Andrew Brons
A man with a long nazi pedigree, in 2009 Andrew Brons was elected as MEP for Yorkshire and The Humber when the BNP polled 9.8%.
Born on 3 June 1947, Brons started his nazi career in the National Socialist Movement, an organisation that founded on Hitler's birthday by British nazi leader Colin Jordan.
Among other activities, NSM members were responsible for an arson campaign against Jewish property and synagogues in the 1960s.
Brons appears to have approved of the arson attacks. In a letter to Jordan's wife, Brons reported meeting an NSM member who "mentioned such activities as bombing synagogues". He declared: "On this subject I have a dual view, in that I realise that he is well intentioned, I feel that our public image may suffer considerable damage as a result of these activities. I am however open to correction on this point."
He also sent Mrs Jordan money to buy a swastika badge and other Nazi material, explaining he was about the undertake a "crash programme" of publicity for the NSM in Yorkshire by deluging areas with Nazi stickers, posters and slogans.
Andrew Brons (left) August 1981 in Fulham, campaigning with the National Front and BNP leader Nick Griffin (photo David Hoffman http://archive.hoffmanphotos.com/)
Brons was a prominent member of the National Front, notorious for its extreme racism and violence, from its early days and was voted onto its national directorate in 1974. Later as the NF's education officer he hosted seminars on racial nationalism and tried to give its racism a more "scientific" basis.
After the departure of John Tyndall from the NF in March 1980 Brons was promoted to NF chairman. One of his allies during this period was Richard Verrall, the author of Did Six Million Really Die?, with whom he edited the NF journal New Nation. In 1982 Brons led an NF march through Northfield on which marchers chanted: "we've got to get rid of the blacks".
In June 1984 Brons was convicted of behaviour likely to cause a breach of the peace following his arrest in Leeds while selling racist newspapers in a shopping centre.
He and another NF member were heard shouting slogans such as "Death to Jews", "White Power" and "National Front". When approached by PC John Raj, Brons stated: "inferior beings like yourself probably do not understand the principle of free speech".
Brons resigned as NF chairman in 1984 and later faded from public view. He has been a BNP member since 2005 or 2006.
In the European Parliament Brons is a member of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs. Its responsibilities include the institutional aspects of the European integration process, the implementation of the EU Treaty and EU enlargement negotiations. He is also a member of the delegation to the EU-Croatia Joint Parliamentary Committee, which includes representatives of the European and Croatian parliaments and undertakes political dialogue between the EU and Croatia.
