BNP supporters threaten to gatecrash debate

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James Fitton

POLICE are on standby in the run-up to an election debate in St Austell tonight after British National Party supporters threatened the organisers of the husting because their candidate was not invited to attend.

Five would-be MPs will be attending an election husting at the Keay Theatre in St Austell tonight – the BNP candidate for the St Austell and Newquay seat, James Fitton, was not invited as his party is considered “too far to the right” for the organisers.

Mr Fitton was also not asked to take part in the BBC Town Hall debate which was aired live this week, and is still available to watch on BBC Iplayer.

The debate has been organised by Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) along with the Cornwall Trade Union Alliance to cater for those who work in front line services it will start at 6.30pm tonight.

Jessica Pearce, the PCS regional secretary, phoned the Cornish Guardian to tell the paper they had received “threatening” phone calls from BNP supporters.

“They phoned and got through to our 22-year-old receptionist and were very aggressive.

“They said that even though we had not invited them they would be attending and there was nothing we could do about it.

“We have phoned the police and they did say they would be present.

“I don’t know why they are acting like this, a lot of our members are part of the civil service and the public sector are not interested in the BNPs far right views.

“It would slow down the debate.”

Inspector for St Austell Police, Stuart Gibbons, said they were aware of it and were on standby should any disruption occur.

James Fitton said: "The PCS are fools. They called me and said I was a facist which is why I wasn't allowed on tonight.

"I then said 'surely by denying me attending tonight you're a fascist' and they hung the phone up on me.

"I'm still going to go. I was told by the PCS that I'd be arrested if I attended, but I can't see how or why I would be and it's not going to stop me."

The candidates who have been invited to the debate include Labour’s Lee Jameson, Liberal Democrat’s Stephen Gilbert, the Conservative candidate Caroline Righton and Mebyon Kernow’s leader Dick Cole.

This is Cornwall

BNP Candidate Ejected from St Austell and Newquay Debate

Although the BNP have not fielded a candidate for the Truro and Falmouth constituency, their party's attempt to gain a seat in Cornwall continues. Earlier this evening, in the neighbouring constituency of St Austell and Newquay, British National Party party representative James Fitton and his supporters were escorted away from The Keay public debate by the police.

Not invited by organisers, PCS (Public and Commercial Services Union) because of their extreme right wing political policies, Mr Fitton made good on his promise to crash the debate. Taking a seat amongst the audience, vocally proclaiming himself as “just another member of the public”, Mr Fitton ignored warnings from the event chair to leave before the authorities arrived.

The candidates waited in the foyer as neither side was willing to budge, but after fifteen minutes the stalemate was broken as the police arrived and requested Mr Fitton leave. After some objection, he left the room but continued arguing with officers, claiming he had been called a “fascist”.

Although mostly popular amongst the people in attendance, none of whom expressed support for BNP policy, there was some discussion as to whether his democratic right to free speech was being infringed. Local resident, Michael Elkington, chose to leave the debate following the exchange between Mr Fitton and police.

He said of this action, “I do not in any way support the BNP. But part of what makes this country great is the right to free expression, and by denying them a platform they garner support, publicity and possibly even credibility. By giving them a chance to discuss their ideas in the open, it is easier to see how ridiculous they really are.

This was the final public debate for the candidates, and was completed without further controversy. The seat, a marginal which has been clearly targeted by both Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, is likely to be closely contested.

Truro People

BNP leader calls for candidate Colin Marsh to quit over displaying Nazi insignia on Facebook

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Colin Marsh

BNP LEADER Nick Griffin has called for the party’s Weaver Vale candidate Weaver Vale to be sacked for displaying SS and neo-Nazi group Combat 18 insignia on a social networking site.

With just days to go until the General Election, Griffin, appearing on BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine show today (Friday, April 30), said: “If that’s genuine and he’s put those on, he’s going to be thrown out because those organisations are proscribed to members of the British National Party.”

Nothing British About the BNP, an anti-BNP campaign group, also say the election candidate’s Facebook friends include a number of violent neo-Nazis.

The group’s deputy editor Maurice Cousins said: “Colin Marsh is a vile neo-Nazi sympathiser with values inimical to Britain’s liberal democratic way of life.”

The Chronicle contacted the BNP about the claims. Spokesman John Walker, who is himself a candidate in Alyn and Deeside, Flintshire, said there were no plans for Marsh to step down but confirmed there will be an investigation.

Chester Chronicle

Teenager convicted of terror plot

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A teenage white supremacist from County Durham has been found guilty of terrorism offences.

Nicky Davison, 19, was convicted of three separate charges of possessing records useful in committing or preparing acts of terrorism.

Newcastle Crown Court heard he was part of a white supremacist group called the Aryan Strike Force, with his father.

Terror manuals were found on computers at the home he shared with his mother in Annfield Plain last June.

The teenager's father, Ian Davison, has already admitted preparing for acts of terrorism and producing a chemical weapon, the deadly poison ricin.

The pair will be sentenced together.

The court heard he helped his father administer the Aryan Strike Force website, which aimed to carry out terrorist "ops", and overthrow the government.

The former milkman's assistant, of Grampian Way, Annfield Plain, was a founder member of the Aryan Strike Force set up by his 41-year-old father Ian.

Ian Davison has already admitted six charges, including producing deadly ricin, one of the world's most dangerous substances.

The jury at Newcastle Crown Court took 50 minutes to convict the teenager after hearing the group planned to fight against what they called the Zionist Occupied Government and believed the state had been taken over by Jews.

Jurors heard a police raid at the home he shared with his mother and younger brother found copies of The Poor Man's James Bond and the Anarchist's Cookbook on two computers.

Nicky Davison denied any knowledge of the documents and the court was told a "mischievous" friend had downloaded them.

In his defence, Davison said he joined the group to please his racist father.

Durham Police welcomed the conviction and pledged to crackdown on violent extremism.

BBC

Simon Darby Shows His True Colours At Public Hustings.

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BNP deputy leader and Parliamentary candidate for Stoke on Trent central Simon Darby used a public hustings to make a racist jibe at an Asian opponent last night, April 28th.

At the public meeting on local education held in Bentilee, Conservative candidate Norsheen Bhatti responded to a question asked by a resident saying “there is nothing British about the BNP. At that point Mr Darby pitched in with “I’m more British then you are.”
When ask to explain himself he said “You made a personal attack on me and you got one back.”
Miss Bhatti, who was born in Birmingham, had moved seat at the beginning of the debate, into an empty one left by Liberal Democrat John Redfern , who refused to attend the meeting because of the Simon Darby being there.
Other candidate’s attending the meeting were Independent Gary Elsby, Matt Wright of the Trade Union and Socialist Coalition and Independent and Stoke on Trent councillor Brian Ward.
Candidate’s not attending, apart for John Redfern, were Labours Tristin Hunt , Independents Paul Breeze and Alby Walker and a National Front candidate.
Not content with attacking other candidates Mr. Darby opposed the plan to merge Edensor Technology Collage with Mitchell Business and Enterprise College, Bucknall. He explained he believed that forcing white and Muslim pupils to mix at any academy would made “a huge social engineering factory.”

Now I’m not going to be rude, or go off my head about Mr, Darby’s disgraceful outburst. My I just point out that what Miss Bhatti did was not to personally attack him, it was a statement on the party he belongs to, which she is fully entitled to do. If he is too thick to see this, which it looks like he is, I would question if he deserves to represent this city, or any part of it, at Westminster

Pits N Pots

What if?

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What if Nick Griffin and the BNP win a seat in Parliament 6th May?

What if they take control of Barking and Dagenham council?

This is the horrifying scene we could be watching on TV if that happens:
http://action.hopenothate.org.uk/WhatIf

We only have one weekend left to do everything we can to keep the BNP out of Parliament and to stop them taking control of the council.

Sign up now for our Barking and Dagenham Day of Action on Monday, 3rd May - and bring a friend with you: http://action.hopenothate.org.uk/WhatIf

Hope not Hate

BNP candidate sends hate mail to rival

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Cliff Le May

In an abusive letter, the BNP candidate for Croydon Central has called Conservative Gavin Barwell a “traitor” to his race and said he would like to see him “hung for treason”.

Cliff Le May, wrote to Mr Barwell at his campaign office after he received David Cameron’s letter urging residents not to vote for Andrew Pelling.

The letter, which was seen by Mr Barwell’s wife and his seven-year-old son reads: “You dirty, sleazy scumbags. If I have my way I will see you all hung for treason.”

Mr Barwell said he received the letter after a long day on the campaign trail and because he was tired, left it out when he went to bed, where it was seen by his family.

He said: “I just think it shows what kind of people these are. I don’t understand why people, when they have different views, can’t just be polite about it.

“If he wants to write to me about being in the EU or immigration that’s fine, but there is no need for personal abuse.”

Mr Le May was unrepentant when asked why he wrote the letter.

He said: “I am referring to the entire Conservative Party – they are dirty, sleazy scumbags. This is a personal view, not a party view.”

Mr Le May did not think his letter was “harsh” and did not care his words had been seen by a child.

Croydon Guardian

Dissent derails Stoke BNP election campaign

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Alby Walker: could not stand the BNP’s nazis and Holocaust deniers

Simon Darby, the deputy BNP leader, once promised that he would never desert the people of Dudley North, where he had stood in previous elections. In January he did just that.

He had set his sights on the more winnable constituency of Stoke-on-Trent Central. Over the past few years Alby Walker, the Stoke BNP council group leader, had given the BNP a measure of respectability, gradually gaining nine council seats and ‘setting the party on the road to ‘taking control.

This steady progress has now been derailed. Darby and Nick Griffin, the party leader, in their rush for glory pushed Walker aside and declared Darby the candidate. Walker stood down as branch organiser shortly before Christmas causing the local party to fracture.


Wary of Walker’s popularity in the local BNP and the local community, the BNP cautioned its followers not to attack him. Darby damned ‘him with faint praise on his blog, claiming that Walker had endorsed his campaign and would act as his election agent.

However, on the day Darby launched his campaign Walker threw a spanner in the works with an announcement that he had left the BNP and would stand against Darby as an independent. The gloves came off. Darby began impugning Walker’s reputation, insinuating that the local Labour party had bought him off.

On a regional BBC programme Walker stated, “there’s a vein of Holocaust denying within the BNP that I cannot identify myself with. They’ve still got senior members of the BNP who will be candidates in the general election that have nazi, naziesque sympathies.”

He also accused Griffin of using the BNP “as some kind of vehicle to make himself rich and famous”. He added later that the BNP insisted its candidates undergo training on how to answer questions about the Holocaust, aware that its antisemitism was its Achilles heel.

The BNP responded viciously, stating that Walker had jumped ‘before he was pushed because of his “pressing mental health issues”, an accusation that is a hallmark of totalitarian regimes the world over. ‘It also insinuated that Walker was a former football hooligan.

The statement was quickly removed from the party website but the damage was done. Ellie Walker, Alby’s wife who was also a BNP councillor, declared herself independent. It was to be expected, stated Simon Darby though gritted teeth.

Walker’s resignation has seriously affected Stoke BNP. In 2008 the party fielded a record 11 council candidates; this year it has only six, two of whom are councillors seeking re-election. Michael Coleman, who took over ‘from Walker, conceded that he had approached 25 people to contest the 20 available city council seats for the BNP but most declined.

“I have had a bit of a falling-out with people over this and it has caused a rift within the group,” Coleman admitted. “We thought we would be able to ‘put up about 14 candidates this year. The Alby Walker situation has also damaged us to a degree, as some of the people who would have stood for us have left because they feel he has been treated badly.”

Only a few months ago the BNP looked likely to emerge as the dominant force on a fractured city council. Instead, having found only four new candidates, Coleman is squandering one in an act of petty spite by putting him up against ‘Alby Walker in Abbey Green in an attempt to damage Walker’s chances of re-election.

The remaining BNP councillor in Abbey Green, Melanie Baddley, enters the general election, in which she is contesting Stoke North, with her reputation tarnished following the arrest of her husband over an alleged drugs offence. He is currently on police bail.

Stoke BNP also has to contend with the emergence of the England First Party (EFP) in the city, which is giving disgruntled former BNP activists a vehicle for their discontent. Coleman dismissed it as “just vengeful hatred” from former members “directed against myself and possibly a few others in the BNP”. No doubt he is incensed that Spencer Cartlidge, once a regular BNP candidate who left before the 2008 elections, is challenging BNP councillor Anthony Simmonds in Weston and Meir North.

Another EFP candidate, Mark Leat, is a former BNP councillor for Longton North who was sacked from the BNP and subsequently defeated, but is contesting the ward again. The BNP could not find anyone to stand ‘against him. The EFP is also contesting Fenton, where the BNP polled 36.1% ‘in 2006 but is not standing this time. This, perhaps more than anything else, is indicative of the turmoil within the BNP in Stoke.

Searchlight

Neo-Nazi father asked me to research bomb

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Nicky Davison

A TEENAGER facing terror charges has admitted researching how to make an electromagnetic pulse bomb capable of knocking out vital computer systems if successfully detonated.

Former milkman’s assistant Nicky Davison told a jury at Newcastle Crown Court yesterday that he had been finding out more about the device for his father, Ian, who he later discovered was found in possession of the poison ricin – one of the world’s most deadly substances.

But Andrew Edis QC, prosecuting, said the 19-year-old could not blame everything on his father.

The exchange came on the tenth day of the trial of Mr Davison Jr, who is accused of being one of the founders of the Aryan Strike Force – a neo-Nazi group set up by his father in 2008.

The aim of the group was to carry out “ops” and to resist what its members called Zog – the Zionist Occupational Government.

Mr Davison Jr has pleaded not guilty to three charges of possessing a record containing information which could be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.

The charges relate to electronic copies of The Poor Man’s James Bond and Anarchist’s Cookbook found on computers at his home in Grampian Way, Annfield Plain, near Stanley, County Durham.

Mr Davison Jr, who denies knowledge of the documents or downloading them, said earlier in his trial he had joined the extremist group to please his father.

He said his father had always been interested in bombs and had asked him to research how to make an electromagnetic pulse bomb, using plastic explosive, which could be built for about £260.

When detonated, the device creates a field of magnetic energy which can disable electronic systems, including bank, government and hospital computers, the court was told.

The jury was shown a red GCSE art book in which Mr Davison Jr had written notes about the device.

Mr Edis said: “Not everything you have done is your father’s fault. You were able to make decisions yourself. You cannot just say it was your dad.

“Your dad wanted to make a bomb and you were helping him.”

Last month, Davison Sr, a former pub DJ, of Myrtle Grove, Burnopfield, County Durham, admitted preparing for an act of terrorism and producing a chemical weapon between June 1 and 3 last year.

He also admitted three charges of possessing a record containing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing acts of terrorism relating to copies of The Anarchist’s Cookbook, the Mujahideen Explosives Handbook and Kitchen Complete on June 2.

He will be sentenced at the conclusion of his son’s trial.

Northern Echo

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

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

David Clarke, of Dunley Drive, New Addington, was found guilty of four counts of assaulting protesters outside of East Croydon station on May 27 and May 29 last year.

Mr Clarke is currently running for election as a councillor for Heathfield Ward.

Croydon Magistrates Court heard the first incident occurred at 6.50pm on May 27 as anti-fascist protesters were handing out leaflets in an attempt to try and dissuade people from supporting the BNP at the station.

Two days later on May 29 he is accused of assaulting another two protesters, James Cox and his partner, Lorna Nelson-Homian.

Clarke will be sentenced on May 18.

Lorna Nelson-Homian, one of Clarke's four victims, said: "I think the verdict today shows that the BNP's veil of credibility has once again fallen down.

"BNP policies are racist, and this case shows they always resort back to their violent roots."

Croydon Guardian

BNP "too racist" for black vicar

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A black reverend who defected from the BNP because it was “too racist” is standing in the general election as a Christian Party candidate for the Croydon Central seat.

Reverend James Gitau, 63 from West Croydon, joined the BNP and went on the campaign trail on April 10 with Nick Griffin in Barking and Dagenham, the constituency where he is standing.

The Kenyan, who moved to Britain in 1997, said: “I actually decided to join them when they opened up for all races. I campaigned for them to open up to other races.

“I asked them to give me one of the constituency seats in Croydon and they refused so I decided to leave. I also realised then that they were too racist.”

Rev Gitau will be standing against BNP candidate Cliff Le May in Croydon Central who has come under fire for his racist views.

He wrote to London Mayor Boris Johnson asking him to “stop ruining our community by stuffing New Addington with violent immigrants who have no right to live among decent civilised white people” and called Gavin Barwell a traitor to his “race and nation” for the Conservative’s immigration policy.

Rev Gitau, who is affiliated to the United Holy Church of America, said he was approached by the Christian Party on April 17 who encouraged him to leave the BNP and join their party.

However, he said he still gave advice to BNP leader Nick Griffin.

He said: “I am giving him advice and telling him that racism is not the way forward.”

Mr Gitau said he told Nick Griffin there should be immigration controls but “genuine immigrants” should be allowed into the country.

Rev Gitau said one of the reasons he campaigned to join the BNP was because it was “the only party that boldly speaks against sodomy in public”.

However, he hastened to add, he was not homophobic.

He said: “I preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and he preaches against homosexuality. I don’t hate homosexuals, I love them. They are my friends, they are human beings. We should love them but teach them to be better people.”

Rev Gitau said he wanted homosexuals in Croydon to vote for him “because we are all sinners”.


Croydon Guardian

Row over Hitler comment found on BNP man's blog

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Barry Bennett with Nick Griffin

The BNP candidate for Gosport has been criticised after a comment supporting Hitler appeared on his online blog.

The comment 'whatever's good enough for Hitler's good enough for me' was posted on Barry Bennett's blog and his Facebook account for an election campaign. The remark was posted several years ago when he was an MEP candidate for the south west.

An investigation by a national newspaper found it was done under a pseudonym in a white supremacist forum.

The bizarre statement read that 'David Beckham is not white, he's a black man.'

The statement continued: 'Beckham is an insult to Britishness, and I'm glad he's not here. I know perfectly respectable half-Jews in the BNP... even Hitler had honorary Aryans who were of Jewish descent... so whatever's good enough for Hitler's good enough for me. God rest his soul.'

Repeated attempts were made to contact Mr Bennett but he did not reply.

But Andrew McBride, south east regional organiser for the BNP, said: 'Barry had a Facebook account that was opened for speaking with supporters and alike in his last campaigns.

'Indeed a remark was made by a blogger, that stated "anything Hitler did was alright by me".

'He did not write this himself. And when this appeared in the press, I personally went down to see him and look at his computer, in place of the regional organiser for the southwest, as I am considerably nearer.

'I'm more than satisfied that he did not make those remarks personally.

'This is why he has been allowed to stand in elections for this party, and only after a full investigation.'

But some are sceptical about the BNP's story.

Simon Magorian is from the Unite Against Fascism group who are campaigning against the BNP, asking people not vote for them in the general election on May 6.

He said: 'I do take the view that you should be responsible for what's on your website. This seems like wriggling to me. The whole thing just doesn't stack up for me. It seems like someone is backtracking from what was once said.'

Portsmouth News

Husband of BNP parliamentary candidate quits 'to protect party'

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Clifford Baddeley

THE husband of a BNP Parliamentary candidate has quit the party following his recent arrest over an alleged drugs offence.

Clifford Baddeley was arrested last month on suspicion of possessing cannabis.

The arrest led to police searching the house he shares with his wife Melanie, who is the far-right party's Parliamentary candidate in the Stoke-on-Trent North constituency.

Mr Baddeley, who has not been charged with any offences, remains on police bail while officers complete their investigation.

The unemployed 49-year-old, of Holehouse Road, Abbey Hulton, has admitted to using cannabis in the past to relieve the pain of arthritis.

However, he says he has since stopped using the drug.

BNP figures say Mr Baddeley left the party to avoid causing further embarrassment in the run-up to the May 6 polls.

His departure comes after BNP chairman Nick Griffin was forced to defend Mr Baddeley's conduct at the party's election manifesto launch in Stoke on Friday.

Mr Griffin had unveiled a range of tough new crime policies, including the death penalty for drug dealers, in front of the media.

But he was later forced to admit he would not be taking any disciplinary action against Mr Baddeley on the grounds that he had been using cannabis medicinally.

Mr Baddeley told The Sentinel last week that he was ashamed of the embarrassment his arrest had caused for his wife and the party.

He was unavailable for comment last night on his decision to step down.

Mrs Baddeley said she accepted her husband's resignation from the party and wanted to focus on her campaign.

She said: "Following the manifesto launch on Friday, when questions were raised about Clifford, he has decided to resign from the party.

"He stepped down, because he was aware of the embarrassment his situation was causing for the party."

Stoke-on-Trent City Council BNP group leader Councillor Michael Coleman, who is standing for election in the Stoke-on-Trent South constituency, said he felt Mr Baddeley had made the right decision.

And he hinted that his departure may be temporary if the ongoing police inquiry finds no evidence of any wrongdoing.

He said: "It is true that Mr Baddeley has resigned in light of everything that has happened.

"He is doing this to protect the party and our reputation, but he wasn't pushed; it was his choice to leave.

"I'm sure that when this has all blown over, he will come back to us."

He added: "His medical condition is absolutely awful and we are taking a lenient approach because of that."

Stoke Sentinel

Where's there's a BNP Will, there's a cock-up . . .

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Will Blair

IT doesn’t do much for the far-right BNP’s “learn our language” stance on immigration when a candidate uses poor grammar in his campaign 'leaflet'.

Will Blair’s challenge for the Rother Valley parliamentary seat is currently being publicised by eight sheets of home-printed A4, clumsily stapled together.

It consists simply of a single “policy” diatribe about immigration and foreigners. There's no mention of any local issues at all, although there's a lot about what has supposedly been happening in Birmingham.

At the height of it Mr Blair' grumbles: “We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, or any other language.

“Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, learn the language!”

Four pages later, he concludes: “If your [sic] coming here for free housing and benefits please try somewhere else.”

Mr Blair would no doubt want immigrants to abide by the laws of this country while they are learning the language.

So he might like to think about this.

There are no official election details about his campaign agent, or indeed any contact information, despite Mr Blair currently representing Maltby on Rotherham Borough Council.

And that makes his "leaflet" illegal.

Under the Representation of the People Act 1983, Section 110 any printed election material must contain the name and address of its printer and promoter. Failure to do so could result in investigation by the police and a fine of up to £5,000.

It could even result in a petition to re-run the election, should the candidate actually win.

All this information is readily available in a handy guide for candidates produced by the Electoral Commission, the independent body charged protecting the integrity of and public confidence in the democratic process.

So Rother Valley's voters could be forgiven for wondering why they should vote for a man who wants to help make the country's laws, but who is evidently unaware of the basic legal requirements of standing for Parliament.

Rotherham Advertiser

New BNP? Same old nazis and thugs

The BNP claims it has changed. A quick review of its election candidates shows that they are the same old nazis, thugs and racists that they always were. By David Williams and Simon Cressy

Tom Gower

Coventry North East

Gower works full-time as the BNP enquiries officer. He is also the Coventry contact for the racist and pagan Woden’s Folk and was involved in the English Heathen Front (EHF), ‘a racist group espousing “blood and soil” ideology. The EHF was the English “chapter” of the Allgermanische Heidnische Front (AHF), an international network of “tribes” that evolved out of the Norsk Hedensk Front, a group founded in 1993 by Varg Vikernes, the Norwegian black metal musician and murderer whose own brand of heathenism included a ‘heavy dose of national socialism, antisemitism, eugenics and racism.

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Shelley Rose

Luton North

A rising star in the BNP, Rose is part of a social group of BNP activists in the East Midlands and an antisemite who wrote on her Facebook page, “I would rather put myself out and pay a bit more at a smaller local shop, than line the pockets of the kikes that run Tesco”. She attended the National Front Remembrance Day parade in 2009 with Chris Hurst, the BNP PPC ‘for Twickenham.

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Robin Evans

Blackburn

Evans was once a Blackburn BNP councillor but found the council budget too much to cope with. “It’s all mumbo jumbo, I don’t understand a word of it,” he stated. He resigned from the BNP in 2003 after an internal dispute and joined the openly fascist British National Socialist Party, returning to the BNP.

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Ken Booth

Newcastle upon Tyne Central

Booth is the former North East National Front organiser who caused widespread disgust in 2007 when he compared the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz to Disneyland. He refused to believe the “official figures” of those who died in the Holocaust and did not recognise the “authenticity” of the buildings at Auschwitz.

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Lynne Mozar

Buckingham

Mozar, who runs the BNP’s Trafalgar Club fundraising group, is notorious for her appearance on the Sky TV documentary BNP Wives in which “in private sometimes” she admitted calling black people “niggers”. ‘She also claimed that “Pakis” was the ‘“legal term for them [Asians]”. While manning a stall opposite a mosque in Fareham, Mozar shouted “fat slag” at a passerby who questioned her views.

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Mathew Tait

Milton Keynes South

Tait, the Buckinghamshire BNP organiser, travelled to the cancelled 2010 American Renaissance conference, where he moaned to those who turned up that the Equality and Human Rights Commission court case had forced the BNP to accept “people who we would wish to not have in our country really to be members of our party”.

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Mike Shore

Broxtowe

Until 2003 Shore was the National Front’s East Midlands organiser and treasurer. He was also Midlands convener of a British incarnation of the Ku Klux Klan. His conversion to the BNP came as a surprise to former colleagues.

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Richard Hamilton

Milton Keynes North

A former soldier, Hamilton took part in the mock trial and execution of a gollywog at the 2009 BNP Red, White and Blue festival. The News of the World noted that before the trial, “Hamilton’s ghettoblaster blared out songs supporting Hitler and attacking ‘ni**ers’”. The BNP claimed his membership had been “suspended” as a result of the affair, though evidently not for very long.

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Chris Beverley

Morley and Outwood

Beverley is a leading figure in Yorkshire BNP and a key link with the National Democratic Party (NPD) in Germany whose leader believes that Hitler was a “great statesman”. Beverley works as PA and constituency office manager for Andrew Brons, the BNP MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, and recently refused to condemn Hitler in a radio broadcast saying that he did not hate him.

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Ian Meller

Leicestershire North West

Meller, a BNP councillor in North West Leicestershire, is a former National Front activist who took part in a demonstration against a Gay Pride march in Leicester in August 2000. Meller, then 35, was fined £400 and £55 costs for carrying an offensive weapon, believed to have been a chair leg.

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Charlotte Lewis

Carshalton and Wallington

Lewis was jailed for six months in 2001 for sending a series of “chilling” death threats to employees of Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) animal research laboratory in Cambridgeshire. She posts racist comments on social networking sites but claims she is ‘not a racist but a “racial survivalist”. ‘In 2009 Croydon Council considered taking action against her after she boasted of participating in a racist hate campaign against her neighbours. (See also page 23.)

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Barry Bennett

Gosport

Bennett was, until recently, a regular user of the American-based nazi Stormfront website, despite being half Jewish, “from ancestry not religion” he is keen to stress. “I believe in National Socialism, WW2 style, it was best, no other power had anything like it,” ‘he wrote. “The ideology was fantastic. The culture, nothing like it. If it was here now, I’d defect to Germany.”

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Eddy Butler

Harlow

Butler has been involved with the far right since the early 1980s when he was the Tower Hamlets organiser for the National Front. After he joined the BNP he and a team of thugs laid into a group of anti-fascists with hammers and other weapons in east London in 1992. In 1993 he organised the “Rights for whites” campaign that won the BNP its first councillor, Derek Beackon, in a Tower Hamlets by-election, though he only held the seat for seven months. Until his sudden demotion Butler was the BNP’s national organiser and elections officer (see page 14). He is also standing for Barking and Dagenham council, despite still living in Loughton.

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Chris Forster

Hayes and Harlington

A National Front supporter in the 1970s and a former treasurer of the Conservative Monday Club, Forster, who is also standing for Barking and Dagenham council, works as a psychic but failed to foresee Searchlight’s exposé of him in the Evening Standard in 2009. Forster helped compile the BNP’s 2009/10 Barking and Dagenham council budget, which attracted great opprobrium. Hypocritically, he is married to a Chinese woman with whom he has a child.

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Tess Culnane

Orpington

Tess Culnane was a BNP member until a row with the party after which she stormed off to join the National Front for which she stood in the 2008 London Assembly election. She also addressed meetings of the openly Nazi British People’s Party. The BNP denounced the NF as “neo-fascist” but this has not proved an impediment to Culnane rejoining the BNP and working for Richard Barnbrook, the BNP’s London Assembly member.

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Edward Sheppard

Coventry North West

Sheppard stood for the BNP in the 2001 general election in Coventry North East, but could not stand in 2005 as he was jailed for three years in 2002 for shooting a man at point blank range. Mold Crown Court heard how Christopher Willans had mistakenly knocked on Sheppard’s window, believing it to be part of a property owned by a close friend. ‘On discovering his mistake, Willans apologised to Sheppard and left the area. While walking home Willans was confronted by Sheppard who shot him at close range with a .22 calibre pistol through his car window.

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Marlene Guest

Rotherham

Guest is the Rotherham BNP organiser. Like Mozar she appeared on the Sky TV BNP Wives documentary in which she claimed that the number of deaths in the Holocaust had been exaggerated and that the Jews were putting Germany on a guilt trip. ‘Asked if any good had come out of ‘the Holocaust, she replied: “Well, apparently, didn’t they get a lot of dentistry and plastic surgery”, refer-ring to the Nazis’ barbaric “medical experiments”.

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Jeffrey Marshall

Eastbury ward, Barking and Dagenham Council

Marshall, the central London BNP organiser, displayed the poisonous side of the BNP in February 2009 following the death of the six-year-old son of David Cameron, the Conservative Party leader. In a cruel and warped outburst against those who had expressed their condolences at the death of Ivan, who suffered from cerebral palsy and epilepsy, Marshall wrote in an internet politics group: “We live in a country today which is unhealthily dominated by an excess of sentimentality towards the weak and unproductive. No good will come of it.”

Marshall continued his sick tirade, stating that although it would be “a kindness” to kill children with disabilities, this was not the same as advocating such a measure as compulsory state policy. “But so what if it is,” he declared. “At least we would all know where we stand. There is actually not a great deal of point in keeping these sort of people alive, after all.”

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Sharif Abdel Gawad

Bolton and Undercliffe ward, Bradford Council

Abdel Gawad of Bowling, Bradford, was convicted for possession of heroin by Bradford magistrates in December 2007. He first stood for the BNP in Bradford in May 2006, when his candidacy caused uproar in the party because of his less than Aryan credentials. The party insisted that he was of Armenian descent and most certainly “Christian” not a Muslim. Interviewed by The Independent he said he was “concerned about law and order, particularly the drugs epidemic in Bradford”.

Hope not Hate

I Saw A Monster On The BBC (An Anti BNP song by Major Major)

BNP Call Homosexuals ‘Evil’

The British National Party (BNP) have dropped their guard once again and have openly published their views on homosexuals. In a BNP Newspaper called “The Voice of Freedom” which was delivered around Lincoln during the last few days they have a picture of a gay couple kissing next to which is the following wording:

HOMOSEXUALITY:An intrinsic moral evil that threatens the future of the human race?

I see the addition of the question mark place at the end of the quote, placed in an attempt to make it sound like they are asking for an opinion rather than making a statement, but I think for everyone readying this who has any knowledge of how the BNP works and it’s real views I’m sure they won’t be fooled.

I have 2 pictures to accompany this article, the first being the front of this newspaper to prove it is a BNP publication, and the second being a picture of the piece, you will also notice on the 2nd image the “Join The Trafalgar Club” for those who don’t know the Trafalgar Club is a members club for people who don’t want to officially donate to the BNP, the club that goes to funding the activities of Nick Griffin and doesn’t provide any public accounts.

As normal you can click on the images below to see the full sized images to see the evidence for yourself.

Can you honestly consider voting for a party that not only has such out dated and hate filled views but one that is all to happy to put those views into print?, think about your own children, if your son or daughter came out to you as gay would you want them to be governed by a party with these views?

Vote No To The BNP

Young, nazi and out of a job

A record number of general election candidates masks a British National Party suffering from internal tensions, a series of embarrassments and continuing questions over its finances

As British National Party members were still taking in the implications of the extensive constitutional changes forced on them by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, they were hit by news of the suspension of the party’s national publicity officer.

A bulletin to party organisers on 31 March accused Mark Collett of “conspiring with a small clique of other party officials to launch a ‘palace coup’” against Nick Griffin, the BNP leader, and spreading “lies and unfounded rumours”. He had therefore been “relieved of all positions within the party with immediate effect”.

Collett, 29, was also accused of “financial irregularities and scamming” over printing BNP election material and its Identity magazine, leaking sensitive party information on the internet and feeding “lies” to anti-BNP blog sites. And there had been a “catalogue of recurring and seemingly inexplicable ‘gaffes’ being made at various stages in our preparations for the general election by certain individuals within the party”.

The same bulletin stated that the police had been “made aware of very serious allegations potentially affecting the personal safety” of Griffin and Jim Dowson, the BNP’s fundraising and management consultant.

The “other party officials” said to ‘have conspired with Collett were not named. However two days after the announcement Emma Colgate resigned as the party’s staff manager saying she wanted to devote herself full-time to the election campaign in Thurrock, where she is standing for parliament and also hoping to get more BNP councillors elected.

“We’re in with a real chance in Thurrock and I want to give it my best shot,” she said. “I cannot properly work fill-time [sic] on the campaign while being paid by EU taxpayers to manage our European staff.”

As it was a party position from which she had resigned, this was a clear admission that the BNP had been ‘using EU taxpayers’ money to fund its party apparatus.

There was also a rapid exit by ‘Eddy Butler from his position as the BNP’s national organiser and national elections officer. His replacement, Clive Jefferson, is a rising star in the party. Appointed as North West regional organiser and national nominating officer last year, he too is on the BNP’s European Parliament payroll.

However Butler was “still very much with the BNP and is set to play a leading role in the party’s attempt to take control of the Barking and Dagenham council,” a special meeting of party officers and organisers was told.

The meeting, rapidly convened ‘on Easter Monday, “unanimously” appointed a “four man strong subcommittee” to listen to an alleged tape recording of a conversation between Collett and the party treasurer David Hannam, which the party claims would enable the police to “investigate a number of potential crimes including threats to murder, assault, fraud and falsification of accounts”, according to a BNP statement issued afterwards.

The committee declared the tape genuine, although the statement did not explain how they arrived at that verdict. However it is understood that the police are unlikely to bring any charges because the tape has been “edited”.

Perhaps the BNP did not really want a prosecution as a court case might reveal a lot more than it wishes to be made public.

Butler’s precise role in the BNP’s Barking and Dagenham campaign is unclear. Last November Griffin anno-unced that Richard Barnbrook, the BNP’s London Assembly member, would spearhead the campaign. ‘Perhaps he has not been producing ‘the canvassing returns Griffin expects.

Barnbrook and Butler are both standing for election in Goresbrook ward, where the BNP currently has two councillors. Butler recently put himself on the electoral register in Dagenham, despite remaining on the register at his real home in Loughton, Essex. Barnbrook and Bob Bailey, the BNP’s council group leader, pulled a similar trick at the time of their election in 2006. They got away with it then, but Butler and some other BNP candidates who have suddenly “moved” to Barking and Dagenham are likely to face investigation if elected.

Even so, the BNP has only managed to find 34 candidates for the 51 council seats in the borough, making it near impossible for it to win the 26 councillors needed to gain control.

This is not the BNP’s only problem. Delays have beset the party’s general election manifesto. As we went to press, the BNP said it would be launched in Stoke-on-Trent on 23 April, less than two weeks before polling day. The party has previously announced that its main election themes would be withdrawal from Afghanistan, immigration and “the global warming conspiracy”. ‘On the issue that is near the top in most voters’ minds, the economy, the fascist party has little to say.

Whether the manifesto delay is one of the “gaffes” being blamed on Collett is not known, but Collett would most likely have been responsible for its design and printing.

One huge gaffe unlikely to be Collett’s responsibility, because it occurred on 14 April well after ‘Collett’s departure, was the Normandy veteran fiasco. The previous day HOPE not hate sent an email to supporters asking them to join its big day of action on 17 April. Headed “I fought the Nazis. Will you?” it consisted of a personal message from Kenneth Riley, a Normandy veteran who fought in the Tank Division.

Amazingly the next day the BNP posted a nearly word-for-word identical message on its website, excepted that it implored people to support the party. ‘It was signed off by “Bob Head”, who claimed to have been “attached to the 51st Highland Division”. Instead of asking for volunteers, it solicited ‘£20 donations.

Riley was furious that the BNP had “stolen” his words and put his name to a new email for HOPE not hate to raise money for the anti-BNP campaign. ‘The Normandy Veterans Association said it had never heard of Head and ‘cast doubt on his claimed service record and medals.

Head’s email was one of only a small number appealing for donations for the BNP’s election campaign. Unlike in the run-up to last year’s European election, the BNP’s fundraising effort this year has been lacklustre. No begging letters have been dispatched for some time ‘and appeals on the party’s website and by email have been unambitious. Website donation links go straight to a form without any exhortation to encourage generosity.

The official launch of the BNP’s campaign fund on 10 April claimed ‘that the party had already raised £275,000, including £165,000 in election deposits, and was looking for another £180,000. The party was not being entirely straight. Most general election candidates are expected to pay their own £500 deposits or raise the money locally.

For several weeks the party has been reporting branch meetings around the country that have raised highly unlikely sums, considering that most of its supporters come from the lower socio-economic groups. Revelations that Griffin and Andrew Brons, his fellow MEP, have been misusing their European parliamentary expenses, coupled with the Collett “financial irregularities” accusation, cannot have enhanced the confidence of potential donors that their money would be well spent.

To add to the party’s financial woes, the Electoral Commission announced on 15 April that it had upgraded its review of the British National Party’s accounts to a formal investigation.

The BNP has already been fined £1,000 because its 2008 accounts ‘were submitted nearly six months late. They came with a report from the party’s auditors, Silver & Co, stating that they did not give a true and fair view and did not “comply with the requirements of the Political Parties Elections and Referendums Act 2000 as adequate records have not been made available”. Even Griffin admitted the accounts were “inadequate”.

The Electoral Commission emphasised that the fact that an investigation had been launched did ‘not mean that electoral rules had ‘been breached. A statement by the commission explained that “no conclusion has been reached and therefore no assumption should be made as to whether a breach of the ‘rules has occurred”.

That did not stop the BNP describing the investigation as “an obviously politically motivated attack” and claiming ludicrously that the party had been assured it would be closed the following week.

Meanwhile the embarrassing leaks of financial information that the BNP tried to blame on Collett appear to be continuing. Earlier this year it emerged that the BNP had paid over £360,000 to businesses connected with Dowson during the first 11 months of 2009, a significant proportion of the party’s budget. This fact and the central position Dowson holds in the BNP’s operations gave rise to our conclusion that Dowson in effect owns the BNP.

The latest leak suggests that Dowson’s hold over the party continues, with more than £51,000 paid to his company Adlorries.com in March alone.

It has been suggested that Dowson was responsible for Collett’s suspension and supporters of Collett have thrown the “financial irregularities” accusation back at Dowson. Many in the BNP are suspicious of the close relationship between Griffin and Dowson, who claims he is not a party member.

Whether Collett’s BNP career is truly over remains to be seen. His Wikipedia page, which was hastily updated to record his suspension, states that his membership was reinstated a week later, though he has not got his old job back.

Collett has bounced back twice before, once after he notoriously starred in the television documentary Young, Nazi and Proud, in which he said he was inspired by images of German Nazis “sieg heiling” in the streets, the second time after the internal rebellion in the BNP in winter 2007-08, when he was widely accused of incompetence. He claims to remain “completely loyal” to the party and has offered to help with local election material.

Searchlight

BNP lies outrage campaigners

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Election leaflets from the BNP's councillor in Heckmondwike have outraged campaigners fighting plans to build a retirement village in the greenbelt at Norristhorpe.

Roger Roberts, the BNP's last councillor in Kirklees, says in his party's only leaflet since the 2008 elections that if re-elected he'll fight plans to build on greenbelt... even though he has refused to fight plans to build on greenbelt!

SPARK understands Roberts has refused to support the Norristhorpe campaigners for a year and has not objected to the planning application they're fighting. He has also failed to respond to a single email from the group.

Plus the town's former BNP councillor David Exley, now Chamber of Trade chairman, endorsed the plan to build the village in the greenbelt and called the plans "brilliant".

Roberts also tells voters he'll back local police in the fight against crime and anti-social behaviour. But again, Roberts has repeatedly failed to support proposals to provide extra funding and resources to the local police.

Roberts was previously run out of Mirfield for failing to turn up to town council meetings when he was a town councillor there.


The Spark

Liverpool BNP Campaign in Disarray

Last week’s revelation that Karen Otty, Liverpool BNP’s secretary, and candidate for Anfield in the coming council elections, attended English Defence League demonstrations in defiance of Nick Griffin’s orders, has got local fascists rattled. (See both our own coverage and Vote No To The BNP.)

The information came from Otty’s own Facebook page (which vanished sharpish when the story broke). Liverpool BNP organiser, Peter Squire, was furious that one of his candidates had shot herself in the foot so soon in the campaign. He ordered local party members to quit using social networking sites until after May 6th for fear that they might reveal more unsavoury truths about themselves.

Some did stop, but others, perhaps less attuned to the effect that their real views might have on the voting public, didn’t bother, and kept posting their violent racist filth online. One charming example comes from Huyton drug user and BNP member, Eddy Luby. On April 13th he posted the following threat to Muslim women:

These views aren’t hard to find in the BNP. This racist thug is threatenging to assault women in the street without even having the brains to keep his intentions private. Do us all a favour Eddy, spark up another joint and knock yourself out – you are most useful to society and your party when you’re unconscious.

But online fiascos aren’t the only problem affecting Liverpool BNP’s doomed election campaign. The party tried to stage an illegal march on Allerton Rd on Friday April 23rd. The ‘march’ consisted of Peter Tierney (yes him – the one who’s in court on June 14th charged with assault with a camera tripod!) driving his landrover and, bizarrely, three nutters dressed as crusaders walking in front banging drums! Anti-fascists got wind of this and raced up to Allerton Rd, only to find that local people had already pelted the ‘march’ with fruit and water before it was broken up by police!

Eddy and Jamie Luby (plus an unknown hanger-on) with Peter Tierney

The election campaign has brought Liverpool BNP’s internal divisions into full view as well. For a long time, Gary Aronsson was listed as the PPC for Knowsley, only to be turfed out (of the seat and the party) after rows broke out over whether or not to accept the new membership rules forced on the BNP by the courts.

Now Aronsson (who posts as ‘Erik Dorf’, a fictional SS man from the TV mini-series ‘Holocaust’!) is claiming that Liverpool BNP members have threatened him and sent him razor blades in the post.

They have also racially abused him online, claiming he is Jewish and revealing the disgusting current of anti-Semitism prevalent within the party.

On the ground, BNP candidates and members are being forced to go out leafleting individually (careful now – remember Allerton Rd!) as they are so few in number and can’t call on fascists from outside Liverpool to support them as they usually do.

Meanwhile a large team from Liverpool Anti-Fascists delivered thousands of leaflets in the BNP’s target seats yesterday and today, and will do the same again, and again, and again, until the truth behind this fascist and racist party is plain for all to see.

More news as we get it – including details of Liverpool BNP’s planned stall in the city centre on election day – that’ll be fun!

Liverpool Antifascists

BNP Leader: 'East London Is Like Nairobi'

BNP leader Nick Griffin has been secretly filmed out on the far-right party's campaign trail, where he compared east London to Nairobi


The BNP is well known for having controversial policies, but it would appear the party also has controversial opinions when it comes to canvassing voters.

An undercover reporter from the People tabloid recorded what happened when senior party member Richard Edmonds was out leafleting in Dagenham.

When a woman told him she would not vote BNP, Mr Edmonds' response as he walked away was: "Silly ******* aren't they? Maybe she's got a black kid you see? Or maybe her sister's got a black kid? That I think is always the explanation around here. Once they go with blacks, they're part of the black tribe. Wicked, horrible, stupid. I've seen it many, many times."

Mr Griffin was also filmed talking about canvassing in Barking, where he is trying to oust Labour's Margaret Hodge.

"Yes, it's something like leafleting central Nairobi isn't it, I'm afraid," he said.

A spokesman for the BNP said the remarks were made after Mr Edmonds had been verbally abused in the street. The party did not want to comment further on the filming.

At its manifesto launch last week, the BNP insisted it was not a single-issue party.

Sky News

Nick Griffin: Barking's just like central Nairobi

Inside hate-filled world of BNP as boss bids to be MP

Race-hate peddler Nick Griffin launched his bid to become an east London MP by likening the seat to Nairobi - one of Africa's biggest cities. The BNP leader made the sneering comparison to Kenya's capital as he prepared to go out canvassing in Barking, where about a fifth of the population are from ethnic minorities.

He smirked: "It's something like leafleting central Nairobi, I'm afraid."

The jibe reveals racism is still at the core of the British National Party - and makes a mockery of Griffin's insistence they are not hawkers of hate.

He made the remark to an undercover People reporter who joined the BNP last month - and landed a job as Griffin's minder. Within days our man was signed up as a minder and was asked to the home of BNP stalwart Richard Barnbrook, a Greater London Assembly member.

When he arrived at the house in Dagenham, he found Griffin tying his shoelaces ready to start canvassing in nearby Barking. It was then that Griffin - bidding to oust tourism minister Margaret Hodge as MP and overturn her 12,183 majority - made his sick crack about Nairobi.

Our man told Griffin he had been harangued while canvassing for the BNP with party activists in Dagenham the day before. Griffin replied: "Well, when you think about what they have been told it's not surprising. They think you are on their doorstep to eat their baby."

Our man also told Griffin he had seen BNP supporters clash with members of United Against Fascism at the UK Border Agency office in Croydon two weeks ago. Griffin blamed police for the violence, whining: "They want to spark a reaction - that's what goes on television. The police are a bit caught because if they stop them too early they'll get done for abusing their human rights to protest. They've let it basically go too far. That's a lot of the cop-out."

Griffin said he picked Barking for his election bid because his anti-immigration stance appeals to white working-class voters who feel abandoned by Labour. As he took to the streets with camera crews in tow, Cambridgeeducated Griffin said: "There's a lot of support for us round here from honest, hard-working people who are fed up with being lied to."

Our man watched BNP activists knock on at least 1,000 doors - but only five potential supporters shook his hand. Later, Griffin told a radio phone-in he discussed immigration with a West Indian family he met canvassing - and claimed they backed his views.

He said: "They were saying the same as white people - that our kids are at the back of the queue when it comes to housing behind Somalis and Albanians who have only just arrived and it's not fair. There are plenty of West Indians agreeing with our message that Britain's full. They're not racist and nor are we."

But at no time during the hours we spent with Griffin in Barking did he talk about immigration to any West Indian family.

Griffin last night stood by his Nairobi jibe. He said: "Labour has given housing to West Indian immigrants because they need the black African vote after years of neglecting the white working class."

Catalogue of shame

Our man was routinely exposed to the violent hatred infesting the BNP during his three-week probe.

Desmond O'Flynn - who says he is a BNP organiser and boasts of having a criminal record - ranted: "I hate Muslims. I'd love to be a candidate in the election but I've got too much previous."

Gabriel Angelos, standing as a councillor in Enfield, also bragged about his violent past and raged against anti-BNP campaigners. He said in front of his own young daughter: "I hold them in contempt, the f***ing bastards."

And Richard Edmonds, 57, told our man not to visit addresses in Barking marked with an "F" on his copy of the electoral roll. He said: "F is for foreigners. There's no point talking to them. They're doing very well out of us and they want all their tribe over here."

Sunday People

National Front turn up in Birmingham for St George's Day march

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THE NATIONAL Front turned out on the streets of Birmingham yesterday to hold a St George’s Day march through the north of the city.

It was the first time that the far-right party, which describes itself as a ‘racial nationalist’ party, has turned up on the streets since it was last banned from doing so in 2001.

Up to 40 men and women marched through the streets of Kingstanding to raise awareness about candidates standing in the upcoming local and general elections.

But they were also there to commemorate the death of local man Jason Spence, who they described as one of “The Fallen”.

Father-of-three Jason was gunned down at point-blank range as he left a Birmingham pub with friends in 2002.

It is believed that Jason, 31, regularly attended National Front meetings and rallies, and was known across the Midlands.

Within hours of the shooting on November 19, messages of remembrance and threats of revenge were posted on extremist websites.

But nobody has ever been charged with his murder and his widow Jacqui, 32, claims the police have “left her in the dark” about the investigation.

Jason’s three children – Tammy, 14, Cherree, 19, and Jason, 21 – still have no clue why their father was murdered shortly after leaving the New Bell pub.

A lack of police contact has frustrated the family and has left them feeling forgotten, with nowhere to turn to.

Jacqui said she supported the National Front march and denied claims that its members were exploiting her late husband’s memory.

“I was not upset about them commemorating Jason’s death, I thought it was a nice gesture,” she said. “But I was upset by a number of press reports which claimed they were hijacking his memory.

“They were only ever friends of his. It just happened they were promoting election candidates in the area yesterday and thought it would be nice to remember Jason.

“To be honest I’m more upset by the police investigation into Jason’s death. We have heard nothing from them at all and it seems like they are not interested.

“I have told them the information they need lots of times. They know exactly what they need to do and who they need to question but they just don’t seem interested. It is a terrible situation to be in.”

The NF will be putting forward candidates in the local election in Kingstanding and Oscott, as well as in the General Election in Erdington.

Oscott candidate Keith Axon, 63, a retired salesman said he doubts that he can win the Oscott seat but claimed more people are supporting the NF because of Labour’s immigration policies.

“The white working class in places like Kingstanding feel alienated and let down by the political process,” he said. “People have had enough of feeling like second-class citizens in their own country.”

Sunday Mercury

POLICE PROBE AFTER THE BNP PARADES FAKE SOLDIER WALKER

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A CONTROVERSIAL BNP election candidate is being investigated by police after he posed as a soldier.

Adam Walker wore desert fatigues while campaigning alongside the far-right party’s leader, Nick Griffin.


But Walker, 41 – who is standing in Bishop Auckland, County Durham – is no longer a serving member of the Armed Forces and might have broken the law by dressing as one.


Police were alerted when a member of the public made a complaint.Walker, who was a member of the Royal Armoured Corps from 1985 to 1990, claims he has done nothing wrong.


At the rally in Barking, Essex, last weekend, he was asked if he was a real soldier and admitted he wasn’t.


But he said: “I’m wearing this uniform in solidarity with our boys in Afghanistan.”


A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “We have received a complaint and officers will now decide what action, if any, is required.”


Walker could be charged with a breach of the 1894 Uniforms Act which says that wearing a military uniform without permission can “bring contempt” on the Army. If convicted, he could face up to a month in prison or a hefty fine.

His appearance at the rally was labelled “disgraceful” by serving soldiers and Forces’ organisations.


A spokesman for the ABF soldiers’ charity said: “There is no place in the Army for racism or politics. Nick Griffin should know better.” One soldier using an online forum said: “This is disgraceful. The scumbag should be prosecuted.”


A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “Neither serving nor retired military personnel are permitted to wear uniform in support of political activities as this could undermine the impartiality of the Armed Forces.”


It is not the first time that former teacher Walker, of Spennymoor, County Durham, has attracted controversy. In 2007, he was caught posting alleged slurs against asylum seekers, immigrants and homosexuality on the BNP’s website during lesson time at the sports college where he worked.


He left the college shortly after the scandal broke but claimed the comments had no link to his work. He is awaiting a General Teacher Council hearing.

Daily Star

KT Tunstall’s stepfather stands as BNP candidate

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Rock star KT Tunstall has spoken of her horror after her stepfather was unveiled as a candidate for the British National Party.

A spokesman for Tunstall – who supported Barack Obama when he was running for the US presidency – said she abhorred the party that former funeral director David Orr was standing for in Livingston.

Mr Orr described Tunstall as a political “yoghurt knitter” and claimed the musician’s mother had met BNP leader Nick Griffin.

Tunstall, 34, is originally from Fife. Her first album sold around four million copies and led to her winning a Brit Award. She has also won an Ivor Novello award and was nominated for the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance award at the Grammys in 2007.

The singer has also been candid about the fact she was adopted just days after she was born in 1975.

Her birth mother, Carol Ann Orr, gave up the future star over fears she would not be able to raise her properly. Mrs Orr, who is half-Chinese, married taxi driver David Orr in 1989.

She and Tunstall spoke publicly in 2006 about their emotional reunion, which took place in an Edinburgh pub.

However, the singer is now facing embarrassment over the far-right political leanings of her stepfather. He was reportedly present when Tunstall and her mother met for the first time.

Mr Orr, 61, has been a BNP member for around 10 years and was confirmed last week as a candidate for the far-right party. According to official papers submitted to the local council, Tunstall’s birth mother nominated her husband as a BNP candidate.

Tunstall has been closely aligned to progressive political causes – she is one of the public faces behind a United Nations campaign to raise awareness of global warming, as well as an advocate of the leftish “vote for a change” campaign backed by Billy Bragg.

She supported Obama over Republican John McCain for the US presidency in 2008 and is also a fan of former vice-president Al Gore, of whom she has said: “I trust him, and there are so few people I believe in public life these days.”

And during the US presidential election, Tunstall was quoted as saying: “I feel strongly that the world would be in a safer place if it was a Democrat government in the States.”

By contrast, Mr Orr’s politics are a world away from Tunstall’s liberal views.

In an interview with the Sunday Herald, Mr Orr said he supported a referendum on capital punishment and a clampdown on immigration: “Between 2001 and 2004, the Labour Cabinet tried to flood the country with immigrants to try and change the whole of society.”

He added: “They [immigrants] tend to have more children than the indigenous population.”

Mr Orr said of his stepdaughter: “Katie [KT] doesn’t agree with our policies. She’s one of the greenies, the yoghurt knitters.

“We see Katie when she’s up on tour. When she found out that I was standing for the British National Party, it was a quick stand back.”

He said of his wife: “She has met Nick Griffin. She met him up in Perth about a year and a half ago.”

A spokesman for KT Tunstall said: “Katie abhors the BNP and what it stands for. She is not in contact with David Orr.”

Margo MacDonald, an MSP for the Lothians, said she felt sorry for the singer: “You have to feel sympathy for anyone in a situation like this. It is clear that you can choose your friends, but not your relatives.”

The Herald

Scots rocker KT Tunstall's fury at BNP election candidate stepdad

SINGER KT Tunstall has disowned her stepdad after discovering he is standing for the racist BNP at the general election.

Right-wing fanatic David Orr, 61, yesterday admitted he had been frozen out by the star because of his politics.

And KT's spokesman said: "She abhors the BNP and all they stand for.

"She now has no contact with David Orr."

The row has caused a huge rift and friends say it has left KT's mum Carol-Ann heartbroken.

Orr backs the BNP despite the fact that Carol-Ann is half Chinese and was born in Hong Kong.

The racist party would seek to repatriate people like her if they ever came to power.

Yesterday, former cabbie Orr was out in his home town of Livingston, West Lothian, where he is standing for election, peddling the BNP's right-wing propaganda.

At his home, which is adorned with photographs and messages from the rock star, Orr said: "This has caused huge problems in my family. It's really put the cat among the pigeons.

"I've had Katie's people on the phone basically saying that she won't have anything further to do with me and doesn't want to see me ever again."

Apparently referring to the Suddenly I See singer's liberal views, he added: "Katie is a bit of a yoghurt-knitter and takes a dim view of the BNP.

"But I've never used the family connection for political gain. It was a big no-no from the start.

"She is still in touch with my wife Carol-Ann, mainly through texts. It has caused huge problems but I've had these political views all of my life and Carol-Ann knows that.

"It doesn't bother me that Katie won't speak to me, as I've nothing to be ashamed of.

"I am bothered for Carol-Ann though. She just wants to keep out of it all and to stay in touch with her daughter."

A friend of Carol-Ann - who gave up KT, 34, for adoption when she was born before being reunited with her in 1996 - said: "She is absolutely devastated about this. But she loves David and has accepted she can't change his views no matter how unpalatable they are.

"Katie has made her feelings clear and who would blame her for wanting to keep her distance from Orr?"

Dad-of-four Orr, who has been married three times, is one of the BNP's longest serving activists in Scotland.

His eldest son from his first marriage, David junior, 32, is also an official with the extremist party.

Orr and former exotic dancer Carol-Ann, 57, married in 1989.

The first-time election candidate says in a letter to voters: "I am married to Carol-Ann and we have between us four children, all adults. Both of our fathers fought overseas during WWII, my wife's father in Hong Kong where he was taken prisoner by the Japanese on Christmas Day 1942.

"My father served in Burma where he was proud to fight alongside the Gurkhas."

The BNP are calling for an immediate halt to all immigration and the introduction of a system of voluntary resettlement for legal immigrants to their lands of ethnic origin.

Kt has met her birth mother's family and invited them backstage to many of her concerts, although she didn't invite them to her wedding to long-time love Luke Bullen last year.

In an earlier interview about their emotional meeting after KT tracked her down, Carol-Ann said: "That night was the turning point in my life.

"I no longer felt like I was cracking up. I had finally found some inner peace.

"Things have just kept getting better from there - though sometimes I still think I don't deserve my daughter. Despite having three other lovely kids and a great husband, I still never felt at peace because I didn't know my eldest child. Now I feel content."

Carol-Ann became pregnant with KT in 1974 during a fling with an Irish barman while she was working as a "bunny girl" waitress in the now-defunct Penthouse bar in Edinburgh.

But in a decision that haunted her for the next two decades, she gave her baby up for adoption. She had battled with depression and was afraid she wouldn't make a good mum.

KT was born on June 23, 1975, at Edinburgh's Western General Hospital and Carol-Ann revealed she was heartbroken at having to give up her newborn daughter, who she had named Natasha Michelle.

She said: "When I first laid eyes on my daughter, she was three days old and she was gorgeous.

"She looked Chinese with a tuft of dark hair like a punk rocker. I decided to call her Natasha Michelle - names both her dad and I had liked.

"I got to hold her in a private room - just me and her - and I cried my eyes out and said to her, 'I love you and I'm sorry. You'd better come and find me some day'.

"Later, I got to bottle-feed her, which was a really special moment."

KT was adopted by lecturer David Tunstall and his wife Rosemary, a primary teacher, and brought up in St Andrews, Fife.

On her birth mum, KT has said: "It's a completely different relationship to the one I have with my family but I am glad she is there.

"It's good. It's been a bit of a bumpy road because it's a very strange experience.

"I suppose the thing is, you feel like you should know each other, that there should be this emotional tie. Of course, you're meeting someone you've never met before.

Daily Record