Quality | 2009.06.24
BNP faces legal threat over membership
• Letter tells party to change rules on membership
• Anti-racism campaigners welcome legal move
The British National party is facing the threat of an injunction from the official body on race discrimination in the first such action taken against a political party.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission wrote to the far-right party today saying that it believes the BNP is in breach of the Race Relations Act on three counts.
"The legal advice we have received indicates that the British National party\'s constitution and membership criteria, employment practices and provision of services to constituents and the public may breach discrimination laws which all political parties are legally obliged to uphold," said the commission\'s legal director, John Wadham.
The letter gives the BNP until 20 July to provide written undertakings in response to the allegations, including a statement that it will not discriminate in party recruitment.
"This letter is the first stage in the beginning of a legal action", said Wadham. "We have concerns that the BNP have acted illegally … and it\'s for the courts to make the decision as to whether they think our assessment is correct."
Anti-racism campaigners welcomed the move but questioned why the authorities had waited until now to act.
"I am astonished that successive governments have allowed the BNP to get away with the exclusion of non-white people," said the human rights activist Peter Tatchell. "Many people who voted for them as a protest may not have done so if they had known."
BNP recruitment is open to members of the party who, according to its constitution, are of "\'indigenous Caucasian\' and defined \'ethnic groups\' emanating from that race".
The commission said the policy was "contrary to the Race Relations Act, which outlaws the refusal or deliberate omission to offer employment on the basis of non-membership of an organisation. The commission is therefore concerned that the BNP may … be acting, illegally."
The statement also said the party\'s website asked job applicants to supply a membership number, which appeared to be in breach of legislation banning the "refusal or deliberate omission to offer employment on the basis of non-membership of an organisation". Other potential breaches of the law raised in the letter include concerns that the BNP\'s elected representatives may not intend to offer or provide services on an equal basis to all their constituents irrespective of race.
The BNP won two seats in the European parliament earlier this month when its leader, Nick Griffin, was elected in the north-west and a former National Front chairman, Andrew Brons, was elected in Yorkshire and the Humber.
After the election lawyers said there were numerous grounds for legal challenge against the party.
A number of BNP members already have criminal convictions for race-related offences, including Griffin, who was given a two-year suspended sentence for incitement to racial hatred after publishing material denying the Holocaust in 1998.
In 2006 Griffin and a party activist, Mark Collett, were cleared of race-hate charges relating to speeches the BNP leader made describing Islam as a "wicked, vicious faith", but last month he told party members in an online broadcast that he had no problem breaking race laws.
"As you know, we don\'t break the law. We never have … you know, on financial things. Don\'t mind breaking the odd race law, or being accused of it," he said.
A spokesman for the BNP said it had passed the letter on to its legal team. "We were expecting something like this but we are not too bothered," he said.
The commission said it had received around 50 calls from members of the public about the BNP\'s membership policy in recent weeks.
The allegations
Membership criteria
The party\'s constitution says membership is "within the terms of … \'indigenous Caucasian\' and defined ethnic groups emanating from that Race"
Employment and recruitment
Its website says that membership is required to apply for jobs. This could amount to discrimination in recruitment
Provision of services
The Race Relations Act and the local authority model code of conduct require elected representatives to provide services on an equal basis
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/[...]nation-human-rights-commission
