'Intervention Will Make Syria 10 Times Worse Than Extremist-ravaged Libya'
Assad troops have made a strong push in recent weeks, and rebel leaders say they are in dire need of support. They've already got al-Qaeda-linked militants and foreign mercenaries fighting on their side, and are now set to start getting weapons from the West. Meanwhile, government forces have the backing of Lebanon's Hezbollah, and may soon get a four-thousand-strong troop reinforcement from Iran. The British National Party's Nick Griffin was part of a European fact-finding delegation that's just returned from Damascus. He told RT that any third-party involvement only aggravates the conflict.

My comment:

I smell the scent of Saudi behind this ludicrous decision to arm the rebels. The Saudis are pulling the strings here, if I am not greatly mistaken. In a few words, Cameron is the Saudi stooge, as is Obama. Remember that obsequious bow he made to the Saudi king? – © Mark

This comment is also to be found here

Nick Griffin Denied Entry to Buckingham Palace Garden Party
THE TELEGRAPH: Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party, has been denied entry to a Buckingham Palace garden party after officials said he was using his invitation for party political purposes.

BNP leader Nick Griffin denied entry to Buckingham Palace garden party. Photo: The Telegraph
The far right leader, who is a Member of the European Parliament, had been invited along with 8,000 other guests to the event which is being hosted by the Queen and attended by the Duke of Edinburgh.

But officials withdrew the invitation after warning his attendance could increase the security threat and cause discomfort for others attending.

A Palace spokesman said: “Nick Griffin MEP will be denied entry to today's Garden Party at Buckingham Palace due to the fact he has overtly used his personal invitation for Party political purposes through the media[.]

“This in turn has increased the security threat and the potential discomfort to the many other guests also attending. >>> Martin Evans | Thursday, July 22, 2010

THE INDEPENDENT: Nick Griffin's furious as palace invite is withdrawn: BNP leader Nick Griffin was barred from a Buckingham Palace garden party hours before today's event - after he was accused of using the invitation for political ends. >>> Tony Jones, Press Association | Thursday, July 22, 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: The establishment turns on Nick Griffin. Persona non grata in Buck House >>>

BNP Man Punches Asian on Campaign Trail as Online Chief Denounces Griffin
TIMES ONLINE: British National Party's election campaign descends into violence as a top official is filmed attacking an Asian man

The British National Party’s election campaign descended into violence yesterday when one of its top officials was filmed attacking an Asian man. Robert Bailey, the far-right party’s group leader at Barking and Dagenham Council, was shown punching the man and trying to kick him in the head. Mr Bailey had retaliated after he was spat on during canvassing.

Earlier The Times revealed that the head of the party’s online operation had resigned, taking its website down with him. Simon Bennett directed BNP traffic to his personal site, which contained a diatribe against Nick Griffin, the BNP leader, and other senior figures. A day before the election, Mr Bennett, 41, depicted an amateur operation and an organisation that, he claimed, wasted membership fees and donations. He accused Mr Griffin and James Dowson, the BNP election fundraiser, of being “pathetic, desperate and incompetent”.

It is understood that Mr Bennett took the website down briefly on Tuesday afternoon. It was reactivated quickly, but his comments had already gone viral on a number of websites. >>> Fiona Hamilton, London Correspondent | Thursday, May 06, 2010

BNP 'Sacks' PR Accused of Coup Bid
YAHOO! NEWS: The British National Party has sacked its publicity chief after he was arrested on suspicion of threatening to kill its leader Nick Griffin, according to reports.

Party bosses also accused Mark Collett, 29, who appeared in a documentary called Young, Nazi and Proud while a student in Leeds, of trying to launch a "palace coup" against Mr Griffin.

Mr Collett was responsible for producing the far right group's publicity material and edited its newspaper.

A leaked copy of the BNP organisers bulletin stated the party had run "an extensive and long-running" investigation into financial irregularities.

It stated: "We are able to say that Mark Collett was conspiring with a small clique of other party officials to launch a 'palace coup' against our twice democratically elected party leader, Nick Griffin, and that in order to create the artificial climate of disillusionment necessary for this to stand any chance of success, lies and unfounded rumours have been spread, and were planned to be spread much further.

"Mr Collett has therefore been relieved of all positions within the party with immediate effect." >>> Press Association | Easter Sunday, April 04, 2010

Nick Griffin to Attend Copenhagen Summit

Christians 'Would Rather Vote BNP Than Labour', Pastor Claims
THE TELEGRAPH: Christians would rather vote for the British National Party than Labour because they are so disillusioned with the Government’s discrimination against them, a pastor has claimed.

Reverend George Hargreaves, who leads the conservative Christian Party, said people were “sick” of “Labour’s anti-Christian, anti-free speech agenda and laws”.

Rev Hargreaves said: “Christians in the past may have voted Labour, but [they] have silenced Christians and their anti-traditional family policies have created a vacuum which Nick Griffin can fill." >>> Andy Bloxham | Tuesday, November 17, 2009

BNP Leader Nick Griffin to Stand in Barking at General Election
THE TELEGRAPH: Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party, has confirmed he will stand in Barking at the next General Election.

According to the BNP leader, for the first time ever, the party has really serious challengers in a number of seats. Photo: The Telegraph
Speaking shortly before he addressed the BNP's annual conference in Hindley Green, Wigan, he also set out the key topics on which the party will fight for seats in the House of Commons.

He said: ''For the first time ever, we are really serious challengers in a number of seats. We're looking at half a dozen really seriously with big amounts of resources.

''And on top of that we will be fighting, I'm sure, our largest number ever - so I guess in excess of 200.''

The BNP's annual conference began on Saturday and finished with a key-note speech by Mr Griffin, in which he spelt out the future of the party to delegates.

He explained why he has chosen to fight in Margaret Hodge MP's Essex constituency in his campaign to get to Westminster.

''I am going to stand in Barking,'' he said. ''The thrust of that campaign will be the housing and education problems in the borough, and the way that the Labour party has let that borough down in a catastrophic way.''

The MEP for the north-west said bringing home British troops for Afghanistan is a key policy for the party and one that he believes has wide support across the country.

He said: ''It is the issue that everyone in the public wants a party to take the lead on. The three main parties are completely out of kilter with public opinion.'' >>> | Sunday, November 15, 2009

One in Five 'Would Consider Voting BNP' after Nick Griffin Question Time Appearance
THE TELEGRAPH: More than a fifth of the public would consider voting for the British National Party, according to the first opinion poll taken since the appearance of its leader, Nick Griffin, on Question Time.

Support for the party has increased in the last month, a survey for The Daily Telegraph indicated.

The findings will lead to accusations that the BBC’s decision to invite the far-Right MEP on to its flagship current affairs programme may have backfired by giving him a national platform.

The YouGov poll was taken hours after Mr Griffin’s appearance on Thursday, before which anti-fascist protesters rioted outside BBC Television Centre in London.

The survey found that 22 per cent of voters would “seriously consider” voting for the BNP in a future local, general or European election. This included four per cent who said they would “definitely” consider voting for the party, three per cent who would “probably” consider it, and 15 per cent who said they were “possible” BNP voters.

Two-thirds said they would not consider voting for the party “under any circumstances” with the rest unsure. >>> Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent | Friday, October 23, 2009

The Printed Media’s Programme for the Extermination of the British People Exposed by Their Hysteria
BNP – Editorial: The printed media’s hysterical Nazi-like smears and slander against British National Party leader Nick Griffin today have finally revealed their hatred for the indigenous population of this country.

The wall-to-wall coverage has included cartoons ranging from the pathetically childish (see The Daily Express portraying Mr Griffin as a devil) to the outright Nazi (see The Daily Mail comparing Mr Griffin and BNP supporters to rats emerging from a sewer[)] — a scene taken from the Nazi film Die [sic] Ewige Jude* which showed Jews as rats emerging from a drain.

Many led with front page editorials personally attacking Mr Griffin and at least one quoted from a seriously mentally ill homosexual “right wing” lunatic while another printed even more fantasy from the serial liar Dominic Carmen.

All of this media coverage was directed against Mr Griffin personally — and none of it was directed at the policies of the BNP. >>> BNP News | Friday, October 23, 2009

*Der ewige Jude

Lynch Mob Question Time Becomes Biggest Recruitment Night Ever for BNP — 30% Increase in Membership Interest
BNP: The staggeringly biased lynch mob Question Time broadcast on BBC 1 has turned into the single biggest recruitment night in the British National Party’s history, with no less than 3,000 new people registering to be signed up as members when the current recruitment freeze ends.

This figure represents the single largest block of new membership expressions of interest ever, and will, once formally signed up, have boosted party membership by nearly 30 percent.

The BBC broke every rule in its book, even changing the format of the show to allow a hand-picked mob to use up the entire hour to relentlessly attack BNP leader Nick Griffin. Even the supposed moderator, David Dimbleby, joined in the attack, refusing to allow Mr Griffin to answer a single question in full — despite letting other panellists ramble on for minutes at a time.

Mr Griffin said this morning that he was going to submit a formal complaint and a Freedom of Information Act request to have the preparatory papers for the show exposed to the public.

“There we will see that the BBC not only changed the format of the show, but that the questions were primed to be a barrage of lies disguised as statements,” Mr Griffin said. >>> BNP News | Friday, October 23, 2009

BNP Leader to Launch BBC Complaint
YAHOO! NEWS: The leader of the British National Party is launching an official complaint about his treatment on the BBC's Question Time programme, claiming he was "bullied".

Nick Griffin says he was the victim of a set-up in which the format of the current affairs debate show was changed "after 30 years".

He said: "That was not genuine Question Time, that was a lynch mob."

At an impromptu press conference in Thurrock, Essex, he told reporters that he was not given the chance to talk about the BNP's policies.

Mr Griffin also complained about the multi-cultural audience, which was largely opposed to his views. He declared: "London is no longer a British city". >>> ITN | Friday, October 23, 2009

Watch ITN video here.

THE GUARDIAN: Griffin: Unfair that Question Time was filmed in 'ethnically cleansed' London: Capital is no longer British, says BNP leader / No place for you here, says Boris Johnson >>> Hélène Mulholland and agencies | Friday, October 23, 2009

Watch Guardian video: BNP leader on Question Time: Nick Griffin makes TV appearance on the BBC's flagship political discussion programme >>> | Thursday, October 22, 2009

Question Time: Much Hype about Nothing!*
This was about one of the worst Question Time programmes I have ever seen. It was unbalanced, so didn't give Nick Griffin a chance. The BBC might have gone along with its charter and allowed him onto the programme; but they certainly stacked the odds against him.

I am NOT a BNP supporter; but I would have liked to hear what the man had to say. All we heard was pathetic talk from the likes of Jack Straw, who got on my nerves and probably the nerves of many others, and Baroness Warsi, who is a political lightweight. The other panelists were irrelevant.

Mr Dimbleby did his job badly, since he was there to moderate, not to scold. The show was altogether pathetic; it was a waste of BBC money, and certainly a waste of my time. So I'll give it the thumbs down. Though I am sure that Nick Griffin will give it the thumbs up, since I am sure it will have won him new supporters!

Shame on the BBC for not making the show more balanced. – © Mark

*This comment also appears on the Times Online.

Streit um Fernsehauftritt eines britischen Rechtsextremisten: Sender verteidigt Einladung an Nick Griffin – Regierung gespalten
NZZ ONLINE: Der rechtsextreme Parteichef Nick Griffin hat bei seinem erstmaligen und umstrittenen Auftritt in der renommiertesten Talkshow des Landes die Rechte «gebürtiger Briten» verteidigt. Der Vorsitzende der British National Party (BNP) wurde vom Publikum teils heftig ausgebuht.

Bereits vor der Sendung am Donnerstagabend protestierten Hunderte vor dem Gelände der BBC gegen die Entscheidung, Griffin ein Forum zu bieten.

Griffin gab sich in der Sendung eher moderat. Er bestritt, den Idealen Adolf Hitlers anzuhängen. Die Frage, ob er den Holocaust je geleugnet habe, beantwortete er jedoch nur ausweichend. «Ich bin nicht von der Leugnung des Holocausts überzeugt», sagte Griffin. Er habe in der Sache seine Meinung geändert. Worin die Meinungsänderung bestand, wollte er trotz Nachfragen nicht sagen.

Als Griffin Homosexualität als «wirklich gruselig» bezeichnete, wurde er vom Publikum ausgebuht. Ein Mann rief, Griffin solle doch zum Südpol gehen. «Das ist eine farblose Landschaft. Das würde gut zu Ihnen passen», sagte der Zuschauer, woraufhin grosses Gelächter ausbrach. Tatsächlich weigerte sich die BNP noch bis vor kurzem gemäss Parteistatut, nicht-weisse Mitglieder aufzunehmen. Die Regelung wurde jedoch kürzlich von einem Gericht für nichtig erklärt. Einwanderung lehnt die BNP kategorisch ab. BBC verteidigt Einladung >>> ap | Freitag, 23. Oktober 2009

BNP on BBC's Question Time: Protesters Breach Police Cordon
THE TELEGRAPH: Anti-fascist protesters demonstrating against BNP leader Nick Griffin's appearance on Question Time have broken through a police cordon outside BBC Television Centre.


About 30 people managed to get past police lines during struggles with officers drafted in to protect the entrance to Television Centre in White City, west London.

Some appeared to have gained entry to the building where they were pursued by police.

About 50 officers were deployed to police the demonstration
Scores of protesters converged on Television Centre ahead of the filming of the programme, which is due to be screened on BBC1.

A police helicopter circled overhead as officers guarded the front entrance.

Speaking after entering the building, Mr Griffin said of the protesters: "I was rather expecting that.

"The Labour Party financed groups from all over the country bringing a mob down here today. It was always going to be a fairly big event."

Police claimed they had more than enough resources to deal with the crowd, which was expected to grow throughout the evening. >>> | Thursday, October 22, 2009

TIMES ONLINE: At least 30 anti-BNP protesters break into BBC Television Centre >>> Nico Hines, Richard Kerbaj and Patrick Foster | Thursday, October 22, 2009

BBC Stands by Griffin Invitation
THE INDEPENDENT: The BBC tonight stood by its decision to invite British National Party leader Nick Griffin on to Question Time as its governing body debated 11th-hour attempts to block his appearance.

Tonight a specially-convened BBC Trust panel met to consider appeals against the ruling that his participation in the flagship political programme should go ahead.

There has been widespread controversy about Mr Griffin's appearance on Question Time tomorrow, with a protest rally to be held in London tonight and further demonstrations planned during the filming of the show.

Today an academic warned Mr Griffin's appearance could boost support for the BNP as happened when French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen made his prime-time TV debut in the 1980s.

But Ric Bailey, the BBC's chief political adviser, said the corporation would have been breaking its charter if it had not treated the BNP with impartiality. >>> Press Association | Wednesday, October 21, 2009

BBC Is Right to Allow BNP on Question Time, Says Mark Thompson
THE GUARDIAN: Censorship is decision for ministers not broadcasters, insists corporation chief

The BBC's director general, Mark Thompson, today robustly defends the corporation's decision to invite the BNP leader, Nick Griffin, on to Question Time, and challenges the government to change the law if it wants to censor the far-right group.

Writing in the Guardian, Thompson says ministers would have to impose a broadcasting ban on the party – as Margaret Thatcher did with Sinn Féin in the 1980s – before the BBC would consider breaching its "central principle of impartiality".

Griffin was not asked on to the flagship current affairs show out of "some misguided desire to be controversial", he says, but because it is the public's right "to hear the full range of political perspectives".

He adds: "It is a straightforward matter of fact that ... the BNP has demonstrated a level of support which would normally lead to an occasional invitation to join the panel on Question Time. It is for that reason alone ... that the invitation has been extended." >>> Robert Booth | Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Last-ditch Bid to Prevent BNP Appearance on Question Time
THE INDEPENDENT: Hain warns BBC of threat of legal challenge after inviting Griffin on to programme

Peter Hain, who has written a letter to the corporation warning it will run a 'serious risk' of a legal challenge if it allows Nick Griffin to participate. Photo: The Independent
A cabinet minister has launched a last-minute bid to block the leader of the British National Party (BNP) from appearing on BBC 1's Question Time. Peter Hain, the Welsh Secretary, who has already criticised the BBC for including the far-right party in this Thursday's programme, has written a letter to the corporation warning it will run a "serious risk" of a legal challenge if it allows Nick Griffin to participate.

The BNP leader apparently accepted last week that his party's constitution may breach race-relations legislation. Mr Griffin agreed to use "all reasonable endeavours" to change his party's rules barring black, Asian and Jewish people, after being taken to court by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. It has agreed not to accept new members until its membership rules are altered.

However, its constitution will not be reformed before next month, while the case against it has been adjourned until January. In a letter to the BBC's director general, Mark Thompson, Mr Hain said that the corporation would be offering coverage to an illegally constituted party by handing Mr Griffin a place on Thursday's Question Time panel. The BBC maintains that its decision to invite Mr Griffin was made to fulfil its obligation to offer impartial coverage after the BNP won two seats in the European parliament in June. >>> Michael Savage, Political correspondent | Monday, October 19, 2009

The BNP
Watch Journeyman Pictures video: British National Embarrassment >>> | Monday, September 07, 2009

BNP Welcomes Chance to Appear on BBC's Question Time
THE GUARDIAN: Other parties say Nick Griffin appearance will give them opportunity to challenge views of far-right party

The British National party has welcomed the BBC's decision to allow its leader, Nick Griffin, to appear on Question Time following the far-right party's success in the European elections.

Although the BBC has yet to issue a formal invitation, the corporation is preparing to ask Griffin to join the panel show and is already consulting other parties about appearing with him.

The party, which won two seats in the European parliament in June, has not appeared on the programme before. Some parties, including Labour, have previously refused to share a platform with the BNP because of its policies on race. A spokesman for the party said yesterday: "Obviously it's good news. Of late, a large proportion of Question Time has been devoted to assaults on the BNP, so it's rather welcome that we are allowed to defend ourselves."

He attacked the Labour party over its past refusal to share a stage with its members and accused the government of using its equality watchdog to attack the BNP.

Referring to the Equality and Human Rights Commission's decision to take the BNP to court over its constitution – which states that only "'indigenous Caucasian' and defined 'ethnic groups' emanating from that race" are allowed to join – he said: "If anybody has an excuse for not sharing a platform with a political party, it should be us and the Labour party, but we believe in the democratic process."

After years of discussions, the BBC is understood to have decided in February that the BNP would have to be allowed to appear on Question Time if it attracted significant support in the European elections. Other smaller parties elected to the European parliament, such as the Green party and Ukip, have been represented.

A BBC spokeswoman said it was obliged to treat all legal political parties registered with the Electoral Commission with due impartiality. "Our audiences – and the electorate – will make up their own minds about the different policies offered by elected politicians," she said. >>> Sam Jones | Sunday, September 06, 2009

Listen to Guardian audio here

BNP Gets a Slot on BBC's Question Time
THE SUNDAY TIMES: THE BBC has provoked controversy by giving the British National party a platform for the first time on Question Time, its top current affairs programme.

Nick Griffin, the BNP leader who was elected to the European parliament in June, is expected to be on the show in October. The corporation has decided that the far-right party deserves more airtime because it has demonstrated “electoral support at a national level”.

The move has caused consternation among politicians, with some Labour MPs and at least one cabinet minister pledging to boycott Question Time. They fear the BNP will use the publicity to promote a racist agenda.

The change in policy has also triggered dissent within the BBC. One senior correspondent, who did not want to be named, said: “It’s barmy ... Public servants can be sacked for membership of the BNP and yet the BBC wants to give them airtime with the main political parties.”

The BBC changed its position after the party won two seats at the European elections. Its share of the national vote at that poll was 6.2%. “They got across a threshold that has given them national representation and that fact will be reflected in the level of coverage they will be given,” said Ric Bailey, the BBC’s chief adviser on politics. “This is not a policy about the BNP. It’s a policy about impartiality.” >>> Marie Woolf, Whitehall Editor | Sunday, September 06, 2009

British National Party Forced to Admit Non-whites
TIMES ONLINE: The British National Party is poised to give up its whites-only membership policy after a legal challenge accusing it of racial discrimination.

Nick Griffin, leader of the far-right party, indicated yesterday that the BNP would accept members of different ethnicities for the first time, blaming Britain’s “undemocratic Orwellian equality laws”.

In a statement published on the BNP’s website, Mr Griffin said that the party would have to adapt or die, even though amending its constitution would “stick in the craw of all dedicated nationalists”. The party is considering the change in light of an injunction being sought by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which claims that the BNP’s membership rules breach the Race Relations Act.

Any alteration to policy would mark a significant moment for the party, which since it was founded in 1982 has only accepted white members.

Mr Griffin, elected as a North West MEP in June, has a criminal conviction for distributing material likely to incite racial hatred.
His push to open up membership is likely to cause factional rows within the BNP, with the party’s most conservative elements resisting such change.

The BNP currently restricts its membership to “indigenous Caucasians”, which it defines broadly as Celts and Anglo-Saxons. The commission says that this is in breach of the Act as it discriminates on the basis of ethnicity. It issued proceedings against the party last month, seeking an injunction to ban such criteria.

The case was due to begin at Central London County Court on Wednesday but was adjourned after the BNP changed solicitors at the last minute.

In his statement, Mr Griffin said that to continue fighting the commission would bleed the party dry. He claimed that it would cost more than £1million to appeal and said would strip the party of the ability to fight the next general election. He appeared resigned to losing the case, saying that it was a matter of “evolving and living to fight another day or going down in a blaze of glory”. >>> Fiona Hamilton, London Correspondent | Friday, September 04, 2009

MAIL ONLINE:
Muslim community leader arrested for 'making up BNP kidnap story' >>> | Friday, September 04, 2009

BNP Face Legal Action over Membership Rules
THE TELEGRAPH: The Equality and Human Rights Commission is taking legal action against the British National Party over concerns about its admissions policy.

BNP Party Leader Nick Griffin. Photo: The Telegraph
The Equality and Human Rights Commission today began legal action against the British National Party over concerns about ethnic restrictions of its membership.

The Commission issued county court proceedings against the party after voicing concerns in June about the BNP's constitution and membership criteria.

The BNP responded by saying that it intended to clarify the word ''white'' on its website, but the Commission said it believed the party will continue to discriminate against potential or actual members on racial grounds.

''The BNP's membership criteria appear to restrict membership to those within what the BNP regards as particular ''ethnic groups'' and those whose skin colour is white. This exclusion is contrary to the Race Relations Act. >>> | Monday, August 24, 2009