Category: UK

BNP and Terrorism Link

Robert Cottage, 49, of Colne, Lancashire.

A former British National Party candidate who amassed a stash of explosive chemicals in anticipation of a future civil war was jailed today for two and a half years.

Robert Cottage, 49, was cleared after two trials of conspiracy to cause explosions. He earlier pleaded guilty to possessing the chemicals.

Police discovered a large stockpile of chemicals and food at his home in Colne, Lancashire, last September.

Officers mounted the operation after Cottage’s wife told a social worker she was concerned about the substances, and about her husband’s belief that immigrants were swamping Britain, which he feared was on the brink of civil war.

Cottage appeared at Manchester’s crown square court to be sentenced in relation to the charge of possession.

Cottage’s barrister, Alistair Webster QC, said his client admitted having bought the potassium nitrate and sulphur and planning to manufacture gunpowder but said he would have used the chemicals only to create “thunder flash”-style bangers to scare off intruders.

The judge, Mrs Justice Swift, labelled Cottage’s actions “criminal and potentially dangerous”.

She noted that the pre-sentence report said Cottage held “overvalued ideas” but said the risk of his committing further offences was low.

“It is important to understand that Cottage’s intention was that if he ever had to use the thunder flashes, it was only for the purpose of deterrence,” she said.

“The pre-sentence report says Cottage continues to hold views that veer towards the apocalyptic. The risk of further offending of the same type is low but it cannot be ruled out.”

A second man, David Jackson, a 62-year-old dentist, was also charged with conspiracy to cause explosions but was cleared after the jury twice failed to reach verdicts.

Mrs Justice Swift said there was no evidence the chemicals’ packaging had been opened or that Cottage had attempted to make gunpowder.

Cottage, of Talbot Street, has already served 10 and a half months in jail and is likely to be freed within six months.

Guardian

May 23, 2009
BNP leader ‘barred’ from Royal event

BNP leader Nick Griffin has been effectively barred from attending a Buckingham Palace garden party.

The right-wing politician had been invited to the social event by British National Party colleague Richard Barnbrook who, as a London Assembly member, was nominated for two tickets by the Greater London Authority (GLA).

But Jeff Jacobs, the GLA’s deputy chief executive, has tonight written to Mr Barnbrook telling him to change his controversial guest and stop exploiting the situation for “publicity”, or his nomination would be “reviewed”.

Mr Jacobs wrote: “The event is a social occasion hosted by Her Majesty and it is inappropriate to exploit this privilege for party political purposes.”

“The authority may need to review its position in relation to your nomination unless you revisit the selection of your guest with a view to avoiding further controversy and desist from any further publicity.”

The BNP campaigns for the “voluntary resettlement” of immigrants back to their countries of origin, claims white Britons have become “second-class citizens” and wants to bring back corporal and capital punishment for criminals.

A BNP spokesman said Mr Barnbrook would make a statement on Tuesday about his decision.

The organisation said yesterday: “You can’t withdraw the invitation because you don’t agree with someone’s views.

“How is it going to look if the three main political parties conspire to deny us our rights – and the people that voted for Richard? They are seeking to subvert the democratic process.”

The garden party will come after the June local and Euro elections, which could see the BNP gaining more local council seats and their first MEPs.

Disillusionment with mainstream politicians over the MPs’ expenses scandal and fears over jobs and immigration could lead to a surge in support for the party, according to political experts.

ITN

May 23, 2009
BNP and Greek Connection Unleashed

By Kevin Widdop, 12/04/2009

THIS chilling picture shows BNP deputy leader Simon Darby being given a NAZI SALUTE at a fascist rally.

Three extremists flashed the banned Hitler-style sign to the British far-right boss outside the event in Italy.

Our exclusive snap fuels fears of danger ahead as the British National Party gains popularity in the recession.

Darby, leading a drive for seats at the European Parliament elections in June, was following Stratos Karanikolau, from the Greek nationalist Proti Grammi (Front Line) party.

They were joined by MEPs Roberto Fiore, a convicted terrorist, and Holocaust denier Bruno Gollnisch at the 400-strong meeting in Milan.

Last night Labour MP Jon Cruddas said: “This shows the BNP are a gang of thugs parading as politicians.”

POLITICAL LINE-UP: Gollnisch, Fiore, Karanikolau and Darby

News Of the World

May 22, 2009
BNP candidate faces sack

Eddy O'Sullivan

A CANDIDATE standing in the European election for the extremist right wing British National Party has posted racist comments on the internet.

Eddy O’Sullivan, the Salford organiser of the BNP, wrote a series of offensive comments about non-white people on his Facebook profile.

Party bosses are now investigating the statements on the social networking site and say he could face disciplinary action, including suspension and deselection.

Mr O’Sullivan, 49, who is fourth on the BNP’s north west list for Euro candidates, admitted making the comments on the website but denied they were racist.

He said: “It was supposed to be a private conversation between individuals. I also may have had a drink at the time. I don’t believe those comments are racist. I’m not a racist and that is that. I don’t regret saying anything because it was a private conversation.”

His Facebook profile was publicly viewable, which meant it was accessible to anyone on the site, but it has since been taken down. Last night Mr O’Sullivan’s details had been removed from the BNP’s website.

In recent years the BNP has attempted to change its image as a racist party. However, it still allows only white people to become members and has a policy of demanding that non-white British people leave the country.

Clive Jefferson, north west organiser of the BNP, said if the allegations were proved Mr O’Sullivan would be suspended from the BNP in Salford.

He said: “That is unacceptable and I’m going to suspend him from the party and from the European candidacy.

“There’s freedom of speech and there is unacceptable language and I think this is unacceptable.”

Simon Darby, deputy leader of the party, said: “We will have an investigation and we will take disciplinary action if we find he has posted the comments. If he has made these comments on a public website then it is a serious matter.”

Mr O’Sullivan, a driving instructor, came third earlier this year in a by-election in Pendlebury. In the run-up to the vote Mr O’Sullivan also made disparaging comments about Liberal Democrat councillor Steve Cooke on his website.

Source: www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk, May 22, 2009

May 22, 2009
ACTION ALERT – UNITED KINGDOM

Vote to keep the BNP out

DISTURBING leaflets sent out by the British National Party

By Suzan Nuri

DISTURBING leaflets sent out by the British National Party ahead of the 4 June Euro elections, has warned that the UK will be ‘swamped’ by Muslim Turks.

The offensive leaflet, sent out to people in the north of the country and the Midlands, says the BNP “Oppose the dangerous drive to give 80 million low-wage, Muslim Turks the right to swamp Britain”.

The BNP, already under fire for using foreign models in the pictures on campaign leaflets, now seem to be targeting the Muslim communities in what can only be described as racist rants.

Fevzi Hussein who works for trade union CWU, was told of the offensive leaflets this week.

He said “A UNISON member alerted us to the latest BNP leaflet which amongst other things, makes reference to a pledge to ‘oppose the dangerous drive to give 80 million low-wage Muslim Turks the right to swamp Britain’.

“The tone of the leaflet is disgusting and no-one should be fooled by the smart suits and nice hair-cuts of these far-right fascists. Their rhetoric is the same – they are just targeting Muslims more now than Blacks and Asians, which used to be their more traditional targets back in the 70’s and 80’s.

“The BNP will do everything in their power to de-stabilise Turkey’s efforts to get into the EU – messages like this are also deliberately pumped out to instil a negative perception of Turkish people.

“It is essential everyone gets out and uses their vote – vote for anyone BUT the BNP. Wouldn’t it be nice if the Equality & Human Rights Commission made it their business to investigate this lot and at the very least demand an explanation as to why they seek to demonise Turks as part of their electioneering campaign?”

Nilgun Canver, who is a Labour London candidate in the Euro elections strongly condemned the BNP, saying they should be banned.

“It would be a disaster if the BNP were able to send an MEP to the European Parliament as they would be able to link up with facists from France and Italy, with all the resources that is available to them in Parliament.

“People must realise that the EU is entirely relevant to us here in the UK and is a way of us supporting increased dialogue regarding Cyprus and also Turkey’s EU accession.

“Voting is extremely important and with the voting system of PR, every vote does count. A low turn out will benefit the far right parties and we must oppose the idea of fascists legitimising themselves through election to the EU Parliament.”

Sener Saglam, chairman of the Turkish Federation told London Turkish Gazette that as a community we must take a stand against racist comments.

“We strongly criticise these comments by the BNP and will always challenge their right to spread such comments. This is why it is important that people do go out and vote in the Euro elections on 4 June. Some in our community say we should boycott the elections as a way of protesting against the EU’s reluctance in accepting Turkey. However, I say if we fail to turn up and vote, it opens the way for parties such as the BNP to get elected.”

Mr Saglam added that the Turkish community should be more united and also put forward candidates for elections.

“We need to get more involved politically and put forward people we can support in elections, no matter which mainstream party they are from and this is an idea the Federation fully supports.”

In another twist, some postal workers have protested at having to distribute election leaflets they find offensive or which customers might find offensive.

Their union, the CWU, has an agreement with Royal Mail which protects postal workers’ right to refuse to deliver such election.

Bob Gibson, CWU national official, said: “We have a national agreement with Royal Mail with a conscience clause which allows individuals to exercise their right to not deliver material which they find offensive or believe their customers may find offensive.

“It is not specific to any political party. We are protecting the rights of our members to be safe at work. Royal Mail has a responsibility to ensure the safety of their employees.

“We have had instances of delivery workers being threatened, chased and spat at for delivering some election leaflets. We will support individuals who feel strongly about delivering these items.

“Postal workers are well within their rights to refuse to deliver offensive material.”

Source: www.londragazete.com, 21 May 2009

May 22, 2009
UK falls out of premier league of economies

By Sean O’Grady, Economics Editor

In a humiliating move, Britain has been relegated from the premier league of international economies by one of the world’s leading credit agencies.

Standard & Poor’s’ concerns about government borrowing and the potential cost of rescuing the UK’s rickety banking system – as much as £145bn – are so serious that the agency has taken the unprecedented step of downgrading the creditworthiness of the British Government. The UK has lost its cherished AAA rating with a “stable outlook”, the highest possible, to a triple-A rating with a “negative outlook”. Worse could follow. The agency said that “UK public finances are deteriorating rapidly” and warned about a further downgrade: “The rating could be lowered if we conclude that, following the election, the next government’s fiscal consolidation plans are unlikely to put the UK debt burden on a secure downward trajectory over the medium term.”

While only one word of the formal S&P rating has been altered, the implications of the change could hardly be more momentous. Sterling, the gilts market and the FTSE 100 index all fell sharply on the news, which came shortly after the Office for National Statistics announced the latest figures for government borrowing – £85bn in April alone, four times the level this time last year and described by one City analyst as “awful”.

The lower S&P rating means the national debt will be more expensive to service and generally add to the growing pressure on public spending. And the economy may not return quickly to the sort of growth that would restore tax revenues and prevent unemployment climbing to about 3 million by this time next year.

The Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, Charlie Bean, reminded the nation in a speech last night that “we are still some way from having banks that feel sufficiently secure that they can lend normally, and investors that have enough confidence in the banks to provide them with sufficient funds”. He acknowledged signs of recovery but, “unfortunately these encouraging signs – I hesitate to identify them as ‘green shoots’ – do not tell us much about the strength and durability of the subsequent recovery”.

With government borrowing of about £350bn scheduled over the next two years and a total national debt approaching £1.5 trillion – £1,500,000,000,000 – S&P voiced concerns that no government would be able to tackle the issue: “Even assuming additional fiscal tightening, the net general government debt burden could approach 100 per cent of GDP and remain near that level in the medium term… These projections reflect our more cautious view of how quickly the erosion in the Government’s revenue base may be repaired, the extent to which the growth in government spending can be curtailed, and consequently the pace at which historically high fiscal deficits are likely to narrow.”

The immediate concern is how the downgrade will affect the cost of servicing Britain’s burgeoning public debt. Robert Stheeman, chief executive of the Debt Management Office, the government agency responsible for financing the deficit, admitted in an interview for Channel 4 News that the cost of paying the interest on government debts was rising: “I don’t see it turning into spiral, but it is getting significant, a significant part of government spending.”

The shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, said “Labour is putting our economic stability at risk by refusing to face up to the debt crisis it has created”. His Liberal Democrat counterpart, Vincent Cable, called on ministers to “come clean about how it intends to pay back its debt”.

The Treasury minister Stephen Timms replied that the Treasury had “set out plans in the Budget to halve the deficit over the next four years and to bring the public finances back into balance in the medium term”.

The downgrade represents a historic moment, as it leaves the UK on an inferior credit rating to France, the US, German, Sweden, the Netherlands and even Guernsey. Spain and Ireland both lost their triple-A ratings in recent weeks. Japan lost its AAA rating in 2001. Ministers will hope that the UK does not follow them further down to join Greece and Portugal in the international finance equivalent of the Championship, or even League One.

Source: www.independent.co.uk, 22 May 2009

May 22, 2009