BNP leader Nick Griffin joins crowds as coffins return from Afghanistan

The Times by Valentine Low | Tuesday, 10 November 2009 | Click here for original article

Nick Griffin, the leader of the BNP, was present in Wootton Bassett high street today as the coffins of six soldiers passed through the town after their repatriation from Afghanistan.

Wearing a black coat adorned with a poppy, the MEP stood with a minder opposite family and friends of the fallen soldiers.

“It’s been very low key, I’ve been talking to many people and it’s been very friendly,” said Mr Griffin, who was accused by army leaders last month of trying to hijack the patriotic feelings of voters about the armed forces.

His presence attracted an angry reaction among some members of the crowd lining the streets.

“He should not be here,” said Ira, a 49-year-old woman who works for a charity settling refugees.

“This is about families, not political leaders. He should not be anywhere near here. He is just doing it for the limelight. It takes the focus off the locals and the families.

“There should be a lynch mob for him. There used to be stocks here – I say bring back the stocks for him.”

Ellie Gilmore, 24, a carer for Swindon Council, said: “I don’t agree with his views, but he is still a human being and has got as much right to come here and support our troops as anyone else. But if he uses it for his party, Wootton Bassett will not be impressed, and I certainly won’t be.”

Last month Mr Griffin was accused by Britain's military top brass of attempting to hijack the struggle and sacrifice of the armed forces to promote his own political ends.

General Sir Mike Jackson and General Sir Richard Dannatt, the former heads of the Army, Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank, former Chief of the Defence Staff, and Major-General Patrick Cordingley, commander of the Desert Rats in the Gulf War, all signed a letter demanding Mr Griffin stop trying to wrap himself in the flag.

“We call on all those who seek to hijack the good name of Britain’s military for their own advantage to cease and desist,” they wrote. “The values of these extremists — many of whom are essentially racist — are fundamentally at odds with the values of the modern British military, such as tolerance and fairness.”

They added: “Political extremists should claim no right to share in this proud heritage.”

There were tears as hearses carrying the bodies of Warrant Officer Class 1 Darren Chant, 40, Sergeant Matthew Telford, 37, and Guardsman Jimmy Major, 18, from the Grenadier Guards, and Corporal Steven Boote, 22, and Corporal Nicholas Webster-Smith, 24, from the Royal Military Police, slowly passed down the street.

The five were shot dead by a “rogue” Afghan police officer at a secure checkpoint in Nad-e-Ali in Helmand Province on November 3 in an attack claimed by the Taleban. Two days later, Sergeant Phillip Scott, 30, of 3rd Battalion The Rifles, was killed by an improvised explosive device near Sangin in Helmand.

Standing yards from Mr Griffin was veteran Martyn Matthews, 61, a retired warrant officer who served for 27 years.

Mr Matthews, from Corsham, Wiltshire, said: “We live in a democracy and everyone has a right to their own views. If people are going to give their lives for that freedom, Mr Griffin has as much right to his views as anyone else does.

“Although I do not stand by his views, I would encourage him to be here to see the impact extremism can have.”

Also on Wootton Bassett High Street, Sergeant Neil Skett, 42, of the Royal Military Police, said he had come to show his support for Corporal Boote.

He said: “I’m here to support all the lads killed in Afghanistan, but I was also a personal friend of Corporal Boote.

“Boote was an excellent bloke. He always had a smile. He loved doing the job he was doing. He had an attitude of ’Let’s get on with it’ and was the first to volunteer no matter what the conditions or the hardship.

“He was a very good friend. It’s a great loss when you lose anyone within the Army, but it’s even greater when it’s people you class as close friends.

“I’m also here to thank the public for the support they show in Wootton Bassett.”

Sergeant Michael Gibbons, of 3 Rifles, recently returned from Afghanistan - a friend of Sgt Scott.

“It has been a very hard week. The last memory I have of Scotty is his laughter - it was infectious, he was an amazing guy," he said.

“He adored his wife and children and he was very family orientated. The family will get around them and be a great help to them.”

Sgt Gibbons said he was asked to attend today’s repatriation by the regiment in Afghanistan.

“I was asked to come here by the regiment to deliver a message and our symbol which means to lead from the front, which was what Scotty was doing when he was taken from us,” he said.

“It is important to be here for the boys out there, they asked me to come here to bring Scotty home.

“I have never been Wootton Bassett before, you see and read about it but to be here brings tears to my eyes, it’s an amazing place.”

Sergeant Nick Johnson, 38, of 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, knew WO1 Chant and Sgt Telford as close friends.

Sgt Johnson, from Stoke-on-Trent, who has served for 22 years, fought back tears as he remembered his fallen comrades.

“I’m down here with a few guys from the rear party of the Grenadier Guards to pay our respects to Darren, Matt and Guardsman Jimmy,” he said.

“I knew Darren Chant, I’ve been in the same time as him. I’ve known soldier Matt Telford for most of his career.

“They’re very likeable characters, the both of them. Matt Telford, the gentle giant as we all know him, he was a great sergeant, and RSM Chant, were both respected soldiers.

“I feel privileged to be here and in the British Army, to meet the soldiers and to pay respects to the Grenadier Guards - or whether they were Grenadiers or not - it’s a show of force that this country has got heart and do respect people and respect what the soldiers are doing.”