BNP members: 'We are not ashamed'

Thursday, November 20, 2008, 07:44

British National Party members in the Bristol area whose personal details were yesterday leaked on the internet have spoken out.

The extent of support for the BNP in the greater Bristol area was revealed following the leak of a full membership list.

A document containing the personal details of more than 12,000 supporters of the far-right group across the country was made public on a blog.

Among the members are 182 people living in the greater Bristol area, including businessmen, a housing worker, an Army reservist, building site manager and several former servicemen.

Although BNP members contacted by the Bristol Evening Post yesterday condemned the unveiling of their details, they said they had nothing to hide and stood behind their political views.

John Barnett, a 39-year-old painter and decorator from Patchway, said he was concerned he could be targeted by members of other political groups.

He said: "I'm a bit worried now about a brick through the window from a far-left group.

"I live on my own but if I had family I would have been even more worried.

"I'm not easily rattled but having names and addresses published is disgusting.

"It might make people think twice about joining the BNP in the future but it could work the other way and attract more because the British people love an underdog.

"I won't back down because of this - I've got nothing to be ashamed of, I love my country and I'm not a racist."

Graham Manning, 76, from Chew Magna, a retired shopkeeper, said: "I'm not worried about people knowing that I'm a member of the BNP. "But I do feel that if somebody wants to keep it secret, they should be able to do that."

Duncan Smith, from Weston-super-Mare, said: "It's not very good, is it?

"But it's not something I am ashamed of, and I don't care if anyone knows I am in the party.

"I am proud to be in it, but to have your personal details put on the internet is not very good, as they have been violated.

"I am not actually a member at the moment. I have rescinded my membership to apply for a job - I probably wouldn't get it if they knew about my membership, but I will rejoin afterwards."

Rae Vallan, 80, lives in Weston-super-Mare, said: "I am really shocked. I was in the RAF so am not a punk rocker or a greaseball.

"I feel the BNP is the only democratic party in the country. Everyone claims they are racist, but they are not.

"I don't object to foreigners or immigrants, especially the Poles."

Peryn Parsons, from Weston-super-Mare, said: "I'm not ashamed of it by any means. I'm quite proud to be in the BNP. It stands for British people.

"I've had a chat with somebody in the party and we agreed that it's actually quite a good thing that it's happened.

"It gives us standing that there are a variety of different people named on that list from teachers to policemen and doctors.

"The BNP isn't what people think it is. It's just common sense - there's nothing anti about us whatsoever."

Disabled pensioner Michael Ball, 73, from Weston-super-Mare, said: "I think it's disgusting our details were published.

"It's only because the BNP are getting stronger. We're not like the National Front."

John Taylor, of Hanham, and his wife Linda were both named on the list and both happy to be named in the paper.

He said: "I'm not too worried about me, I went up for the council for Hanham last year, everyone knows me.

"I do feel sorry for some people, particularly in some jobs. I can't understand why you should be discriminated against.

"Freedom of thought is being eroded."

The list revealed that several teenagers living in Bristol are BNP members, the youngest a 16-year-old girl.

The highest concentration of support for the party is in Fishponds, Kingswood, Weston-super-Mare and Hartcliffe.

However, there are also several members living in areas predominantly occupied by ethnic minorities, such as Easton and Eastville.

Details including members' hobbies, interests, skills, and donations are listed on the leaked document alongside addresses, email addresses and telephone numbers.

The list also highlights where entire families are members of the party, including parents and their teenage children.

The document was removed from an internet blog late yesterday after complaints by the BNP but was available elsewhere on other websites.

The BNP membership figures mean just one in every 5,000 people in the city and surrounding area is a member.

In comparison, one in every 100 people is a supporter of one of the three mainstream political parties.

Labour has about 5,000 members in the Bristol area, the Conservatives about 2,500 and the Liberal Democrats 1,870.

According to the BNP, the published list is based on its 2007 membership list although a number of names of people who were not, or are not, party members had allegedly been added.

Lancashire was revealed as a stronghold of BNP supporters with 861 people in the county on the leaked membership list, followed by West Yorkshire with 858.

Among the members listed is a serving police officer with Merseyside Police, who now faces an investigation.

Officers are banned from joining or promoting the BNP because it would damage race relations, according to the Association of Chief Police Officers.

The leaked list includes a prison officer, current and ex-servicemen, religious ministers, teachers and solicitors.

BNP members first blamed former party staff for the leak, but took the line that it was a plot hatched by Labour supporters.

The party's leader Nick Griffin pledged to take court action against those behind the leak, but he welcomed the wave of publicity that was generated.

Bristol's BNP group relaunched in September, when it formed a new management team led by organiser Mark Clutterbuck and began selecting candidates for next year's local council elections.

Last month, party members were handing out leaflets from stalls in Kingswood and Keynsham.

In May 2007, the BNP took 1,416 votes (1.96 per cent of all votes) when 24 of the 70 Bristol City Council seats were up for election.

Although the party won no seats, it was the fifth largest party overall ahead of UKIP and Respect.

In the Whitchurch Park ward, Kerry Luckett finished third behind Labour and the Lib Dems but ahead of the Conservatives.

In the South Gloucestershire Council elections last year, Michaela Mackenzie won 459 votes but failed to win a seat in Stoke Gifford.

Ms Mackenzie, from Warmley, has also stood for the BNP in national and European elections.

She said: "My personal take is that I'm not ashamed of my membership. It worries me not one bit."

According to its constitution, the BNP is "committed to stemming and reversing the tide of non-white immigration and to restoring, by legal changes, negotiation and consent the overwhelmingly white makeup of the British population that existed in Britain prior to 1948".

The BNP also proposes "firm but voluntary incentives for immigrants and their descendants to return home".

It advocates the repeal of all anti-discrimination legislation, and restricts party membership to "indigenous British ethnic groups deriving from the class of 'Indigenous Caucasian'".

The BNP also accepts white immigrants that are assimilated into one of those ethnicities.

Bristol's Conservative group leader Coun Richard Eddy said he wasn't surprised by the small number of BNP members in the Bristol area.

He said: "Bristol is a multi-cultural city which has its problems but most communities are working well with one another so I'm not surprised that the BNP support is minute.

"As a party, it seeks to inflame opinion and get political capital out of people's fears so I'm pleased the majority of people in Bristol haven't been taken in by their agenda."

A spokesman for Bristol's BNP group was unavailable for comment last night.

BREAKDOWN OF MEMBERSHIP BY AREA:

HARTCLIFFE: 8

CLIFTON: 3

BRISLINGTON: 6

FRENCHAY: 2

FILTON: 3

PATCHWAY: 3

REDFIELD: 2

ASHTON: 2

BEDMINSTER: 4

HOTWELLS: 1

BISHOPSTON: 2

ST ANDREW'S: 1

KINGSWOOD: 9

EASTON: 4

FISHPONDS: 9

WHITCHURCH: 6

KNOWLE: 4

BRENTRY: 7

HANHAM: 5

WARMLEY: 5

SHIREHAMPTON: 3

OLDLAND COMMON: 1

HORFIELD: 2

ST PAUL'S: 1

BRADLEY STOKE: 3

AVONMOUTH: 3

STOCKWOOD: 1

LOCKLEAZE: 1

STOKE GIFFORD: 6

STOKE BISHOP: 1

WESTBURY-ON-TRYM: 3

BROOMHILL: 1

ST GEORGE: 1

EASTVILLE: 6

ST PHILIP'S: 1

SOUTHVILLE: 1

HENGROVE: 1

EMERSON'S GREEN: 1

COOMBE DINGLE: 1

STAPLETON: 1

REDLAND: 1

ST ANNE'S: 1

MANGOTSFIELD: 1

SNEYD PARK: 1

REDCLIFFE: 1

THORNBURY: 1

YATE: 5

ALMONDSBURY: 3

CHIPPING SODBURY: 1

WESTON-SUPER-MARE: 23

NORTH SOMERSET (excluding WESTON) : 11

BATH AND NORTH EAST SOMERSET (excluding BATH): 9

Story comments facility on this article has been removed after some users continued to post names and address of all local BNP members without their permission.