Grieving family's fury at BNP claim

By Geoff Johnson, The Journal | Monday, 23 February 2004 Source: icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk

The far-right BNP is using the tragic death of a girl in its propaganda war against immigrants in the North-East without even asking her family's permission.

Last night, 12-year-old Amy Houston's father's said the party was using his daughter's memory "as a political football in its attempts to stir up hatred."

Amy was killed last November when she was hit by a car after running into the road near her home in Blackburn, Lancashire.

The driver, Kurdish Iraqi asylum seeker Aso Mohammed Ibrahim, was disqualified from driving at the time of the accident and ran off, leaving firefighters to free Amy from under the car.

The 25-year-old pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified and without insurance and failing to stop after an accident.

He was sentenced to four months in prison in December.

Details of the case have now appeared in a copy of a BNP propaganda sheet called Newcastle Patriot, distributed to homes in areas the BNP is targeting in this summer's local council elections.

In a rant against asylum seekers, the leaflet claims immigrants are given colour televisions, new cookers, washing machines and fridges when they move to the area. All these claims have been denied by asylum seeker support workers in the region.

The pamphlet then goes to state that "this isn't the only negative impact asylum seekers have on the indigenous population" before giving details of Amy's death but failing to point out that Ibrahim was not convicted of causing Amy's death.

Amy's father Paul Houston, who lives in Accrington, a few miles from Burnley, scene of the 2001 race riots, told The Journal last night: "The last thing we want is for Amy's memory to be used by a party with just one thing on their political agenda - stirring up racial hatred.

"People have been to our house asking us to support them, but they are blatantly racist and we have told them to go away.

"This is very upsetting and makes me very angry. I did not bring up my daughter to be a racist, and I am not one either.

"This leaflet implies we are supporting the BNP when nothing could be further from the truth."

Last week, The Journal revealed how the BNP was trying to trick people in Newcastle into using one of their three votes in the summer all-out elections for the BNP - a tactic which saw it win three seats in Burnley in 2002.

Claire Williams of Unison, which is spearheading an anti-racism drive ahead of the elections in the North-East, said: "Nothing surprises us with the BNP but it is sickening they are attempting to make an asylum issue out of a little girl's death, especially without the family's knowledge.

"The fact of the matter is that, regardless of this man's status, he has gone through the legal system and if people aren't happy with the sentence, maybe they need to fight to change the law.

"But to make it look as if they have a family's support when they are still grieving is just sick."

Kevin Scott, regional organiser for the BNP, confirmed that the family had not been approached.

A spokesman for the party, Phil Edwards - who likes to be known as "The Doc" - added: "We don't think we have to approach families before mentioning things like this; lots of people know about it.

"We presented it the way we thought was right. We might well use it again around the country, why shouldn't we?"