BNP Chief 'Barred from Royal Party'
PRESS ASSOCIATION: British National Party leader Nick Griffin has been effectively barred from attending a Buckingham Palace garden party.

The right wing politician had been invited to the social event by BNP colleague Richard Barnbrook who, as a London Assembly member, was nominated for two tickets by the Greater London Authority (GLA).

But Jeff Jacobs, the GLA's deputy chief executive, has written to Mr Barnbrook telling him to change his controversial guest and stop exploiting the situation for "publicity", or his nomination would be "reviewed".

In recent days London Mayor Boris Johnson and Darren Johnson, chairman of the London Assembly, have both spoken of their concern about Mr Barnbrook's chosen guest. >>> Copyright © 2009 The Press Association. All rights reserved | Friday, May 22, 2009

Johnson Intervenes to Block BNP Leader from Attending Queen's Garden Party
The toff of toffs: Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, the Mayor of London. Photo: Google Images
THE GUARDIAN: Mayor urges London assembly to rescind invitation to far-right colleague of Nick Griffin to spare monarch embarrassment

The London mayor, Boris Johnson, today intervened to prevent the BNP leader, Nick Griffin, from attending a garden party hosted by the Queen.

Johnson wrote to the London assembly chair, Darren Johnson, urging him to rescind the BNP assembly member Richard Barnbrook's invitation to the Buckingham Palace event in June.

The mayor accused the far-right party of trying to turn the garden party in to a "political stunt".

Johnson's intervention came after it emerged that Barnbrook said he intended to take Griffin to the party as his guest.

Speaking at a routine assembly session with the mayor, the assembly chair said members were "extremely concerned" that the BNP was seeking to turn a social event into a political stunt.

He confirmed he would take the matter to the chief executive to request that Barnbrook's invitation be withdrawn unless he had a "more acceptable guest" to take along. >>> Hélène Mulholland, Matthew Taylor and Rachel Williams | Thursday, May 21, 2009

BNP Leader Nick Griffin to Attend Queen's Garden Party
Nick Griffin will be the guest of Richard Barnbrook, a BNP London Assembly member. All Assembly members have been invited. Photo credit: TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: The leader of the far-right British National party is to attend a garden party hosted by the Queen, it was claimed today.

Nick Griffin will accompany Richard Barnbrook, a BNP member of the London Assembly, as his guest at the event on July 21, Mr Barnbrook said.

A BNP spokesman said: “Richard Barnbrook has got an official invite in his capacity as a member of the London Assembly and he is allowed to bring a guest, which will be Nick Griffin.

“For him to snub an invite from the Queen would be absurd.

“It is something people are going to have to get used to because if we get elected MEPs, this is the kind of thing we are going to be doing on a regular basis.

“It is the emergence of a party from beyond the pale to mainstream.” >>> Fiona Hamilton | Wednesday, May 20, 2009