Albion death

Sonia Gable | Monday, 2 October 2006 Source: Searchlight

The British National Party's life insurance venture has ceased operations following an investigation by Searchlight.

A notice on the Albion Life website on 2 October announced that it was: "unable to accept any more requests for quotes which we would normally pass on to the firm of life insurance brokers with whom we have hitherto been working".

Albion Life blamed an article by Martin Shipton in the Welsh newspaper, the Western Mail, which named the broker whom Searchlight had uncovered. Presumably the association with the fascist BNP upset the firm's other clients and it thought better of it.

The life insurance operation was an attempt to raise money for the BNP, which according to its 2005 accounts is insolvent. Albion Life tried to persuade BNP members to name the BNP as a beneficiary of the policy so that the party would benefit on the member's death. What it did not tell members was that, whether or not the party was a beneficiary, the BNP would receive an introduction fee paid out of the insured person's premiums.

More in next month's Searchlight.