Hotel boss is horrified by BNP's secret party

| Thursday, 25 August 2005 Source: Gazette & Herald and Chippenham News

HOTEL owner Geoff Lijka is horrified that his premises were used for a charity evening organised by the British National Party.

The right-wing organisation, which believes in repatriation and stringent immigration control, kept its identity secret when making the booking for a Patriots' Evening at The Angel Hotel in Chippenham.

Mr Lijka, whose family is originally from the Ukraine, said: "I would not knowingly associate myself with them or their views or their politics," he said. "If they had come and told us they were the BNP, we would most categorically have said no.

"But how were we to know if it was booked under an individual's name?"

He said he was annoyed they had kept their true identity secret.

"I was totally unaware of it, until now. But if the same name came up again we would not accept a booking. No way."

More than 50 guests attended the event in July, which the party hopes will be the first of many regular events in the county.

On the BNP website one guest described the party as of "a great success, fantastic". But one of the Wiltshire charities which received a donation returned the cash.

The ball was arranged by BNP Wiltshire organiser Mike Howson and attended by members, supporters and friends of the party, billed a celebration of Britain's heritage and culture.

The party-goers also raised £60 for local charities, dividing the proceeds between the Wiltshire Air Ambulance, the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and the Wiltshire Association for the Blind. The Wildlife Trust, however, sent the cheque back.

A report on the BNP website said: "Although the event was intended as a social activity and fundraiser, talk at the dinner table inevitably moved to politics and as a consequence there was a great feeling of optimism with regard to the fact that the only hope for this country was provided by the British National Party," the report said.

Local member Robert Baggs did not want to reveal the location of the venue, admitting the party finds it difficult to book venues because of its reputation.

He said it wasn't booked under the party name, but menus were printed with the BNP name on them.

Mr Baggs, from Calne, said the BNP has around 100 members in the county. "People don't understand that we are a normal political party, with normal people, just like anyone else. There is an illusion we are skin-head, knuckle-dragging thugs,'' he said.

"We do find it hard booking venues because of that. It wasn't booked under our party name. Sometimes if we do that they say no thank you."

He said it was the first such event they had had in Wiltshire but everything went well.

"Everybody links us with race and immigration but we have as wide a range of policies as anyone else. I am not a racist – absolutely not. Anybody who knows me would say that and I have no truck with anyone that is."

Mr Baggs said the group hopes to have another dinner in Swindon next summer, and possibly a Christmas ball and a St George's Day celebration.