Revised BNP membership rules 'still racist'

The Times by Fiona Hamilton | Friday, 12 March 2010 | Click here for original article

The British National Party was plunged into constitutional chaos today, just weeks before the general election, after a judge ruled its membership policy was still discriminatory.

An injunction was placed on the far-right party preventing it from accepting new members until it complied with race relations laws. The BNP is also likely to be financially crippled after Judge Paul Collins ordered costs against it.

In what was hailed as a “groundbreaking” judgment, believed to be the first of its kind against a British political party, Judge Collins ordered that the BNP should no longer be allowed to use adherence to key aspects of its principles and beliefs as a condition of membership.

The party abolished its whites-only policy last month in a bid to avoid an injunction but in a serious setback to its bid for political legitimacy, Judge Collins found that it was “still likely to commit unlawful acts of discrimination”.

His judgment concluded that key aspects of the constitution remained indirectly racist. They included a requirement for members to support the “continued creation, fostering, maintenance and existence” of the “indigenous British”.

A policy requiring all potential members to succumb to a two-hour home visit by two party officials could also operate as a form of indirect discrimination against non-whites, he ruled.

The decision was hailed as a victory by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which brought the action at the Central London County Court.

Robin Allen QC, acting for the commission, told The Timesoutside the court: “To have racist principles as a condition of membership is no longer lawful. As a piece of litigation, it is groundbreaking.”

Nick Griffin, the leader of the BNP, said the decision had “opened a very dangerous door”.

He added: “The judgment has given a government-appointed, taxpayer-funded political quango the rights to change the aims and objectives of political parties.”

However, he claimed that the ruling was largely symbolic because he had already removed the offending clauses from the constitution.

The commission said it doubted whether Mr Griffin had the power to make such changes without consulting BNP members. It indicated that it would take the party back to court if it did not remove the offending clauses in the constitution.

Susie Uppal, the commission’s director of legal enforcement, said: “Political parties, like any other organisation, are obliged to respect the law and not discriminate against people who wish to become members. The BNP will now have to take the necessary steps to ensure that it complies with the Race Relations Act.”

The BNP will have to inform its members of any changes by Monday, and then meet the order to the court’s satisfaction before it can accept new members.

The decision leaves the party in disarray just weeks before the general election, where it has high hopes of winning its first parliamentary seat in Barking, East London. The seat is being contested by Mr Griffin.

The judge’s awarding of £60,000 of costs against the BNP will affect its election spending. Mr Griffin was forced to send out begging letters to members for donations to meet an interim payment of £12,000, made against the party earlier in the case.

Searchlight, an anti-fascist organisation which campaigns against the party, said that the judgment was a “devastating personal humiliation for Nick Griffin”.

A spokesman said: “His desperate attempt to give the BNP a veneer of respectability in time for the general election has been torn to shreds. The BNP has been proven in court to be as racist and extremist as ever."

Mr Griffin said he would not appeal against the ruling, a decision that may prove unpopular with the hardcore of his party.

Protesters yelled “Nazi scum” at Mr Griffin and his supporters as they entered the court in Regent's Park, Central London. Mr Griffin avoided them after the hearing, leaving by the back entrance.

He faces imprisonment, a fine or sequestration of the assets of the BNP if he fails to comply with the court order.