166-747: Nicholas John Griffin (born 1 March 1959) is a British far-right politician who was chairman of the British National Party (BNP) from 1999 to 2014, and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for North West England from 2009 to 2014 . Following this, he was president of the BNP between July and October 2014, when he was expelled from the party. Born in Barnet , Griffin was educated at Woodbridge School in Suffolk . He joined
332-573: A homosexual relationship with Griffin, then the BNP's publicity director. Griffin has denied any such relationship. From 1977, Griffin studied history, then law, at Downing College, Cambridge . His affiliation with the National Front was revealed during a Cambridge Union debate, and his photograph was published in a student newspaper. He later founded the Young National Front Student organisation. He graduated with
498-576: A "British Justice team" would give them "a bit of drama", but took no further action. British National Party The British National Party ( BNP ) is a far-right , fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton , Cumbria , and is led by Adam Walker . A minor party , it has no elected representatives at any level of UK government . The party was founded in 1982, and reached its greatest level of success in
664-538: A "Eurocratic state", a process he called " Mussolini fascism ... under Gordon Brown." He supported the Gurkhas , stating that the BNP would allow them and their families entry to the country for medical treatment "for as long as they needed treatment, or for as long as they lived." He also suggested the removal of 100,000 Muslims "disloyal to Britain" and their replacement with the Gurkhas. After assuming control of
830-428: A "moderniser", and "new nationalist", and after his election as leader of the BNP, according to The Guardian contributor Francis Wheen , was "contemptuous" of the party's traditional supporters. He changed the BNP's traditional focus on immigration and race, to a defence of what it sees as "our traditional principles against the politically correct agenda" espoused by mainstream politicians. He has portrayed himself as
996-406: A 2009 radio interview, Griffin referred to this as a "bloodless genocide". It presents the idea that white Britons are engaged in a battle against their own extinction as a racial group. It reiterated a sense of urgency about the situation, claiming that both high immigration rates and high birth rates among ethnic minorities were a threat to the white British. In 2010, it for instance was promoting
1162-401: A BNP government they would be "repatriated" to their countries of origin. In the early 1990s it produced stickers with the slogan "Our Final Solution: Repatriation". Tyndall understood this to be a two-stage process that would take ten to twenty years, with some non-whites initially leaving willingly and the others then being forcibly deported. During the 1990s, party modernisers suggested that
1328-513: A Cambridge-educated family man was in contrast to the extremist image presented by the BNP under Tyndall's leadership. In October 1999, Nick Griffin, supported by Tony Lecomber stood against Tyndall for leadership of the BNP. John Tyndall received just 30% of the votes, while Griffin the majority, 70%. Griffin stood as his party's candidate in several English elections after joining the BNP. In 2000, he stood in West Bromwich West , in
1494-629: A black Welshman ", which was criticised by Vaughan Gething , the first black president of the Welsh NUS and the Welsh TUC , and the first black candidate for the National Assembly for Wales . Commenting on Griffin's claim, he said "on that basis, most white people wouldn't qualify. It's quite clear that Nick Griffin just doesn't accept that black British people or black Welsh people are entitled to call themselves proper, full citizens of
1660-683: A bulletin to BNP branches declaring C18 to be a proscribed organisation, furthermore suggesting that it may have been established by agents of the state to discredit the party. To counter the group's influence among militant British nationalists, he secured the American white nationalist militant William Pierce as a guest speaker at the BNP's annual rally in November 1995. John Tyndall was both [the BNPs] greatest asset and its greatest drawback. His persistence, rock-like reliability and leadership had kept
1826-600: A by-election triggered by the resignation of Betty Boothroyd . He came fourth, with 794 votes (4.21% of those cast). Following the Oldham race riots he ran in Oldham West and Royton in the 2001 general election . He received 6,552 votes (16%), coming third ahead of the Liberal Democrats , but closely behind the second place Conservatives , who received 7,076 votes. He again stood for election in
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#17327810230811992-502: A change in principle. Griffin also sought to shed the BNP's image as a single-issue party , by embracing a diverse array of social and economic issues. Griffin renamed the party's monthly newspaper from British Nationalist to The Voice of Freedom , and established a new journal, Identity . The party developed community-based campaigns, through which it targeted local issues, particularly in those areas with large numbers of skilled white working-class people who were disaffected with
2158-672: A debate on extremism in December 2002, with Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Öpik . The venue was changed twice after protests from property owners, but the threat of a violent confrontation between the Anti-Nazi League and BNP supporters forced the president of the Cambridge Forum, Chris Paley, to cancel the event. Paley called the decision an "own goal" for the values of free speech, and Öpik criticised it, emphasising his belief in "people's right to make their own decisions in
2324-487: A defender of free speech, and has repeatedly spoken out against multiculturalism . During 2000, he attempted to further the BNP's popular appeal by targeting specific groups, including lorry drivers—some of whom were at the time engaged in mass protests against fuel prices—and farmers. The BNP also produced a journal devoted to rural matters. The BNP's constitution grants its chairman full executive power over all party affairs, and Griffin thus carried sole responsibility for
2490-546: A democracy". In February 2005, Griffin was asked to take part in a debate on multiculturalism at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. He was invited by the president of the students' debating society, who said "We believe that the only way to get the truth of what the BNP are saying and to combat them is to do it in public in a debate." The move was attacked by anti-racist groups, some of whom refused to participate in
2656-527: A finger for white people—that's a simple lie." Following the Admiral Duncan pub bombing by former BNP member David Copeland , Griffin stated "The TV footage of dozens of 'gay' demonstrators flaunting their perversion in front of the world's journalists showed just why so many ordinary people find these creatures so repulsive." The BNP states that, privately, homosexuality should be tolerated, but that it "should not be promoted or encouraged". It opposed
2822-399: A form of " cultural genocide ", and stating that it promoted the interests of non-whites at the expense of the white British population. However, internal documents produced and circulated under Griffin's leadership demonstrated that—despite the shift in its public statements—it remained privately committed to biological racist ideas. The party emphasises what it sees as the need to protect
2988-807: A formal complaint about the format of the programme, which he said was "... not a genuine Question Time ; that was a lynch mob ". He suggested that he should appear again, but that "... [we] should do it properly, and talk about the issues of the day", and added, "That audience was taken from a city that is no longer British ... That was not my country any more. Why not come down and do it in Thurrock, do it in Stoke, do it in Burnley? Do it somewhere where there are still significant numbers of English and British people, and they haven't been ethnically cleansed from their own country." Griffin describes himself as
3154-513: A glass eye. The accident left him unable to work, and owing to other financial problems he subsequently petitioned for bankruptcy (the accident occurred in France, where he later lost money in a failed business project). For several years thereafter, he abstained from politics and was supported financially by his parents. He later stewarded a public Holocaust denial meeting hosted by David Irving . Griffin re-entered politics in 1993 and, in 1995, at
3320-580: A homogeneous white nation". On 14 December 2004, Griffin was arrested at his home in Wales, on suspicion of incitement to racial hatred, over remarks he made about Islam in an undercover BBC documentary titled The Secret Agent . He was questioned at a police station in Halifax, West Yorkshire , before being freed on police bail . He said that the arrest was "an electoral scam to get the Muslim block vote back to
3486-466: A laptop to post daily updates on a blog on the BNP's website. In his closing address, defence barrister Timothy King QC said, "The British National Party is a legal, political entity. It has a right in a democratic society to put forward ideas and policies which some might find uncomfortable and some might find even offensive. There has been a tendency in this case to over-analyse speeches, to take one line here and one line there. You have got to look at
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#17327810230813652-533: A lower second-class honours degree in law ( 2:2 ), and a boxing blue , having taken up the sport following a brawl in Lewisham with a member of an anti-fascist party. He boxed three times against Oxford in the annual Varsity match, winning twice and losing once. In an interview with The Independent , he said he gave it up because of a hand injury. He is a fan of Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe , and an admirer of Amir Khan . Following his graduation, Griffin became
3818-527: A magazine produced by the Croydon BNP. In 1998, these articles resulted in Griffin being convicted of inciting racial hatred . Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 950 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as
3984-401: A massive programme of repatriation and resettlement overseas of those peoples of non-European origin already resident in this country. — The BNP's first policy on repatriation, 1982 Opposition to immigration has been central to the BNP's political platform. It has engaged in xenophobic campaigns which emphasise the idea that immigrants and ethnic minorities are both different from, and
4150-481: A megaphone. He attacked Tony Blair and the BBC , and defended the BNP's right to freedom of speech. BNP Deputy Chairman Simon Darby later claimed that had Griffin been convicted, the BNP leader planned to go on hunger strike . Mainstream opinion in this country will be offended by some of the statements that they have heard made. At the same time, of course, the courts make their judgements on these things. But if there
4316-460: A national television platform with mainstream panellists. Griffin's performance was however widely regarded as poor. Despite its success, there was dissent in the party. In 2007 a group of senior members known as the "December rebels" challenged Griffin, calling for internal party democracy and financial transparency, but were expelled. In 2008, a group of BNP activists in Bradford split to form
4482-442: A period of change in the party. Influenced by Le Pen's National Front in France, Griffin sought to widen the BNP's appeal to individuals who were concerned about immigration but had not previously voted for the extreme-right. The BNP replaced Tyndall's policy of compulsory deportation of non-whites to a voluntary system whereby non-whites would be given financial incentives to emigrate. It downplayed biological racism and stressed
4648-541: A political chameleon, Griffin had once been considered a party hardliner before switching allegiance to the modernisers in the late 1990s. In his youth, he had been involved in the NF as well as Third Positionist groups like Political Soldier and the International Third Position . Criticising his predecessors for fuelling the image of the BNP as "thugs, losers and troublemakers", Griffin inaugurated
4814-594: A political party has never been done before." In May 2009, he was invited by the BNP representative on the London Assembly , Richard Barnbrook , to accompany him to a Buckingham Palace garden party hosted by Queen Elizabeth II . The invitation prompted objections from several organisations and public figures, including the Mayor of London Boris Johnson , and the anti-fascist magazine Searchlight . Griffin declined this first invitation, out of fear of embarrassing
4980-555: A political worker at the National Front headquarters. As a teenager he had accompanied his father to a National Front meeting, and by 1978, he was a national organiser for the party. He helped set up the White Noise Music Club in 1979, and several years later worked with white power skinhead band, Skrewdriver . In 1980, he became a member of the party's governing body, the National Directorate, and in
5146-522: A result, the party became more radicalised, and a dissatisfied Griffin, along with fellow NF activists Derek Holland and Patrick Harrington , began to embrace the ideals of Italian fascist Roberto Fiore , who had arrived in the UK in 1980. By 1983, the group had broken away to form the NF Political Soldier faction, which advocated a revival of country "values" and a return to feudalism with
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5312-564: A state that "should impose its will on people", claiming that it was the anti-fascist group Unite Against Fascism —and not the BNP—who were the real fascists. More broadly, many on Britain's extreme-right sought to avoid the term "British fascism" because of its electorally unpalatable connotations, utilising "British nationalism" in its place. After Griffin took control of the party, it made increasing use of nativist themes in order to emphasise its "British" credentials. In its published material,
5478-531: A strategy to make the party electable, by taking it away from Tyndall's extremist image. He was helped by Tyndall's lack of familiarity with the mainstream media, and in the party's September election he defeated Tyndall to become head of the BNP. One of Griffin's changes included moderating the party's emphasis on the removal of multiculturalism, a policy it claims has a destructive influence on both immigrant and British cultures. Griffin pledged to eliminate "the three Hs: hobbyism, hard talk and Hitler". This realignment
5644-454: A strong, disciplined organisation with the ability to back up its slogan "Defend Rights for Whites" with well-directed boots and fists. Tyndall, also previously in the National Front, had founded the BNP in 1982, but his "brutal, streetfighting background" and admiration for Hitler and the Nazis had made any kind of respectability impossible. In his 1999 leadership campaign, Griffin embarked on
5810-419: A threat to, the white British and white Irish populations. In its campaign material it presented non-whites both as a source of crime in the UK, and as a socio-economic threat to the white British population by taking jobs, housing, and welfare away from them. It engaged in welfare chauvinism , calling for white Britons to be prioritised by the UK's welfare state. Party literature included such as claims as that
5976-589: A view akin to those of earlier fascists such as Hitler and Arnold Leese . The BNP adheres to an ideology of ethnic nationalism . It promotes the idea that not all citizens of the United Kingdom belong to the British nation. Instead, it states that the nation only belongs to "the English, Scots, Irish and Welsh along with the limited numbers of peoples of European descent, who have arrived centuries or decades ago and who have fully integrated into our society". This
6142-429: A vote share of 18% in the areas it contested. In Barking and Dagenham, it saw 12 of its 13 candidates elected to the council. At the 2008 London Assembly election , the BNP gained 130,000 votes, reaching the 5% mark and thus gaining an Assembly seat. At the 2009 European Parliament election , the party gained almost 1 million votes, with two of its candidates, Nick Griffin and Andrew Brons , being elected as Members of
6308-400: A £2,300 fine. Ballard was given a six-month sentence, also suspended for two years. He said, "I am well aware that the orthodox opinion is that six million Jews were gassed and cremated and turned into lampshades. Orthodox opinion also once held that the world is flat. Griffin claimed that the law under which he was convicted was an unjust law and he therefore had no obligation to follow it. He
6474-411: Is "Anglo-centric". The party employed militaristic rhetoric under both Tyndall and Griffin's leadership; under the latter for example its published material spoke of a "war without uniforms" and a "war for our survival as a people". Tyndall described the BNP as a revolutionary party, calling it a "guerrilla army operating in occupied territory". The British National Party exists to secure a future for
6640-692: Is a group that Griffin referred to as the "home people" or "the folk". According to Tyndall, "The BNP is a racial nationalist party which believes in Britain for the British, that is to say racial separatism." Richard Edmonds in 1993 told The Guardian ' s Duncan Campbell that "we [the BNP] are 100% racist". The BNP does not regard UK citizens who are not ethnic white Europeans as "British", and party literature calls on supporters to avoid referring to such individuals as "Black Britons" or "Asian Britons", instead describing them as "racial foreigners". Tyndall believed
6806-408: Is not some asinine and bogus attempt to impose British cultural values on immigrants, but simply to commence repatriating them. — Lee Barnes, senior BNP leader, 2005 The BNP calls for the non-white population of Britain to either be reduced in size or removed from the country altogether. Under Tyndall's leadership, it promoted the compulsory removal of non-whites from the UK, stating that under
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6972-492: Is nothing to do with Islamophobia ; it is issues such as the grooming of young English girls for sex by a criminal minority of the Muslim population ... I am now there to give political articulation to the concerns of the mainly indigenous population. The ethnic populations have always had Labour to speak up for them. Finally their neighbours have got someone who speaks up for them. In a June 2009 interview with Channel 4 News , Griffin claimed that "There's no such thing as
7138-527: Is now a large paddock (known simply as "The Paddock"), with many trees. Though not fully enclosed, the court formed before the Downing College is perhaps largest in Cambridge or Oxford (a title contested with Trinity College's Great Court ). An urban legend amongst Cambridge students claims that Trinity pays an undisclosed sum to the college annually with the condition that it will never build
7304-484: Is something that needs to be done to look at the law then I think we will have to do that. Gordon Brown Following his election as BNP leader, Griffin was invited to participate in debates at several universities. In November 2002, the Cambridge Union Society invited him to take part in a debate the following January. Titled "This house believes that Islam is a threat to the west", the resolution
7470-534: The 1997 general election , in Chingford & Woodford Green for the 2001 general election and for London in the 1999 European elections . Griffin was born on 1 March 1959 in Barnet and moved to Southwold in Suffolk aged eight. He has one sister. He was educated at Woodbridge School before winning a sixth-form scholarship to the independent Saint Felix School in Southwold, one of only two boys in
7636-596: The 1997 general election , it contested 55 seats and gained an average 1.4% of the vote. In the early 1990s, the paramilitary group Combat 18 (C18) was formed to protect BNP events from anti-fascists. In 1992, C18 carried out attacks on left-wing targets like an anarchist bookshop and the headquarters of the Morning Star . Tyndall was angered by C18's growing influence on the BNP's street activities, and by August 1993, C18 activists were physically clashing with other BNP members. In December 1993, Tyndall issued
7802-562: The 2005 general election , the BNP expanded its number of candidates to 119 and targeted specific regions. Its average vote in the areas it contested rose to 4.3%. It gained significantly more support in three seats, achieving 10% in Burnley , 13% in Dewsbury , and 17% in Barking . In the 2006 local elections the party gained 220,000 votes, with 33 additional councillors, having averaged
7968-497: The 2019 general election in Hornchurch and Upminster , where he came last. The BNP has been essentially inactive since 2019, and has not put forward a single candidate in any elections since 2019, with the only evidence of any activity being the occasional post on its website or Twitter account. Many academic historians and political scientists have described the BNP as a far-right party, or as an extreme-right party. As
8134-558: The Combat 18 paramilitary—its name a coded reference to Nazi German leader Adolf Hitler —to protect its events from anti-fascist protesters. A growing 'moderniser' faction was frustrated by Tyndall's leadership, and ousted him in 1999. The new leader Nick Griffin sought to broaden the BNP's electoral base by presenting a more moderate image, targeting concerns about rising immigration rates, and emphasising localised community campaigns. This resulted in increased electoral growth throughout
8300-549: The Labour Party government. For instance, in Burnley it campaigned for lower speed limits on housing estates and against the closure of a local swimming bath, while in South Birmingham it targeted pensioners' concerns about youth gangs. In 2006, the party urged its activists to carry out local activities like cleaning up children's play areas and removing graffiti while wearing high-vis jackets emblazoned with
8466-507: The National Front at the age of 14 and, following his graduation from the University of Cambridge , became a political worker for the party. In 1980 he became a member of its governing body, and later wrote articles for several right-wing magazines. He was the National Front's candidate for the seat of Croydon North West in 1981 and 1983, but left the party in 1989. In 1995, he joined the BNP and in 1999 became its leader. He stood as
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#17327810230818632-805: The Oldham Council election , for a seat representing the Chadderton North ward. He came second to the Labour candidate, receiving 993 votes (28%). In the 2004 European Parliament election , when he was the BNP candidate for the North West England constituency, the party received 134,959 votes (6.4% of those cast), but won no seats. In the 2005 general election he contested Keighley in West Yorkshire, and polled 4,240 votes (9.2%), finishing in fourth place. Griffin
8798-548: The Third Way ), and objections over the direction the party was heading, in 1989, Griffin left the National Front. Along with Holland and Fiore, he helped form the International Third Position (ITP), a development of the Political Soldier movement, but left the organisation in 1990. In the same year, he lost his left eye when a discarded shotgun cartridge exploded in a pile of burning wood, and since then he has worn
8964-500: The UK Independence Party for its decline, accusing the latter of stealing BNP policies and slogans. In July 2014, Griffin resigned and was succeeded by Adam Walker as acting chairman. In October, Griffin was expelled from the party for "trying to cause disunity [in the party] by deliberately fabricating a state of crisis". In January 2015, membership of the party numbered 500, down from 4,220 in December 2013. At
9130-486: The general election in 2015 , the BNP fielded eight candidates, down from 338 in 2010. The party's vote share declined 99.7% from its 2010 result. In January 2016, the Electoral Commission de-registered the BNP for failing to pay its annual registration fee of £25. At this time, it was estimated that BNP assets totalled less than £50,000. According to the commission, "BNP candidates cannot, at present, use
9296-531: The 2000s, to the extent that it became the most electorally successful far-right party in British history. Concerns regarding financial mismanagement resulted in Griffin being removed as leader in 2014. By this point, the BNP's membership and vote share had declined dramatically, groups like Britain First and National Action had splintered off, and the English Defence League had supplanted it as
9462-519: The 2000s, when it had over fifty seats in local government , one seat on the London Assembly , and two Members of the European Parliament . It has been largely inactive since 2019. Taking its name from that of a defunct 1960s far-right party , the BNP was created by John Tyndall and other former members of the fascist National Front (NF). During the 1980s and 1990s, the BNP placed little emphasis on contesting elections, in which it did poorly. Instead, it focused on street marches and rallies, creating
9628-401: The BNP as a "Nazi organisation", while the Anti-Nazi League published leaflets describing the BNP as the "British Nazi Party". Copsey suggested that while the BNP under Tyndall could be described as neo-Nazi, it was not "crudely mimetic" of the original German Nazism. Davey characterised the BNP as a "populist ethno-nationalist" party. The [BNP's] smart modernized veneer... is superficial;
9794-451: The BNP as being fascist in ideology. Others have instead described it as neo-fascist , a term which the historian Nigel Copsey argued was more exact. Academic observers—including the historians Copsey, Graham Macklin, and Roger Griffin , and the political theologian Andrew P. Davey—have argued that Nick Griffin's reforms were little more than a cosmetic process to obfuscate the party's fascist roots. According to Copsey, under Griffin
9960-505: The BNP built links with far-right parties across Europe and created various sub-groups, including a record label and trade union. The BNP attracted most support from within White British working-class communities in northern and eastern England, particularly among middle-aged and elderly men. A poll in the 2000s suggested that most Britons favoured a ban on the party. It faced much opposition from anti-fascists, religious organisations,
10126-462: The BNP gained one council seat—won by Derek Beackon in the East London district of Millwall —after a campaign that played to local whites who were angry at the perceived preferential treatment received by Bangladeshi migrants in social housing . Following an anti-BNP campaign launched by local religious groups and the Anti-Nazi League , it lost this seat during the 1994 local elections . In
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#173278102308110292-474: The BNP he sought to distance himself from some of his previously held positions, which included Holocaust denial . Events where Griffin has been invited to participate in public debates or political discussions have often resulted in protests and cancellations. Since 2018, he has been the vice-president of the Alliance for Peace and Freedom . Griffin's father, Edgar Griffin (born 1921, Brighton , East Sussex)
10458-413: The BNP move away from a policy of compulsory repatriation and toward a voluntary system, whereby non-white persons would be offered financial incentives to leave the UK. This idea, adopted from Powellism , was deemed more electorally palatable. When Griffin took control of the party, the policy of voluntary repatriation was officially adopted, with the party suggesting that this could be financed through
10624-514: The BNP stated that "family size is a private matter" but still called for white Britons who are "of intelligent, healthy and industrious stock" to have large families and thus raise the white British birth-rate. The encouragement of high birth rates among white British families continued under Griffin's leadership. Under Tyndall's leadership, the BNP promoted eugenics , calling for the forced sterilisation of those with genetically transmittable disabilities. In party literature, it talked of improving
10790-632: The BNP was "fascism recalibrated — a form of neo-fascism — to suit contemporary sensibilities". Macklin noted that despite Griffin's 'modernisation' project, the BNP retained its ideological continuity with earlier fascist groups and thus had not transformed itself into a genuinely "post-fascist" party. In this it was distinct from parties like the Italian National Alliance of Gianfranco Fini , which has been credited with successfully shedding its fascist past and becoming post-fascist. The anti-fascist activist Gerry Gable referred to
10956-574: The BNP was the only party which could "do anything effective about the swamping of Britain by the Third World" or "lead the native peoples of Britain in our version of the New Crusade that must be organised if Europe is not to sink under the Islamic yoke". Much of its published material made claims about a forthcoming race war and promoted the conspiracy theory about white genocide . In
11122-488: The BNP's association with political violence and older fascist groups in the public eye. As a result, BNP organisers began to favour indoor rallies, although street marches continued to be held throughout the mid-to-late 1980s. Through the streets now we are marching. Like an army as to war. For the cause of race and nation. With our banners to the fore. Into battle, into battle, into battle BNP! Into battle BNP! — BNP marching song, 1982 In its early years,
11288-470: The BNP's involvement in elections was "irregular and intermittent", and for its first two decades it faced consistent electoral failure. It suffered from low finances and few personnel, and its leadership was aware that its electoral viability was weakened by the anti-immigration rhetoric of Conservative Party Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher . In the 1983 general election the BNP stood 54 candidates, although it only campaigned in five seats. Although it
11454-490: The BNP, accusing it of treating elected representatives of the BNP as "second-class citizens". Following his election, in a press conference held at a public house in Manchester, he criticised the privatisation of national industries, such as the railway network, and accused MPs generally of being involved in this "... giant looting of Britain". He accused private corporations and the "ruling elite" in Britain of building
11620-423: The BNP. In the letter, he said that the party's ailing fortunes were a direct result of "attacks on the party". He also defended questions by the Electoral Commission about the transparency of BNP funding. In November 2009, Griffin was a witness at the trial of an Asian man, Tauriq Khalid, at Preston Crown Court . The prosecution claimed that in November 2008 Khalid repeatedly drove past a demonstration that Griffin
11786-662: The British 'racial stock' by removing "inferior strains within the indigenous races of the British Isles". Tyndall argued that medical professionals should be responsible for determining whom to sterilise, while a lowering of welfare benefits would discourage breeding among those he deemed to be genetic inferiors. In his magazine Spearhead , Tyndall also stated that "the gas chamber system" should be used to eliminate "sub-human elements", "perverts", and "asocials" from British society. Immigration into Britain by non-Europeans... should be terminated forthwith, and we should organise
11952-628: The British Empire and the British race. He believed that both democratic government and immigration into Europe were parts of the Jewish conspiracy to weaken other races. In an early edition of Spearhead published in the 1960s, Tyndall wrote that "if Britain were to become Jew-clean she would have no nigger neighbours to worry about... It is the Jews who are our misfortune: T-h-e J-e-w-s. Do you hear me? THE JEWS?" Tyndall added Holocaust denial to
12118-704: The CNU held a conference at the Charing Cross Hotel in London, at which 50 far-right activists agreed to the formation of the BNP. The BNP was formally launched on 7 April 1982 at a press conference in Victoria . Led by Tyndall, most of its early members came from the NNF, although others were defectors from the NF, British Movement , British Democratic Party , and Nationalist Party . Tyndall remarked that there
12284-538: The Democratic Nationalists. In November 2008, the BNP membership list was posted to WikiLeaks, after appearing briefly on a weblog. A year later, in October 2009, another list of BNP members was leaked. Eddy Butler then led a challenge to Griffin's leadership, alleging financial corruption, but he had insufficient support. The rebels who supported him split into two groups: one section remained as
12450-473: The European Parliament for North West England and Yorkshire and the Humber respectively. That election also saw extreme-right parties winning seats for various other EU member-states. This victory marked a major watershed for the party. Amid significant public controversy , Griffin was invited to appear on the BBC show Question Time in October 2009, the first time that the BNP had been invited to share
12616-626: The Holocaust. He was also critical of Islam . His invitation followed the election of two BNP MEPs to the European Parliament, and led to significant debate over the merits of the BBC's decision. The appearance sparked a protest outside the BBC Television Centre prior to the recording of the programme, in which an estimated 500 people picketed the front entrance of the complex, many chanting anti-Nazi slogans and others trying to break into
12782-401: The Labour party" and that the Labour government was attempting to influence the results of the following year's general election. Griffin's arrest was made two days after those of John Tyndall and several other people, over remarks they had made in the same programme. Following its broadcast on 15 July 2004, the police began an investigation into the programme's contents. The following April he
12948-502: The May 2014 European election and stepped down as BNP leader on 19 July 2014, becoming the organisation's president. But on 1 October, the party announced that it had expelled Griffin, who, it claimed, was "deliberately fabricating a crisis" and leaking "damaging and defamatory allegations". Following his departure from the BNP, he founded British Unity, which he describes as "a growing team of experienced nationalist publicists and militants". He
13114-612: The Mays Headship in the 2014 and 2015 May Bumps . The men's first boat has held the headship several times in the 1980s and 1990s (for example in 1994 to 1996) while gaining the Mays headship in 1996 and the Lents Headship in 2014, on each occasion recognising the tradition of "burning the boat" (using an old wooden 8 oared boat), while the rowers of the winning boat jump the flames. They both currently hold positions at or near
13280-524: The NF in 1980. In June 1980 Tyndall established a rival, the New National Front (NNF). At the recommendation of Ray Hill —who was secretly an anti-fascist spy seeking to sow disharmony among Britain's far-right—Tyndall decided to unite an array of extreme-right groups as a single party. To this end, Tyndall established a Committee for Nationalist Unity (CNU) in January 1982. In March 1982,
13446-570: The Queen via association, but when invited personally in 2010 he accepted: This event shows just how far this party has come in the last few years but I won't be at the Palace for myself or my family. No! I will be there to represent the patriots who made this possible; I'll be there for you. I'll be there for all the stout-hearted men and women who down through the turbulent years tramped the streets with me in all weathers knocking doors, and those who ran
13612-720: The Speaker of the Syrian People's Assembly, Mohammad Jihad al-Laham , and the Prime Minister Wael Nader al-Halqi . Griffin claims he was influential in the speaker of Syria's Parliament writing an open letter to British MPs urging them to "turn Great Britain from the warpath" by not intervening in the Syrian conflict . Griffin lost his European Parliament seat in the May 2014 European election . The party blamed
13778-459: The UK's foremost far-right group. Ideologically positioned on the extreme-right or far-right of British politics, the BNP has been characterised as fascist or neo-fascist by political scientists . Under Tyndall's leadership, it was more specifically regarded as neo-Nazi . The party is ethnic nationalist , and it once espoused the view that only white people should be citizens of the United Kingdom. It calls for an end to non-white migration into
13944-445: The UK. It called initially for the compulsory expulsion of non-whites but, since 1999, it has advocated voluntary removals with financial incentives. It promotes biological racism and the white genocide conspiracy theory , calling for global racial separatism and condemning interracial relationships . Under Tyndall, the BNP emphasised anti-semitism and Holocaust denial , promoting the conspiracy theory that Jews seek to dominate
14110-727: The University of Oxford's Jewish student chaplain. Several Holocaust survivors spoke at the rally. Stephen Altmann-Richer, co-president of the Oxford University Jewish Society, said "I don't think these people should be invited to the Oxford Union, by having them speak, it legitimises their views ..." On the night of the debate, about 50 protesters forced their way into the venue, and a crowd of hundreds gathered outside carrying banners bearing anti-racist slogans and voicing anti-BNP chants. Police blocked
14276-514: The all-girls school. Griffin read Adolf Hitler 's Mein Kampf when he was 14, and "found all but one chapter extremely boring". He joined the National Front in 1974, while he was still 14, though he had to pretend he was 15, and at the age of 16 is reported to have stayed at the home of National Front organiser Martin Webster . In a four-page leaflet written in 1999, Webster claimed to have had
14442-551: The anti-Semitic beliefs inherited from Chesterton, believing that The Holocaust was a hoax created by the Jews to gain sympathy for themselves and thus aid their plot for world domination. Among those to endorse such anti-Semitic conspiracy theories was Griffin, who promoted them in his 1997 pamphlet, Who are the Mind Benders? Griffin also engaged in Holocaust denial, publishing articles promoting such ideas in The Rune ,
14608-582: The area's locals voting for the BNP. At the 2010 general election , the BNP had hoped to make a breakthrough by gaining a seat in the House of Commons , although it failed to achieve this. It nevertheless gained the fifth largest national vote share, with 1.9% of the vote, representing the most successful electoral performance for an extreme-right party in UK history. In the 2010 local elections , it lost all of its councillors in Barking and Dagenham. Nationally,
14774-471: The ballot box can place us in a position whereby those 14 words can be carried out." He reiterated his contention of Jewish control over the media, as well as his prior stance on Holocaust denial, and said that his aim was to "[take] political power so as to be able to institute changes, to undo the population shift which has taken place since 1948 with the first Immigration Act, to peacefully and as humanely as possible reverse that and to return Britain to being
14940-456: The behest of John Tyndall , joined the British National Party (BNP). He also became editor of two right-wing magazines owned by Tyndall, Spearhead and The Rune . Referring to the election of the BNP's first councillor, Derek Beackon , at a 1993 council by-election in Millwall , he wrote: The electors of Millwall did not back a post modernist rightist party, but what they perceived to be
15106-402: The building to stop the programme being filmed. Some got past the police and security, but were expelled. Six protesters were arrested, and three police officers were injured, one needing hospital treatment. It was an odd show because almost all of the questions — even the five minutes on gays — were BNP-related, and the entire audience and panel anti-Griffin. Libby Purves The programme
15272-470: The college. Downing has a particular reputation for law. The Griffin has been the undergraduate student magazine for over 100 years. The college fields teams in a range of sports including, men's football, men's and women's rugby, tennis and ultimate . Downing College Boat Club is successful too, with the Women's first boat gaining Lents Headship of the river in 2004 and most recently in 2020 , and
15438-695: The core of the Party remains ideologically fascist, and this was nowhere more apparent than in the BNP manifesto for the 2010 General Election, which returned to a clutch of traditional fascist themes including the bond of blood, homeland, the decadence of contemporary culture, a nostalgia for folk traditions and heritage, and an emphasis on stricter discipline in education and society. During the election campaign anti-Semitism, racism and neo-Nazi sympathies were identified on candidates' social network sites. — Political theologian Andrew P. Davey, 2011 In his writings, Griffin acknowledged that much of his 'modernisation'
15604-489: The country, and, on 6 March 2008, he was again interviewed on Newsnight ; when told of a poll that demonstrated that most working-class Britons were more concerned about drugs and alcohol than immigration, he linked the UK's drug problem with Islam, specifically Pakistani immigrants. His inclusion on the programme was criticised by contributor and radio presenter Jon Gaunt , who branded the decision as "pathetic". When asked by The Times about concerns that his recent success
15770-424: The country. Speaking on the BBC 's Andrew Marr Show in 2009, Griffin declared that, unlike Tyndall, he "does not want all-white UK" because "nobody out there wants it or would pay for it". My experience as a campaigner against the multi-racial idea in Britain and in favour of our country's centuries-old tradition of racial homogeneity has brought home to me beyond any doubt the fact that Jews are to be found at
15936-641: The country." Griffin's interview with Channel 4 News was in response to a decision by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to investigate the BNP's membership criteria, which, it stated, "appeared to discriminate on the grounds of race and colour, contrary to the Race Relations Act." He rejected claims that the BNP was "acting unlawfully" and said "... because we are here, as it was pointed out, for specific ethnic groups—it's nothing to do with colour, your reporter there said that we'll only lift
16102-492: The cultural incompatibility of different racial groups. This emphasis on culture allowed it to foreground Islamophobia ; following the September 11 attacks in 2001, it launched a "Campaign Against Islam". It stressed the claim that the BNP was " not a racist party" but an "organised response to anti-white racism". At the same time Griffin sought to reassure the party's base that these reforms were based on pragmatism and not
16268-545: The debate as a success. Griffin travelled to the United States and spoke at Clemson University and Texas A&M University , but the reception he received in October 2007 at Michigan State University was markedly different from that in the other venues. Intending to address the "overpopulation of Islamists in Europe", he was repeatedly interrupted, to the point where the event became a question and answer session. He
16434-488: The decision to allow the meeting. A large protest was planned, and following students' concerns over their personal safety, the University cancelled the invitation. Several months later, the Oxford Union invited Griffin to speak at a forum on the limits of free speech, along with other speakers including David Irving . The invitation was condemned by the Equality and Human Rights Commission head Trevor Phillips and
16600-399: The discussion. Griffin said "I am coming up because I was invited by the students at the university because they have a debate on an intelligent subject on which I have something to say. The people against it are the usual bunch of people who cannot win the argument and refuse to stand on a platform." The society withdrew the invitation before the event was to take place. In May 2007, Griffin
16766-508: The disproportionately high levels of funding being directed to the Asian-dominated Daneshouse ward. This breakthrough generated public anxieties about the party, with a poll finding that six in ten supported a ban on it. In the 2003 local elections , the BNP gained 13 additional councillors, including seven more in Burnley; the party received over 100,000 votes in this election. Concerned that much of its potential vote
16932-460: The entrances to the building, and removed the protesters encamped inside. Griffin was accompanied into the premises by security guards. The event was eventually split between two rooms, with Griffin speaking in one, and Irving in the other; many Union Society members were unable to gain access. Although many present found the debate objectionable, some were supportive of both Griffin and Irving's right to freedom of speech. The Oxford Union later endorsed
17098-628: The established mainstream parties. In turn, the BNP gained rapidly growing levels of support over the coming years. In July 2000, it came second in the council elections for the North End of the London Borough of Bexley , its best result since 1993. At the 2001 general election it gained 16% of the vote in one constituency and over 10% in two others. In the 2002 local elections the BNP gained four councillors, three of whom were in Burnley, where it had capitalised on white anger surrounding
17264-439: The establishment of nationalist communes. Writing for Bulldog in 1985, Griffin praised the black separatist Louis Farrakhan , but his comments were unpopular with some members of the party. He also attempted to form alliances with Libya's Muammar al-Gaddafi and Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini , and praised the efforts of Welsh nationalist movement Meibion Glyndŵr . Following a disagreement with Harrington (who subsequently formed
17430-505: The estates were to be used to found a college at Cambridge called Downing. Sir Jacob died in 1764, and as the other named heirs had also died, the college should have come into existence then, but Sir Jacob's widow, Margaret, refused to give up the estates and the various relatives who were Sir George's legal heirs had to take costly and prolonged action in the Court of Chancery to compel her to do so. She died in 1778 but her second husband and
17596-728: The forefront of opposition to British racial self-preservation. — Tyndall's belief that a Jewish conspiracy was behind multiracial Britain Under Tyndall's leadership, the BNP was openly anti-Semitic . From A. K. Chesterton , Tyndall had inherited a belief that there was a global conspiracy of Jews bent on world domination, viewing the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as genuine evidence for this. He believed that Jews were responsible for both communism and international finance capitalism and that they were responsible for undermining
17762-751: The fourth side of the square, so that Trinity may maintain the distinction of having the largest enclosed court of all colleges of Cambridge. The most recent building additions are the Howard Lodge accommodation, the Howard Building, and most recent of all the Howard Theatre which opened in 2010. These were sponsored by the Howard Foundation , and are located behind the main court around their own small garden. These facilities are used for conference and businesses gatherings outside
17928-408: The gauntlets of hate wherever we went. The Palace later decided to deny Griffin entry to the event, claiming that he had used his invitation "for party political purpose through the media", and citing security concerns. Griffin claimed the decision was an "absolute scandal", and appeared to be "a rule invented for me". In September 2009, he appealed to party activists for £150,000 of extra funding for
18094-434: The idea that at current levels, "indigenous Britons" would be a minority within the UK by 2060. The immigrant communities in Britain are... colonies filled with colonists. They are alien islands inside our towns and cities with their own laws and cultures. They will never integrate as they did not come here to integrate, but to re-create their own cultures in our country. The fact is that the only solution to Multi-Culturalism
18260-466: The indigenous peoples of these islands in the North Atlantic which have been our homeland for a millennia. — The BNP, 2005 The BNP adheres to biological racist ideas, displaying an obsession with the perceived differences of racial groups. Both Tyndall and Griffin believed that there was a biologically distinct white-skinned "British race" which was one branch of a wider Nordic race ,
18426-464: The intention of "stirring up racial hatred". Griffin was also accused of calling murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence a drug dealer and bully who stole younger pupils' dinner money. In the witness box he defended himself by quoting passages from the Qur'an , saying that his comments describing Islam as a "vicious, wicked faith" were attacking not a race, but a religion. During the two-week trial he used
18592-582: The internal Reform Group, the other left the BNP to form the British Freedom Party . By 2010, there was discontent among the party's grassroots, a result of the change to its white-only membership policy and rumours of financial corruption among its leadership. Some defected to the National Front or left to form parties like the Britannica Party . Anti-fascist groups like Hope not Hate had campaigned extensively in Barking to stop
18758-404: The introduction of civil partnerships and wishes to ban what it perceives as the promotion of homosexuality in schools and the media. A series of messages he posted in October 2012 on the social network Twitter , regarding a discrimination claim won by a gay couple, sparked widespread opprobrium. Cambridgeshire police investigated the tweets, which included the couple's address and a suggestion that
18924-585: The jury's right. They saw all the evidence, I accept their decision. I'm not going to lose any sleep over it." In the 2010 general election he contested the Barking constituency polling 6,620 votes and finishing in third place. In 2011, following the loss of many of the council seats the BNP held in England, Griffin narrowly survived a leadership challenge. In 2010, Griffin announced that by 2013 he would stand down as leader, to focus on his European Parliament election campaign. He lost his seat in Europe in
19090-419: The labels "fascist" and "Nazi", stating that it is neither. In its 1992 electoral manifesto, it said that "Fascism was Italian. Nazism was German. We are British. We will do things our own way; we will not copy foreigners". In 2009, Griffin that the term "fascism" was simply "a smear that comes from the far left"; he added that the term should be reserved for groups that engaged in "political violence" and desired
19256-432: The mainstream media, and most politicians, and BNP members were banned from various professions. The British National Party (BNP) was founded by the extreme-right political activist John Tyndall . Tyndall had been involved in neo-Nazi groups since the late 1950s before leading the far-right National Front (NF) throughout most of the 1970s. Following an argument with senior party member Martin Webster , he resigned from
19422-400: The man "leaned out of the car and pointed at me and made a gun and gang gesture", and that he threatened him by shouting "I'm going to ...". Griffin said he had left the demonstration early, fearing for his safety. The 23-year-old defendant denied his comments had any racial intent, and was found not guilty. Griffin later commented "I think it's unfortunate and I think it's wrong, but that's
19588-587: The movement going, but with almost imperceptible growth since its 1982 foundation. — Senior BNP member John Bean In the early 1990s, a "moderniser" faction emerged within the party, favouring a more electorally palatable strategy and an emphasis on building grassroots support to win local elections. It was impressed by the electoral gains made by a number of extreme-right parties in continental Europe — such as Jörg Haider 's Austrian Freedom Party and Jean-Marie Le Pen 's National Front — which had been achieved by both switching focus from biological racism to
19754-487: The north side of what was then the Pembroke Leys was sold to the university and is now home to scientific buildings ("The Downing Site "). In fact, only limited East and West ranges were initially built, with the plans for a library and chapel on the south face of the college shelved. The third side of the square was only completed in 1951 with the building of the college chapel. Where the fourth side would have been
19920-425: The oldest of the new colleges and the newest of the old. Downing College was formed "for the encouragement of the study of Law and Medicine and of the cognate subjects of Moral and Natural Science", and has developed a reputation amongst Cambridge colleges for Law and Medicine. Downing has been named one of the two most eco-friendly Cambridge colleges. Upon the death of Sir George Downing, 3rd Baronet in 1749,
20086-417: The overall impact of these speeches—remember the context of each speech. Griffin and Collett were cleared of half the charges against them—the jury remained divided on the other charges, and a retrial was ordered. On 10 November 2006, after five hours of deliberations, the jury at Leeds Crown Court cleared them of all charges. They were met outside the court by about 200 supporters, who Griffin addressed with
20252-419: The party and people who had expressed an interest in joining the party, but had not signed up). Griffin claimed that he knew the identity of the individual responsible, describing him as a hard-line senior employee who had left the party in the previous year. He welcomed the publicity that the story generated, using it to describe the common perception of the average BNP member as a "skinhead oik " as untrue. He
20418-408: The party logo. Griffin believed that Peak Oil and a growth in Third World migrants arriving in Britain would result in a BNP government coming to power by 2040. The close of the twentieth century produced more favourable conditions for the extreme-right in Britain as a result of increased public concerns about immigration and established Muslim communities coupled with growing dissatisfaction with
20584-468: The party made appeals to the idea of Britain and Britishness in a manner not dissimilar to mainstream political parties. In this material it has also made prominent use of the Union flag and the colours red, white, and blue. Roger Griffin noted that the terms "Britain" and "England" appear "confusingly interchangeable" in BNP literature, while Copsey has pointed out that the BNP's form of British nationalism
20750-493: The party's candidate in several elections and became a member of the European Parliament for North West England in the 2009 European elections . In 1998, Griffin was convicted of distributing material likely to incite racial hatred , for which he received a suspended prison sentence. In 2006, he was acquitted of separate charges of inciting racial hatred. He has been criticised for many of his comments on political, social, ethical and religious matters, but after becoming leader of
20916-623: The party's legal and financial liabilities, and had the final say in all decisions affecting the party. Upon his election to the European Parliament Griffin unsuccessfully tried to form an alliance with right-wing parties, which would have entitled the group members to extra funding. He also held talks with other far-right European parties, such as Vlaams Belang and Jobbik . The BNP maintains ties with Roberto Fiore and fascist groups across Europe. Griffin criticised Gordon Brown 's Labour government for its attitude towards
21082-449: The party's name, descriptions or emblems on the ballot paper at elections." A month later, the party was re-registered. There were ten BNP candidates at the general election in 2017 . At the 2018 local elections , the party's last remaining councillor— Brian Parker of Pendle —decided not to stand for re-election, leaving the party without representation at any level of UK government. The BNP fielded only one candidate, David Furness, at
21248-523: The party's number of councillors dropped from over fifty to 28. Griffin described the results as "disastrous". In a 2011 leadership election , Griffin secured a narrow victory, beating Brons by nine votes of a total of 2,316 votes cast. In October 2012, Brons left the party, leaving Griffin as its sole MEP. In the 2012 local elections , the party lost all of its seats and saw its vote share fall dramatically; whereas it gained over 240,000 votes in 2008, this had fallen to under 26,000 by 2012. Commenting on
21414-567: The party, Griffin sought to move it away from its historic identity, although on the BBC 's Newsnight on 26 June 2001 he stated that Hindus and whites had both been targeted in the "Muslim" riots of 2001, and in the August 2001 issue of Identity (a BNP publication) he said that radical Muslim clerics wanted "... militant Muslims to take over British cities with AK-47 rifles". On The Politics Show on 9 March 2003, he appeared to accept ethnic minorities who were already legally living in
21580-577: The perceived cultural incompatibility of different racial groups and by replacing anti-democratic platforms with populist ones. The modernisers called for community campaigns among the white working-class populations of London's East End , and Northern England. While the modernisers gained some concessions from the party's hard-liners, Tyndall opposed many of their ideas and sought to stem their growing influence. In his view, "we should not be looking for ways of applying ideological cosmetic surgery to ourselves in order to make our features more appealing to
21746-517: The plan for the college. Wilkins, a disciple of the neo-classical architectural style, designed the first wholly campus-based college plan in the world based on a magnificent entrance on Downing Street reaching back to form the largest court in Cambridge, extending to Lensfield Road . But this was not to be. The estate was much reduced by the suit in Chancery, and the grand plans failed. Much of
21912-504: The political scientist Matthew Goodwin used it, the term referred to "a particular form of political ideology that is defined by two anti-constitutional and anti-democratic elements: first, right-wing extremists are extremist because they reject or undermine the values, procedures and institutions of the democratic constitutional state; and second they are right-wing because they reject the principle of fundamental human equality". Various political scientists and historians have described
22078-689: The president of the Oxford Students' Union. The Conservative MP Dr Julian Lewis resigned his membership of the Union. A rally against the invitation was held at Oxford Town Hall on 20 November, and included the Oxford Students' Union president, the National Union of Students black students' officer, and the Trades Union Congress south east regional secretary. Representatives of Unite Against Fascism also attended, as well as
22244-404: The public". After the BNP's poor performance at the 1997 general election, opposition to Tyndall's leadership grew. The modernisers called the party's first leadership election, and in October 1999 Tyndall was ousted when two-thirds of those voting backed Nick Griffin , who offered an improved administration, financial transparency, and greater support for local branches. Often characterised as
22410-495: The racial purity of the white British. It condemns miscegenation and "race mixing", stating that this is a threat to the British race. Tyndall said that he "felt deeply sorry for the child of a mixed marriage" but had "no sympathy whatsoever for the parents". Griffin similarly stated that mixed-race children were "the most tragic victims of enforced multi-racism", and that the party would not "accept miscegenation as moral or normal ... we never will". In its 1983 election manifesto,
22576-616: The result, the political scientist Matthew Goodwin noted: "Put simply, the BNP's electoral challenge is over." In the 2012 London mayoral election , the BNP candidate came seventh, with 1.3% of first-preference votes, its poorest showing in the London mayoral contest. The 2012 election results established that the BNP's steady growth had ended. In the 2013 local elections , the BNP fielded 99 candidates but failed to win any council seats, leaving it with only two. In June 2013, Griffin visited Syria along with members of Hungarian far-right party Jobbik to meet with government officials, including
22742-488: The same year launched Nationalism Today with the aid of Joe Pearce , then editor of the NF youth paper Bulldog . As a National Front member, Griffin contested the seat of Croydon North West twice, in the 1981 by-election and 1983 general election, securing 1.2% and 0.9% of the vote. Membership of the National Front declined significantly following the election of the Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher . As
22908-611: The son of her sister continued to resist the heirs-at-law's action until 1800 when the court decided in favour of Sir George's will and George III granted Downing a royal charter, marking the official foundation of the college. The architect William Wilkins was commissioned by the trustees of the Downing estate, who included the Master of Clare College and St John's College and the Archbishops of Canterbury and York , to design
23074-545: The student term. The Heong Gallery, opened in February 2016, is a modern and contemporary art gallery at Downing. It is named for Alwyn Heong, an alumnus of the college, who is a supporter of the visual arts. The conversion of a stables building by Caruso St John won a RIBA regional award. Downing students remain prominent in the university world; in the past few years Cambridge Union Presidents, Blues captains, Law and Economic Society Presidents and more have hailed from
23240-421: The top in both University bumps races [Lents and Mays]. The college is renowned for its strong legal tradition, being built up by Clive Parry, his pupil and successor John Hopkins and Graham Virgo . Legal notables who have been honorary fellows of the college include the late Sir John Smith , the pre-eminent criminal lawyer of his generation; Lord Collins of Mapesbury , the first solicitor to be appointed to
23406-401: The use of the UK's pre-existing foreign aid budget . It stated that any non-whites who refused to leave would be stripped of their British citizenship and categorised as "permanent guests", while continuing to be offered incentives to emigrate. Griffin's BNP also stressed its support for an immediate halt to non-white immigration into Britain and for the deportation of any migrants illegally in
23572-483: The wealth left by his grandfather, Sir George Downing, 1st Baronet , who served both Cromwell and Charles II and built 10 Downing Street (a door formerly from Number 10 is in use in the college), was applied by his will. Under this will, as he had no direct issue (he was legally separated from his wife), the family fortune was left to his cousin, Sir Jacob Downing, 4th Baronet , and if he died without heir, to three cousins in succession. If they all died without issue,
23738-564: The white British and the broader Nordic race to be superior to other races; under his leadership, the BNP promoted pseudoscientific claims in support of white supremacy . Following Griffin's ascendency to power in the party, it officially repudiated racial supremacism and insisted that no racial group was superior or inferior to another. Instead it foregrounded an " ethno-pluralist " racial separatism, claiming that different racial groups had to be kept separate and distinct for their own preservation, maintaining that global ethno-cultural diversity
23904-441: The world through both communism and international capitalism . Under Griffin, the party's focus switched from anti-semitism towards Islamophobia . It promotes economic protectionism , Euroscepticism , and a transformation away from liberal democracy , while its social policies oppose feminism , LGBT rights , and societal permissiveness . Operating around a highly centralised structure that gave its chair near total control,
24070-612: Was "scarcely any difference [between the BNP and NF] in ideology or policy save in the minutest detail", and most of the BNP's leading activists had formerly been senior NF figures. Under Tyndall's leadership the party was neo-Nazi in orientation and engaged in nostalgia for Nazi Germany . It adopted the NF's tactic of holding street marches and rallies, believing that these boosted morale and attracted new recruits. Their first march took place in London on St. George's Day 1982. These marches often involved clashes with anti-fascist protesters and resulted in multiple arrests, helping to cement
24236-632: Was a founder-member of the European far-right party, the Alliance for Peace and Freedom (APF) in 2015. In 2018, a new APF board was elected with Griffin as the vice-president. In March 2015, Griffin attended the International Russian Conservative Forum in St. Petersburg, wherein he told his audience that Christendom would either face a "terrible civil war", become an Islamist caliphate or perhaps both. In 1998, Griffin
24402-536: Was able to air its first party political broadcast , it averaged a vote share of 0.06% in the seats it contested. After the Representation of the People Act 1985 raised the electoral deposit to £500, the BNP adopted a policy of "very limited involvement" in elections. It abstained in the 1987 general election , and stood only 13 candidates in the 1992 general election . In a 1993 local by-election
24568-489: Was an attempt to hide the BNP's core ideology behind more electorally palatable policies. Like the National Front, the BNP's private discourse differed from its public one, with Griffin stating that "Of course we must teach the truth to the hardcore... [but] when it comes to influencing the public, forget about racial differences, genetics, Zionism, historical revisionism and so on... we must at all times present them with an image of moderate reasonableness". The BNP has eschewed
24734-420: Was attending, and on the second occasion shouted "white bastards". Khalid admitted shouting derisory comments at Griffin and other demonstrators, telling the jury he shouted "Nick Griffin, you fucking wanker" and "Get the fuck out of Burnley , you're not welcome here", but denied shouting "white bastard". Griffin gave evidence against Khalid, and affirmed that Khalid had shouted "white bastard" at him. Griffin said
24900-415: Was awful. But this nonsense about gas chambers is exposed as a total lie." Transcripts released under a 2014 Freedom of Information (FOI) request by The Guardian claimed that everything he did could be summed up as follows: "We must secure the existence of our race and a future for white children. Everything I do is related to building a nationalist movement through which peaceful persuasion and through
25066-490: Was charged with distributing material likely to incite racial hatred. Fellow BNP member Paul Ballard was also charged, but entered a guilty plea and did not stand trial. Griffin pleaded not guilty, and was tried at Harrow Crown Court . He called the French Holocaust denier Robert Faurisson and the nationalist Osiris Akkebala as witnesses, was found guilty and given a nine-month sentence, suspended for two years, and
25232-638: Was charged with four offences of using words or behaviour intended or likely to stir up racial hatred. The trial began in January 2006. Griffin stood alongside fellow party activist Mark Collett , who faced similar charges. Prosecuting, Rodney Jameson QC told the jury of six speeches that the accused had made in the Reservoir Tavern in Keighley on 19 January 2004. Reading excerpts from them, he claimed that they included threatening, abusive and insulting words directed at "people of Asian ethnicity", with
25398-463: Was chosen the following day. A line of police blocked a large group of protesters, who chanted "No platform for Nazi Nick" and "Nazi scum off our streets". Griffin viewed the election as an important victory, claiming that his party had been demonised and blocked from holding public meetings. "In Oldham alone there have been hundreds of thousands of pounds spent on employing bogus community workers to keep us out. To triumph against that level of pressure as
25564-401: Was controversial; alongside more moderate speakers, one of those invited was Abu Hamza al-Masri , a fundamentalist Muslim cleric. Some participants threatened to withdraw, and several official bodies criticised the invitations. The two had met earlier in the year, in a debate chaired by Rod Liddle , then editor of BBC Radio 4 's Today programme. He was also invited by the Cambridge Forum to
25730-549: Was convicted of violating section 19 of the Public Order Act 1986 , relating to the offence of 'publishing or distributing racially inflammatory written material' in issue 12 of The Rune , published in 1996. Griffin's comments in the magazine were reported to the police by Alex Carlile , then the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Montgomeryshire. Following a police raid at Griffin's home, he
25896-583: Was designed to position the BNP alongside successful European far-right groups, such as the French Front National . Street protests were replaced by electoral campaigning, and some policies were moderated (the compulsory repatriation of ethnic minorities was instead made voluntary). Other policies included the introduction of capital punishment for paedophiles, rapists, drug dealers and some murderers, and corporal punishment for less serious crimes such as juvenile delinquency. Griffin's image as
26062-452: Was elected as a member of the European Parliament for North West England in the 2009 European Elections . The BNP polled 943,598 votes (6.2%), gaining two MEPs . Griffin and fellow MEP Andrew Brons were subsequently pelted with eggs as they attempted to stage a celebratory press conference outside the Houses of Parliament . A second venue – a public house near Manchester –
26228-502: Was going to the UK Independence Party (UKIP), in 2003 the BNP offered UKIP an electoral pact but was rebuffed. Griffin then accused UKIP of being a Labour Party scheme to steal the BNP's votes. It invested much in the campaign for the 2004 European Parliament election , at which it received 800,000 votes but failed to secure a parliamentary seat. In the 2004 local elections , it secured four more seats, including three in Epping . For
26394-444: Was heckled by hostile elements of the audience, and at one point the fire alarm was activated. On 22 October 2009, Griffin took part in the BBC's topical debate programme, Question Time , as a representative of the BNP. He appeared alongside Bonnie Greer , Jack Straw , Baroness Warsi and Chris Huhne . He was challenged by members of the studio audience, and questioned by host David Dimbleby on comments he had previously made on
26560-429: Was invited to address a meeting at the University of Bath by politics student and BNP youth leader Danny Lake. Lake wanted Griffin to visit the university and explain the BNP's policies to lecturers and students. The invitation was viewed by some as an attempt by the party to establish a foothold on the university campus. Eleven union general secretaries wrote to the university's vice-chancellor and asked her to reconsider
26726-498: Was presaged in Enoch Powell 's Rivers of Blood speech , Griffin replied: The divisions are already there. They were created by that monstrous experiment: the multi-cultural destruction of old Britain. There is no clash between the indigenous population and, for instance, settled West Indians, Sikhs and Hindus . There is, however, an enormous correlation between high BNP votes and nearby Islamic populations. The reason for that
26892-549: Was previously a long-standing Conservative Party member, and from 1959 to 1965 a councillor for the Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone . He was also a councillor on Waveney District Council during the 1980s. He was later expelled from the Conservatives amid accusations of racism . Griffin's mother, Jean (née Thomas), whom Edgar married in 1950, was an unsuccessful BNP candidate for Enfield North in
27058-561: Was secretly recorded by the ITV programme The Cook Report in 1997 describing Carlile as "this bloody Jew ... whose only claim is that his grandparents died in the Holocaust". In the same programme, Griffin said of the Holocaust, "There is no doubt that hundreds, probably thousands of Jews were shot to death in Eastern Europe because they were, rightly or wrongly, seen as Communists or potential partisans or partisan supporters. That
27224-529: Was something to be protected. This switch in focus owed much to the discourse of the French Nouvelle Droite movement which had emerged within France's extreme-right during the 1960s. At the same time the BNP switched focus from openly promoting biological racism to stressing what it perceived as the cultural incompatibility of racial groups . It placed great focus on opposing what it referred to as " multiculturalism ", characterising this as
27390-619: Was the BNP candidate in the 2007 Welsh National Assembly Elections , in the South Wales West region. The BNP received 8,993 votes (5.5% of those cast), behind the Labour party's 58,347 votes (35.8%). In May 2007, he was an unsuccessful candidate in the Thurrock Council election . In November 2008, the entire membership list of the BNP was posted on the Internet (though the list may have included lapsed members of
27556-528: Was watched by an estimated 8.2 million viewers, more than three times the average figure for Question Time , and on a comparable level with prime time entertainment shows. Griffin's appearance dominated the following day's media; a follow-up report in the New York Times said that "the early reading by many of Britain's major newspapers was that Mr. Griffin lost heavily on points." In a press conference held on 23 October, Griffin stated that he would make
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