BNP supporter caught smuggling illegal immigrants

| Monday, 25 July 2005 Source: Black Information Link

A BRITISH NATIONAL Party supporter has been caught smuggling illegal immigrants into Britain.

Ben Boylan was stopped at Dover by immigration staff trying to pass off an Albanian woman as his wife, the Sunday Mirror has reported.

When officials opened the boot of his small Peugeot car they found two children. Boylan said he had no idea how they got there. He has now pleaded guilty to people smuggling.

When he was challenged Boylan is said to have replied: "Why would I do this? I am a BNP member!" The paper reports that Boylan told his far-right chums he had been caught smuggling drugs.

Customs officials said Boylan claimed the woman was his wife but they became suspicious when she didn't speak a word of English. One source quoted in the Sunday Mirror described the case as "a farce".

Boylan produced his real wife's passport which he said was the Albania woman's, but officials noticed the photograph looked nothing like the woman he was taking into Britain.

But while Boylan may be a BNP supporter, the BNP claim he is not an actual member. Spokesman Phill Edwards said: "We have checked our records and that person is not a member of our party and never has been".

Gerry Gable of the anti-fascist monitoring organisation Searchlight said that while it was not clear whether Boylan was a paid-up BNP member they story did not surprise him.

"Some of their members are drug-dealers and wife-beaters so there is no reason why they can't be into this as well. Some of their members are just criminals, and that's apart from their policies."