Anti-BNP papers grabbed - But cops rule out probe

| Friday, 14 April 2006 Source: Halifax Courier

Anti-BNP campaigners have protested after police refused to investigate the bizarre theft of thousands of their newspapers.

A man was seen loading the 2,500 papers into his car outside the YMCA in Crossley Street, Halifax.

When confronted by one of the distributors, he jumped into the vehicle which drove off at high speed.

A police spokesman told the Courier: "We can confirm we received a third party report of leaflets being taken from premises in Crossley Street.

"However the leaflets were free and as such there is no further police action at this stage."

The decision has left members of Calderdale Unity – the consortium responsible for delivering the papers – surprised and disappointed.

Peter Lazenby, a member of Unity, said: "From our point of view, it was a clear case of theft and the police are splitting hairs to say they can't take the matter further because of doubts about ownership.

"The papers were ours, even though they were printed by someone else.

"I would like the police to think again about not taking any action," he said.

The papers were produced by the anti-BNP group Searchlight and included articles about the activities of the three BNP councillors for Calderdale, Adrian Marsden (Town), Geoffrey Wallace and Richard Mulhall, who hold seats in Illingworth and Mixenden.

The day after the incident at the YMCA, Coun Marsden announced he would not be defending his seat at the elections on May 4.

Unity, which was set up to oppose racism and fascist parties, has been regularly distributing leaflets and newspapers in Halifax since the BNP began to clock up political success three years ago.

The latest batch were destined for homes in Mixenden, Illingworth, Ovenden, Boothtown and Halifax town centre.

Councillor Mulhall, who is leader of the BNP group on the council, said he knew nothing about the alleged incident.

"It certainly would not have been sanctioned by us," he said.

"I will be asking why the YMCA, which is partly funded by the council, was being used as a venue for distributing political information in advance of an election."

The BNP is fielding eight candidates in next month's election, including two in Ovenden.

Note

Searchlight spoke to PC Scott, the officer investigating the theft, and explained that while the newspapers were free for voters, they were not free to remove in bulk by someone who was clearly not going to distribute them. As publishers of the newspaper we requested that the police charge Marsden with theft. Clearly the Halifax police cannot be bothered to consider the matter properly or are afraid that if they proceed against a councillor they will be accused of being political. In many other parts of the country, where BNP councillors commit crimes, as several have done, the police arrest and charge them in the same way as anyone else.