Barking race attack: a correction

| Tuesday, 30 May 2006 Source: Searchlight

The June issue of Searchlight reports the vicious racial attack on an Afghan immigrant near Barking station, east London, some two hours after the BNP's new councillors in Barking and Dagenham had attended a council meeting at the Town Hall five minutes' walk away.

The victim, who was stabbed in the chest and stomach, is now off the danger list thanks to his friend, who got him to a nearby police station, the first-aid given to him there and the rapid arrival of an ambulance.

Early press reports stated that the victim's body had been left draped in an England flag and Searchlight repeated the allegation. This has proved to be untrue and we understand it first appeared on the Unite Against Fascism and Socialist Workers Party websites. We are happy to put the record straight here.

Searchlight stands by its position that where the BNP goes violence follows. This is not to say that the individuals who carried out the attack necessarily had any connection with the BNP – we do not know whether they did or not – but that the presence and activities of the BNP have been shown time and again to create the conditions in which racist attacks increase.