance on Question Time.

The Slap Nick Griffin website encourages visitors to "vote with the back of your hand" by smacking a video recording of the far right politician speaking to Ku Klux Klan members.

Anyone who struggles to grasp the rules of the game can watch a YouTube instruction video showing Mr Griffin being slapped with the virtual hand from various angles.

The game's makers originally set a target of 10 million slaps, but after it took off among users of the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter over the weekend they raised the goal 60 million.

Albion London, the advertising agency behind the game, said that it was devised during Mr Griffin's appearance on the BBC political discussion show last Thursday, when he faced questions about his links to Ku Klux Klan leaders.

The US race hate group has been responsible for a number of lynchings.

After Question Time was aired fellow panelist Bonnie Greer admitted that she had come close to slapping Mr Griffin herself.

"I spent the entire night with my back to him. At one point, I had to restrain myself from slapping him. But it was worth it because he was totally trounced," she said.

The Telegraph

Two stabbed at Ritz during talk with Holocaust denier David Irving.

Two men were out of the hospital Tuesday after being stabbed Monday night at The Ritz-Carlton in Manalapan. The two had argued during a talk at the Ritz by Holocaust denier David Irving.

Manalapan Police Chief Clay Walker said Christopher Nachtman, 31, and John Kopko, 43, both sustained stab wounds, were taken to local hospitals and released.

Kopko, who was wounded more severely, was transported by TraumaHawk to Delray Medical Center, said Dan Koenig, a police department spokesman. Nachtman, who had a small cut, was taken to JFK Medical Center in Atlantis by Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue.

The dustup erupted in a small conference room where the two men were among 35 invited guests of Focal Point Publications, which was hosting the group to participate in a “historical discussion about World War II,” Walker said. There were no protesters inside or outside the event, he said.

The Web site for Focal Point Publications contains appearances, books and information about Irving.

“One person said something to upset the other” within the meeting, an argument ensued and “they took it outside,” where one man jumped the other, Walker said. During the fight, one of the men pulled a knife, he said.

“This is still in the investigation stage,” Koenig said. “We’re still sorting out who did what.”

“We had no knowledge that this guy who spoke was coming to our hotel,” said Brad Cance, general manager of The Ritz-Carlton. “We at The Ritz-Carlton do not condone that behavior.”

In 1992, Kopko, a self-proclaimed white supremacist, disrupted a county Library Advisory Board meeting, according to news reports at the time. Kopko and another neo-Nazi executed the Nazi salute followed by “Sieg Heil,” as they protested the library’s rejection of two neo-Nazi publications

Newsnet14

BNP's Nick Griffin greeted with protest in Lanarkshire

British National Party leader Nick Griffin was met with protests when he appeared at a radio station in Hamilton.

The far-right politician was pelted with eggs (video here) as he made his way to the station's studios.

Around 40 demonstrators heckled him as he arrived for a morning phone-in on the L107 station less than a week after his controversial appearance on the BBC's Question Time.

L107 programme director Derek McIntyre defended the decision to have the BNP leader on but admitted it was "commercial suicide". He said: "We have received 50 emails this morning from people withdrawing their support for the station and two or three advertisers have said they are pulling out."

Strathclyde Police said three arrests were made at the protest.

A man aged 19 was arrested for breach of the peace and a 42-year-old woman was also held for breach of the peace and resisting arrest.

Another man was arrested for a racist breach of the peace, police said.

STV

BNP squaddie in Nazi salute

A British soldier heaps shame on the Army by showing off his BNP credentials with a defiant Hitler-style Nazi salute

Squaddie shames the Army with nazi salute

The disgraceful photo of Private Craig Orwin, who serves with the Light Dragoons, emerged days after former Army generals declared war on the extremist party. Orwin boasts of being a BNP member and reveals his vile views in the entry on his Facebook page.

The 19-year-old Hull City supporter, seen running on to the pitch in a photo on the social networking site, says his religious leaning is to "kill Leeds fans". He says he belongs to groups including "Salute our war heroes or piss off back to where you came from", "Racist Blacks" and "I hate white teenagers who feel the need to act like blacks". The yob also says he supports the "Harry Roberts he's our friend" group. It calls for the release of Sixties killer Harry Roberts serving life for the murder of three policemen.

Orwin lists "drinkin" as one of his hobbies. His BNP links have emerged less than a week after former Army top brass warned that far right groups were trying to hijack the Army for propaganda purposes. A letter signed by ex-Army chiefs General Sir Mike Jackson and General Sir Richard Dannatt warned groups like the BNP were "fundamentally at odds" with the values of the British military.

BNP leader Nick Griffin has already sparked outrage by claiming wartime PM Winston Churchill would have been a member of his party. Griffin said: "Winston Churchill, certainly by modern standards, would be regarded as a racist."

Protesters voiced their anger outside the BBC's West London base last Thursday when Griffin made an appearance on BBC1's Question Time.

Supporter Orwin now faces a grilling from Army chiefs. His antics have brought shame on his unit which is based in Swanton Morley, Norfolk. It has twice served in Iraq and also completed a six-month tour of Afghanistan. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We are investigating an incident and if rules have been broken, disciplinary action will be taken. Members of the Armed Forces are free to join any political party but any racist behaviour or breach of the Army's Values and Standards will be dealt with."

Sun

Neo Nazi faces explosives charges

Darren Tinklin

Man, 24, faces explosives charges

A 24-year-old man from south Wales has been charged with possessing a firearm and also explosive substances.

Darren Tinklin, 24, of Blackwood, Caerphilly, had been questioned by the Metropolitan Police after his arrest under the Terrorism Act on Friday.

He will face seven charges when he appears before Westminster Magistrates on Wednesday, said a force spokesman.

Two other men, aged 24 and 41, who were arrested at the same time, have been released without charge.

The Met said the charges include possessing an improvised muzzle loading firearm, and making an explosive substance, called Black Powder.

Mr Tinklin was also charged with possessing explosive substances - potassium nitrate, charcoal and a "pipe bomb"' at a property in Waunllwyn Crescent.

He also faces a charge of possessing a document containing information "of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism".

Gwent Police initially arrested three men in Blackwood on suspicion of drugs offences last Wednesday.

The Metropolitan Police Service Counter Terrorism Command was called in the next day after further inquiries.

BBC NEWS:

BNP Bosses Uncovered

Office chief James Dowson sent this pic of himself with a shotgun to ex-employee after a dispute

THIS is gun-toting BNP fundraiser Rev James Dowson calmly walking down the street with his toddler son and wife – and a shotgun!

The crazed anti-abortion nutter, who has a list of convictions including possessing a weapon, sent the phone photo to a former employee after they fell out over a computer which holds the entire BNP membership database. The Scottish ‘businessman’, who has loyalist links and lives in Ballygowan, runs the right wing BNP’s national nerve centre in east Belfast under the cover name Adlorries.

But the entire operation was thrown into chaos recently after his right-hand woman quit her job of running the office and took a computer which contained the BNP membership list.

Today the former employee lifts the lid on life working for 44-year-old Jim Dowson and the BNP in Belfast.

She reveals how:

• Dowson sent her the photo of himself with a shotgun and threatened other members of her family with the UVF.
• The rabid nutter flew into a rage after a Belfast recruitment sent two Asian men and two gay people to work in the Dundonald office.
• Dowson runs a string of charities from the Belfast base and collects donations for doing nothing and.
• BNP members have been conned into buying a lifetime membership which comes with a £100 watch – which is actually only worth £19.99.

It comes in the week when a fresh leaked list of alleged BNP members appeared on the internet and convicted race-hate leader Nick Griffin’s controversial appearance on the BBC’s Question Time.

Threat

Following a dispute with Dowson the former employee, who can’t be identified, says she kept a computer belonging to the BNP because he refused to pay her substantial wages she claims she was owed.

Dowson then sent her this picture of himself, armed with a shotgun. “I took that as a threat – why else would he send someone he was in dispute with such a photo?” says the former BNP officer manager.

“I worked for them at their office in Dundonald for the last eight months because it was a job and I needed the work, plus it paid well.

“At the start it was just like organising any other office but recently he wanted me to get more involved in the political side of things and I ended up working more for the BNP directly.

“But it got too difficult because I hate what the BNP stand for, plus I live with my partner in a republican area.

“I’m not scared of Dowson though – he’s a wannabe hardman and I think he’s full of sh**.”

Dowson, who once told the Sunday World he would never “get into bed” with the BNP, has a string of convictions including breach of the peace in 1986, possession of a weapon and breach of the peace in 1991 and criminal damage in 1992.

He also has close links with loyalist groups here and has produced flute band tapes which glorify UFF mass killer Michael Stone.

Following our expose of his secret BNP office back in June, Dowson told UTV that he hated the BNP and only ran their call centre on pure business grounds.

However we can reveal that Dowson is a fully paid up ‘life’ member.

The former employee says Dowson once flew off the handle after a Belfast recruitment agency sent gays and Asians to work in the BNP office.

“He went mental when these two Asian fellas arrived to work for us. I asked them did they realise who they would be working for and they said they didn’t care, so long as they got paid.

“Then they sent us a man and a woman who were quite obviously gay and he had them chucked out before they even got an interview.

“I left in the middle of September and he told me to keep the computer in exchange for the wages he owed.

“But things turned nasty when my sister, who also worked there, left but before she did she changed all the passwords on the computers.

“My sister only did it because they treated her like a dogsbody.

Nasty

“Jim then demanded the computer back and started to get nasty. We argued for about two days over the phone about it and then on Saturday I got the picture of him with his wife and son and a shotgun.

“He then called the cops to my house and had me arrested for theft. The cops are raging because he told them a load of nonsense about there being cops’ and top judges’ personal details being on the computer just to get them to arrest me.”

She says Jim idolises leader Nick Griffin and loves the BNP.

“Jim went nuts after the Sunday World story in June and pulled us all in to a meeting. He banned mobile phones in the office and he installed cameras everywhere.

“But so many people have left he only had one call centre salesperson left. Jim is terrified that the place is going to fold because the business has dried up.

“During my time we brought in 4,000 new members but he can’t get past 13,000 members.

---

Nutter Nick’s girl is working undiecover in his Belfast office

THIS the daughter of race hate nutter Nick Griffin – and she’s set up home in Ulster.

Posing in her underwear she looks like a decent fun-loving girl – but behind the veneer she’s as bitter as her dad.

Jenny Matthys is a dyed-in-the wool BNP fanatic and has been sent by MEP dad Nick to Belfast to run the party’s membership office.

Jenny, who’s 23 years old, is living in a tiny flat in Comber with her new Welsh husband who also works for the BNP in Belfast.

Bands

Her dad made a controversial appearance on the BBC’s Question Time programme on Thursday night and it’s believed Jenny was in London to bask in her father’s ‘glory’.

The Sunday World can reveal that Jenny moved over here in July after a string of visits to Northern Ireland.

Now she’s living here permanently and has become a fan of loyalist band culture.

“Jenny loves the whole loyalist thing,” says the former office manager of the Belfast BNP office.

“She’s a big fan of the Goldsprings Flute Band who are a blood and thunder band from Comber.

“Jenny even joined them recently and goes to band practice every week. She doesn’t play anything – instead they let her carry the flag.

“She went up to Derry recently with Jim Dowson and his family to see the band parade.”

Jenny is also filled with contempt for ethnic minorities.

“Jenny is just like her dad. She loves the BNP and wants to follow in her dads footsteps.

“In fact she’s even worse than her dad because she says stuff that he even realises is too stupid to say.

“And she’s like him in other ways too – she’s extremely arrogant – in fact she’s a complete bitch.

As a 17-year-old Jenny planned to run for council as a BNP representative but the plan never got off the ground.

But she has spent most of her life since she was a teenager working to promote the vile views of the BNP.

Her husband Angus works in the mailroom of the Belfast office and came over from Wales to live here with Jenny.

---

RACIST GETS INVITE TO ULSTER

by John Cassidy

HARDLINE loyalists are to invite BNP leader Nick Griffin to address supporters in Ulster.

A fascist group based in Mid-Ulster have been in contact with the BNP’s head office in London.

It followed his appearance on the BBC1 Question Time show on Thursday which was watched by a record 8 million viewers.

The hardline loyalists want the MEP and one of his right wing councillors to come to the province in the New Year to host a question and answer session.

Speak

Said a source: “Loyalists are fed up that their local unionist politicians who don’t speak up for them.

“We want Ulster to remain British. We don’t foreigners coming and taking our jobs and our homes.

“We want a councillor to stand in next year’s elections as mid Ulster has a large foreign national population.

“We will give him a warn welcome because we believe he speaks up for the loyalist people of Ulster.’’

Nick Griffin is no stranger to Ulster and has a long association with hardline loyalist groups over his opposition to Sinn Fein and the IRA.

Five years ago, the Sunday World revealed how Griffin held a series of meetings with neo Nazis groups at a Belfast hotel. He also met a number of senior UVF figures who were Ulster cheerleaders for the BNP.

Sunday World

English Defence League to protest in Leeds

A CONTROVERSIAL right-wing campaign group is staging a demonstration in Leeds this weekend.
The English Defence League (EDL) is due to protest in City Square from 1pm on Saturday against what it claims is the spread of "radical Islam" in the UK.

Similar demos by the EDL in Birmingham and Manchester sparked clashes with anti-fascist activists.

A group called Leeds Unite Against Fascism is urging people to attend a rally outside the city art gallery at noon on the same day as the EDL's protest.

Today West Yorkshire Police's Chief Supt Mark Milsom said the force would have "several hundred" officers on duty to try to prevent any repeat of the problems in Birmingham and Manchester.

All local police leave had been cancelled for Saturday, Chief Supt Milsom told the Yorkshire Evening Post, with some officers due to be drafted in from outside the county.

It is thought the two protests could be attended by more than 2,000 people.

Chief Supt Milsom said: "It is likely there will be some disorder – that is the reason we are providing such a large operation.

"We are looking to ensure that (Saturday] is as peaceful as possible.

"If people are not peaceful and do break the law, we will be looking to deal with that positively."

The police and city council say members of the public should have no concerns about visiting the shopping areas in the centre of Leeds on Saturday afternoon.

They are being warned, however, to expect some "disruption" in the areas earmarked for the demos.

Members of Leeds's Muslim community are also being urged to steer clear of potential confrontations with protesters.

Chief Supt Milsom said: "The EDL focuses on Islamic issues and local Muslims could feel threatened by this, particularly young Muslims who could get drawn into the demonstrations.

"We feel this would actually play into the hands of both groups of protesters on the day and we have been meeting with local community groups to discourage them from attending the demonstrations and getting drawn into them."

The EDL says it is a "non-violent, non-racist" organisation opposing Islamic extremism.

Its demo in Birmingham on September 5 ended with rival gangs hurling missiles at each other near the city's main shopping areas. Nearly 100 people were arrested.

More than 40 people were arrested during protests by the EDL and Unite Against Fascism in the middle of Manchester on October 10.

Yorkshire Evening Post

BNP 'in plot to get rid of Nick Griffin'

Nick Griffin could face a fresh challenge as leader of the BNP after his performance on Question Time.

His critics within the party say he "fluffed" the chance to make the case for nationalism to the British people.

They are set to hold a meeting in a plot to topple him. "We are determined to get rid of him," a BNP member told the Standard.

However, the location and timing of the gathering are being kept secret because of fears that Mr Griffin could seek to have members who attend expelled from the far-Right party. But it is understood to be being organised by people linked to the Reform Group of the BNP. They are said to be backing a new governing structure for the party, by a committee, possibly chaired by Chris Jackson.

A number have posted damning comments on fascist websites.

One told the Standard: "A lot of people will still not know what nationalism is about. From that point of view he fluffed it."

Nearly a third of 100 people surveyed on Stormfront, a white extremist website, called on Mr Griffin to stand down after his BBC performance.

This is London

Disgraced Sunderland teacher was Nick Griffin's minder

Adam Walker

A teacher accused of racial and religious intolerance was among bodyguards protecting BNP leader Nick Griffin as he made his way to take part in Question Time.

Adam Walker resigned from Houghton Kepier Sports College last year after an investigation into alleged misuse of a school computer.

Now it has emerged he was among burly minders who shielded MEP and party chairman Griffin at BBC's Television Centre on Thursday.

Griffin's appearance has sparked outcry and a string of complaints, with angry scenes outside the London studios.

Mr Walker is head of Solidarity, a nationalist union linked with the BNP.

He was joined as Griffin's bodyguard by a former detective who was dismissed from his job and jailed for 18 months after allegations he tipped off two businessmen who were under investigation and also convicted of defrauding a pension of £1,000.

Others included a car dealer who has a conviction for harassing women, including his former girlfriend, and has previously been served with an 18-month rehabilitation order and made subject to an indefinite restraining order.

There was also a man who had been arrested after claims he was distributing racist material, a man who has posted abusive and racist material against black and Asian people and jokes about the Holocaust on his Facebook page.

A disciplinary tribunal against Mr Walker in Birmingham was postponed last month because of police fears of rioting when tensions rose between right-wing activists and the Muslim community.

It is claimed he used a school laptop during lessons to post critical comments about asylum seekers, Islam, immigrants and homosexuality on an Internet chat forum during lessons.

The 39-year-old, who faces being struck off, was due to appear before a General Teaching Council disciplinary committee accused of "unacceptable professional conduct".

The former soldier and karate expert left his post as a technology teacher at Houghton Kepier Sports College in 2007 after the allegations.

He was first brought before the teaching watchdog last November, but the hearing was delayed when his legal representative successfully argued that the presence of Judy Moorhouse, a former president of the National Union of Teachers and a "known opponent" of the BNP, could prejudice the hearing.

Mr Walker's brother Mark, also a technology teacher, lost an appeal against his sacking from a Shildon college when he was accused of accessing the BNP's website during school hours, with its board of governors upholding a decision to terminate his contract because of ill health.

Sunderland Echo

Norwich criminal was BNP leader Griffin's minder

Stephen Ames outside court following an appearance before Norwich magistrates in 2001

A Norwich car dealer with a criminal past played a key role in Nick Griffin's controversial Question Time appearance as he acted as a minder for the BNP leader, it has emerged.

Stephen Ames has been named alongside four other men who accompanied Mr Griffin to provide protection from anti-fascist groups who gathered outside Television Centre on Thursday. The group were pictured shielding Mr Griffin as he arrived at the BBC via a back door.

All of those identified have been described as having “shady pasts” with convictions for offences ranging from fraud to posting anti-Muslim comments on the internet.

Mr Ames has a series of convictions for stalking women. In 2001 he was given an 18-month rehabilitation order and made subject to an indefinite restraining order after admitting harassing a former girlfriend over nine months. He was also convicted of harassing two other women in 1999.

Thursday's Question Time appearance provoked angry scenes as protestors breached barriers at Television Centre. According to the Metropolitan Police three were injured, one badly enough to need hospital treatment.

Yesterday 41-year-old Mr Ames, who runs Trident Cars from his home in the north of the city, was unavailable to comment. A man who described himself as a “business associate” answered Mr Ames' mobile telephone and said he was on holiday.

During his 2001 appearance before Norwich Magistrates' Court, prosecutors described how he had “continually pestered” his former partner despite warnings to stay away.

Mr Ames sent her letters, faxes, text messages, e-mails and telephoned her, declaring his love. He also followed her as she drove, sometimes closely and aggressively, and she saw him near her new home after she moved. Chairman Paul Allen told him: “You have probably escaped prison by a whisker.”

Mr Ames is an active member of Norfolk BNP and has featured on both leaked party membership lists.

He escorted Mr Griffin during a 2008 visit to the county. He also campaigned alongside Rev Robert West during the party's unsuccessful bid to win a parliamentary seat in the Norwich North by-election earlier this year.

EDP24

Leeds Neo Nazi Stabbed By Spurned Lover

Click to enlarge

This was taken from The People yesterday:

Rather alarming tale, however The People failed to mention that Hilton is a violent Neo Nazi and Leeds United football hooligan.

Hilton with John Griff Wood

Hilton was linked with Neo Nazi loons like Kevin Watmough and Eddie Morrison in the White Nationalist Party, British Peoples Party and The Nationalist Alliance.

Welsh Neo Nazis Arrested On Terror Charges

Courtesy of The News of the World

Peterborough man charged with attempting to damage mosque

A man from Peterborough accused of a late-night petrol attack on a mosque in Sunderland has been remanded in custody.

Gerald Davies (53), of Palmerston Road, Peterborough, appeared before Sunderland Magistrates' Court yesterday after an incident in the early hours of Friday. He was charged with attempting to damage by fire the mosque in Chester Road, Sunderland,with intent to endanger the lives of members of the Muslim community.

Prosecutor Nicci Horton told the court that the offence was so serious it could only be dealt with at Newcastle Crown Court.

Davies was not asked to enter a plea to the charge and spoke only to confirm his name and address during the hearing.

Miss Horton outlined the case to the court alleging that petrol was thrown on the building which was empty at the time.

Defence solicitor Heidi Surtees made no bail application and Davies was remanded in custody until a hearing at Newcastle Crown Court on November 2.

Speaking before the hearing, Chief Superintendent Dave Pryer from Northumbria Police said: "I would like to thank members of the public for their help.

"Sunderland is a thriving diverse community and we have an excellent relationship with all of our community and will continue to build on this."

Peterborough Today

BNP has 'secret' Burnley base

Yorke Street, where the BNP have an office

THE British National Party has been quietly running an office in Burnley town centre for up to nine years, the Lancashire Telegraph can reveal.

The low-key office, just metres from Burnley town hall, is not mentioned in the far-right party’s literature or on its website - and most residents and even seasoned local politicians were unaware it existed.

But it is now set to become more widely used after the party shelved a search for a North West headquarters somewhere in East Lancashire, with party leader and recently-elected MEP Nick Griffin using it as his base in the area.

The BNP’s political opponents have slammed the party for not advertising the fact that it already had a permanent presence in the town, in Yorke Street, which it uses to print and distribute leaflets and co-ordinate local election strategy.

Local activists insisted the second-floor rented office, which is identifiable only by a small “British Heritage” sign on the door, was no secret.

But Lib Dem council leader Gordon Birtwistle said only “very, very few” people were aware of it.

He added: “Outside their membership I would not have thought anyone knew. If they had been open about it, they would not have used a pseudonym and it would be on their leaflets.

“If they want to be taken seriously they should be open so people know if they want to visit them they can do.”

On the party’s website and leaflets, a PO Box address is given, and no posters are displayed in the windows, unlike other political parties.

Mr Griffin, who last week appeared on BBC One’s Question Time, watched by more than eight million people, insisted it was “widely known” the party had an office in Burnley.

But former long-serving Burnley MP Peter Pike, now a well-known community volunteer and chairman of Burnley Labour Party, said: “I certainly was not aware of it.

“It comes as a complete surprise to me. I am certain it’s not widely known. They need to be more up-front. When I was MP everyone knew where my office was.”

Surrounding business owners, who did not want to be named, said the party had “not wanted to make a fuss” when it moved in, and some weren’t even sure which part of the building it used.

A worker at the charity Mid Pennine Arts, in Yorke Street, said she had no idea the BNP were based opposite.

At the weekend shoppers in the town centre gave their reaction.

Zafar Dhami, 55, of Manchester Road, said: “I did not know they had an office here, and I am very surprised. It’s understandable they don’t advertise it, they are probably worried about being targeted.”

Elaine Heywood, 37, of East Road, said: “It makes you wonder what they have got to hide. They are supposed to be a major political party now, but they are not being open and transparent. You can’t have your cake and eat it.”

And Brent Barnes, 65, who lives in Higham, added: “I am surprised, I didn’t know they had an office in the town. Of course they should be up front. They shouldn’t be hiding behind anything.”

After Mr Griffin was elected to the European Parliament in June, East Lancashire BNP activists were told to search for a North West headquarters, with Padiham Town Hall and the former Derby Arms pub at Gannow Top in Burnley seen as possibilities. But last month Mr Griffin claimed their efforts were being frustrated by landlords pulling out at the last minute.

At no point during the search did the party refer to its existing Burnley headquarters.

On Friday, following his Question Time appearance, Mr Griffin told the Lancashire Telegraph the party had decided on Cumbria for its main HQ but would be “making more use” of its Burnley office, which the party had rented for “a couple of years”.

Burnley BNP leader Sharon Wilkinson said: “We did think about getting a different office, but we are getting a main one in Carlisle, so we are not going to get another one now. We are going to utilise what we have got.”

She added: “We have an office, we have had it since 2002. Most people know where we are. Most of the information is in the public domain.

“The reason we don’t have posters is because there’s nowhere to put them.

“We are waiting for extra equipment to go in there. Nick Griffin will use it when he comes up here. “ Asked why the sign outside said “British Heritage”, rather than the BNP’s name, she said: “Don’t ask me why. That plate has always been there.”

Sick jokes & fillet steaks..

Jackie Griffin with another fat fascist leader

Nick Griffin was overheard cracking a sick joke about mass murderers Rose and Fred West - just 24 hours after his Question Time appearance.

The BNP leader shocked hotel guests by drunkenly trying to persuade wife Jackie to visit the area where the Wests butchered their victims 20 years ago.

His shocking suggestion was heard by diners at the remote Chase Country House Hotel in Ross-On-Wye, just 20 miles from where the Wests lived in Gloucester.

He said to Jackie: "We're close to Rose and Fred West's place here. I should take you down there for a look." She was heard laughing loudly before replying: "I'm not going there. No way. That's sick, that is."


Griffin and his wife arrived at the hotel on Friday night with another couple and shared a two-hour dinner of duck, fillet steak and sea bass, washed down with £30 bottles of wine. Griffin and his friends later knocked back vintage brandy in the lounge watched over by shaven-headed minders downing pints of lager at the bar. At one point, blonde Jackie showed off a diamond ring her husband had bought her, boasting that it was "massive and sparkly."

A fellow hotel guest said: "It was a vile spectacle. If I'd known I was going to be sharing a hotel with the BNP, I would have gone somewhere else. And to joke about the crimes of Fred and Rose West is beyond the pale."

Last night Griffin hosted a BNP dinner for 150 party loyalists at the hotel. Two dozen police officers - paid for by the taxpayer - patrolled the car park and grounds of the hotel as more than 50 protesters staged an angry demo against the party.

The Mirror