British National Party: Encyclopedia II - British National Party - Allegations of racism

British National Party - Allegations of racism

The BNP claims to have been in radical ideological transition for a number of years, and that its past behavior, and statements of its leadership, may not accurately reflect what it stands for at the present time.

Since current chairman Nick Griffin took over in 2000, he claims to have repudiated racism, instead espousing something he calls "ethno-nationalism". Griffin claims that his core ideology is "concern for the well-being of the English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish ethnic nations that compose the United Kingdom".

The BNP do, however, "admit that IQ tests place whites, on average, above some races but below others", raising accusations of eugenics. The BNP also claims to disavow any interest in white supremacy, saying it does not to "wish to rule over foreign peoples"

The party has also denied repeated claims that it is anti-Semitic and points out that the party has Jewish members, and one of its councillors, Pat Richardson, is herself Jewish.

When the former MP Alex Carlile reported Griffin for inciting racial hatred and Holocaust denial, Griffin commented: "This bloody Jew, our local MP who organised the raid whose only claim to fame is that two of his parents died in the Holocaust."

In the BNP publication Spearhead, Griffin wrote, "Some antisemitism may be provoked by the actions of certain Jews themselves and thereby have a rational basis".

In October 1990, the British National Party was described by the European Parliament's committee on racism and xenophobia as an "openly Nazi party... whose leadership have serious criminal convictions". When asked if the BNP was racist, Richard Edmonds, deputy leader of the BNP, said, "We are 100 per cent racist, yes". Their then leader John Tyndall had previously proclaimed "Mein Kampf is my Bible." Under his leadership, the BNP was strongly supportive of the South African Apartheid system.

When Nick Griffin eventually became Chairman in 1999, the party began to water down their public statements about racial issues. The party changed their public position to stating that their desire is to preserve the British race, and not to interfere with others. Its constitution states that all members must be of "British or closely kindred native European stock." The party is opposed to mixed race relationships on the stated ground that ethnic differences must be preserved; it argues that when a white person produces a mixed-race child, "a white family line that stretches back into deep pre-history is destroyed." However, it has stated on several occasions it strongly opposes any unfair discrimination on the grounds of race.

Nick Griffin has stated his views on race as follows:

Since Griffin took over leadership of the party, the BNP has also attempted to move away from the violent image it attained during the Tyndall years, that were often seen as racist and thuggish, and has invoked policy changes in order to present itself as a more moderate, mainstream and respectable far-right party.

An example of this is the party's stance on repatriation: under Tyndall's leadership, the party campaigned for the "compulsory repatriation" of all ethnic minorities. However, since Griffin's election to national chairmanship, this policy has been moderated to the less forceful suggestion that immigrants who wish to return to their countries of origin, and descendants of immigrants who wish to migrate to such countries, should be assisted in doing so by the provision of what the BNP describes as "generous homeward-bound grants". The BNP has also pointed out that a policy of voluntary repatriation of "foreigners" already exists under the 1971 Immigration Act, which they would use to enact this policy.

Despite this moderation, Nick Griffin had previously made anti-Semitic statements. His 1997 pamphlet "Who Are The Mindbenders" (as already mentioned), alleged that a cabal of Jews controlled the British media.[10] He also denied the Holocaust in several party publications prior to becoming leader. [11]

Despite the changes made by Griffin, there remain a number of prominent BNP members with openly racist and/or violent histories. The BNP states that many questionable characters have been expelled from the party and it publicly condemns both violence and racism.

The BNP's professed policy of anti-racism was publicly questioned on July 15, 2004, when a BBC documentary sought to expose what it claimed to be 'racist elements' in the party. Documentary-maker Jason Gwynne went undercover and joined the BNP for six months. His secret filming recorded party leader Nick Griffin calling Islam a "wicked, vicious faith"; party member Steve Barkham confessing to assaulting an Asian man in the 2001 Bradford Riots; and party member Stewart Williams stating that he wanted to "blow up" Bradford's mosques with a rocket launcher and council candidate Dave Midgley confessing to pushing dog faeces through the letterbox of an Asian takeaway.

In his speech, Griffin stated that "For saying that, I tell you, I will get seven years if I said that outside", apparently referring to the maximum sentence for the criminal offence of incitement to racial hatred. In light of some of these revelations, the party has since expelled Barkham and Midgley (but not Williams, who has technically committed no crime). Mr. Griffin did not apologise for his own comments, stating that "it's still not illegal to criticise Islam".

In its response to the documentary, the BNP invoked accusations of misrepresentation, describing the news broadcast as featuring "the loudest and most hot-headed BNP activists [who] were deliberately plied with drink and subject to suggestive provocation."

On July 16, 2004, Barclays Bank froze the bank accounts of the BNP, apparently as a result of the BBC documentary. Nick Griffin has said of this matter, "If we can, we will take them [Barclays] to the cleaners. We don't want to take them to the cleaners, all we want is the democratic right to access bank accounts." [12]

In December 2004, the British tabloid press reported that a BNP member had hired a black DJ by telephone for the BNP Christmas party without knowing that he was black, resulting in some members leaving and others refusing to make their speeches. The DJ had not known that he was going to work for the BNP until he arrived at the event. [13] [14] [15] The BNP denies that any of its members left in protest at this and commended the professionalism of the DJ in an article on its website [16].

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Allegations of racism", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki