Upper-crust mask slips to expose a criminal past

by Rob Waugh | Thursday, 13 May 2004 Source: Yorkshire Post Today

THE shocking criminal past of Barnsley BNP organiser Dean Strawson-Morland last night dealt a body blow to the far-Right party's attempts to win seats in Yorkshire and severely undermined its attempts to present a new image to the electorate.

It has emerged that the 39-year-old organiser has a string of previous convictions stretching back to 1982. He was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment at the Central Criminal Court in 1994 (reduced to eight years on appeal) for a string of crimes including robbery, firearms offences, kidnapping, false imprisonment and blackmail.

As recently as 2002, he was sentenced to 21 months at Nottingham Crown Court for assaulting a woman. He was cleared of two counts of rape on the same woman.

The previous year, Mr Strawson-Morland, then of Driffield, was fined £90 for threatening behaviour by Driffield magistrates after threatening a police officer.

The initial response of BNP leader Nick Griffin when confronted with the truth about Mr Strawson-Morland was: "Good Lord – none of that I knew."

He said the party would be taking action but later Euro candidate Nick Cass said the organiser was being expelled from the party immediately. Later still, officials claimed Mr Strawson-Morland had already resigned from the party within the last month.

Mr Strawson-Morland declined to comment on his past when contacted by the Yorkshire Post yesterday. It is understood his real surname is Wilson but he changed his name while in prison. He uses an upper-class accent and claims to come from a wealthy family.

He has played a major role in persuading BNP candidates to stand in Barnsley; they include eight women.

Two of them contacted by the Yorkshire Post yesterday said they had not known of the criminal history and would be trying to speak to Mr Strawson-Morland.

Marie Gardner said she was concerned about his criminal past but added: "It's the party I'm actually with, it's not Dean," and confirmed she would not reconsider standing.

Lorraine Lee said she had heard something about a court appearance but had not asked him for details.

She added: "It's not very nice but at the end of the day it doesn't affect my views or opinions as far as the BNP is concerned."

Mick Clapham, Labour MP for Barnsley West and Penistone, said: "That the BNP have criminals, racists and thugs amongst their ranks comes as no surprise to those of us who know what their party is really all about. Although they present a facade of respectability and desperately want to be seen to be respectable the reality is that racists dominate their party at every level.

"It took the media spotlight to force the BNP to disown their organiser who has been sentenced to over 13 years in prison and convicted, amongst other things, of assaulting women and kidnapping.

"As I understand it, they are now reluctantly dropping him. The question is how many of their other candidates and activists have similar shady and even criminal pasts? The BNP can't be trusted, they are trying to dupe the electorate."

The Conservative local government spokesman Eric Pickles said: "Cases like these demonstrate that for all the re-branding and slick suits the BNP remains a magnet for some very nasty people indeed."