BNP trial begins

January 18, 2006

Have been up in Leeds for the last couple of weeks on a work matter. There were huge pro-BNP demonstations and pro-BNP marches of hundreds and hundreds of people for this utter loon. Can't believe that people are so stupid to believe the crap that Griffin preaches. Having said that Bradford is a right dive, and there are thugs (who happen to be Asian given its very high Asian population) who cause trouble. Couple that with Griffin's propanda and general 'thick as s***' mentality of typical BNP members, and well....

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BNP chief 'used race fears to build nightmare vision of UK'

By Philippe Naughton and agencies

The British National Party leader Nick Griffin told a crowd in West Yorkshire that young Asian men were raping white girls with the consent of their community leaders as "part of their plan for conquering countries", a court heard today.

Mr Griffin, 45, and his fellow party activist Mark Collett, 24, face a series of race hate charges arising out of speeches featured in an undercover BBC documentary on the party.

Leeds Crown Court heard that both men addressed a crowd at the Reservoir Tavern in Keighley, West Yorkshire, on January 19, 2004. Rodney Jameson QC, prosecuting, told the jury that Mr Griffin concentrated on allegations of paedophile drug rapes by Asian Muslims in Keighley during his speech.

Reading excerpts from the speech, Mr Jameson quoted Mr Griffin as saying: "White society has been turned to a multiracial hell-hole - vote BNP so we can ensure the British people really realise the evil of what these people have done to our country."

Mr Griffin went on: "The b******s that are in that gang, they are in prison so the public think it?s all over. Well it?s not. Because there?s more of them.

"The police force and elected governors haven?t done a damn thing about it. Their good book (the Koran) tells them that that?s acceptable. If you doubt it, go and buy a copy and you will find verse after verse and you can take any woman you want as long as it?s not Muslim women."

Mr Jameson said that the speech then turned to allegations of violence by Asian Muslims against whites and Mr Griffin said: "These 18-, 19-, and 25-year-old Asian Muslims are seducing and raping white girls in this town right now."

The BNP leader added that Asian community leaders would condemn the attacks to the press, but not to the attackers themselves. "It?s part of their plan for conquering countries. It?s how they do it," he said.

Mr Griffin added that this would expand to cover the UK "as the last whites try and find their way to the sea".

Mr Griffin, of Llanerfyl, Powys, denies two counts of using words or behaviour intending to stir up racial hatred and two of using words or behaviour likely to stir up racial hatred. Mr Collett, of Swithland Lane, Rothley, Leicestershire, denies four counts of the first offence and four of the alternative.

Mr Jameson told the jury of eight men and four women that a BBC journalist, Jason Gwynne, posed as a BNP supporter in Bradford, joining the party in December 2003.

The subsequent documentary programme, The Secret Agent, was broadcast on July 15, 2004. The next day West Yorkshire Police began an investigation based on the content of the programme which eventually led to the two men being arrested and charged.

Both defendants sat in the dock today wearing dark suits and patterned ties, with Mr Griffin making notes on a laptop computer as the Mr Jameson laid out the prosecution case.

Yesterday, hundreds of demonstrators massed outside the courtroom in anticipation of the start of the case and the judge partially lifted reporting restrictions to allow his warning to demonstrators not to try to influence the proceedings to be publicised. Today there were only a handful of protesters.

The court also heard Mr Collett addressed the gathering on the same evening, saying: "Let?s show these ethnics the door in 2004."

Mr Jameson read excerpts from the speech in which Mr Collett said people in Bradford and Keighley were living in hell because of rapes and muggings which were always carried out by Asian people on white people.

During the speech, Mr Collett said: "In the space of a week there?s always at least two rapes of girls, white girls between the ages of 15 and 16, by gangs of Asians and it?s always white girls by Asian males. There?s always muggings and it?s always elderly white people and always Asian males perpetrating the crimes.

"If the local newspapers saw what I was saying tonight, they would call me, and they would call you, racists. But the racism is against whites. When these Asians go out looking for a victim they don?t go looking for Asian victims. They go straight to the whites. They are trying to destroy us and they are the racists."

"If you want these people (Asians) out and to stop asylum seekers coming in, then vote for the BNP. Let?s show these ethnics the door in 2004."

Mr Jameson said the men used the technique of building fear and resentment of Asian people by referring to rapes and muggings. He said they created a "nightmare vision", claiming Asians were entirely responsible for the crimes.

Earlier, opening the case for the prosecution, Mr Jameson said: "The prosecution allege that each of the six speeches set out in the 12 counts on the indictment included words which were threatening abusive and insulting towards, in particular, people of Asian ethnicity and that such words were used with the intention of stirring up racial hatred or, as a minimum, were likely to stir up racial hatred."

Referring to Mr Griffin, Mr Jameson said: "Some of his analysis of a situation is, you may think, perfectly legitimate political comment. He deals with serious issues. He accurately predicts events that happened in London in July 2005."

But Mr Jameson urged the jury to look at how and why Mr Griffin had said what he said.

The Crown?s case was not aiming to restrict freedom of expression. Mr Jameson said: "We agree that they are legitimate matters for public consideration. That?s not the basis for the prosecution. "We agree that freedom of expression is an important right but it cannot be unfettered.

"No society can permit disapproval of another race to be expressed in such strong terms that hatred be stirred up against people on the basis of race or ethnicity."

Edited January 18, 2006 by Banjo

January 18, 2006

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