BNP membership list leaked online

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(http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/nov/18/bnp-membership-list-leak)BNP membership list leaked online (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/nov/18/bnp-membership-list-leak)

British National party vows to take legal action after breach of court injunction

guardian.co.uk (http://www.guardian.co.uk/), Tuesday November 18 2008 19.00 GMT

The British National party tonight vowed to take legal action after its entire membership list was published online in breach of a court injunction.

The party blamed disgruntled former employees for posting details of the names, postal and email addresses and ages of more than 10,000 supporters.

Details of the hobbies, professions and other areas of expertise of many members are thought to be included.

The membership list dates from late last year, the BNP said, and its publication had been prevented under a high court injunction obtained in April.

Embarrassed party bosses have complained to the police and are seeking legal advice to prevent the further spread of the data.

Simon Darby, the BNP's spokesman, said he found out this morning that the injunction had been broken, describing the posting as "malevolent and spiteful".

"This is being done to destabilise the party after a successful conference in Blackpool and before the elections for the European parliament in June next year."

He said the membership list, which was password protected and encrypted, had been stolen from the party. "This isn't a question of us mislaying the information, this is theft," he said.

Darby claimed the list contained the names of people who had never been members of the party as well as the names of current and former members. Although the party is taking action to take down the list, Darby conceded: "Once it's out, it's out."

"We are worried because kids' names are on the list. It is not information that should be in the public domain," he added. "We are always receiving death threats."

He said the party discovered the information had been leaked when its members started receiving unsolicited mail. "We found that members were being sent propaganda. We went to the Manchester high court and obtained an injunction. It cost tens of thousands of pounds," he said.

Darby said the party had complained to Dyfed Powys police – the BNP carries out much of its administration in Welshpool – but the force was unable to confirm that a complaint had been made.

The publication sparked alarm among the BNP's membership.

"I'm also on the list, what the fuck is going on? I could lose my job," posted one member on a north-west

England BNP forum.

Another wrote: "God help anyone who is in the army, the prison service, health care, police officer or a teacher."

Since 2004, police officers have faced dismissal if found to be members of the BNP.

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BBC: Police and teachers on BNP list (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7736794.stm)


Nick Griffin said the leak put party members at risk of violence

Serving and former police officers, teachers and soldiers are listed as members of the British National Party in a leaked document published online.

The list, which dates from 2007, has the names, addresses, jobs and phone numbers of more than 10,000 people.
Since 2004, police officers have been banned from being members of the BNP.
The party's leader, Nick Griffin, said the leak was "a disgraceful act of treachery" by former members and called for a police
investigation.

In a statement on the BNP website, Mr Griffin said he had lodged a complaint with Dyfed-Powys Police on the grounds that the publication breached human rights and data protection laws.

He told the BBC's Today programme the party would be using the Human Rights Act to try to protect the identities of its members, despite the BNP being against the European legislation.

He said he had "no problem at all" about the professions of members being in the public domain, which was "a matter of public interest".

But publishing people's names and addresses was a "nasty piece of intimidation" which he blamed on the "Labour regime".

However, he welcomed the new media interest in the party as a result of the leak because it challenged the idea that the average member of the BNP "was a skinhead oik".

"So in terms of repositioning us as a party genuinely made up of ordinary British people from all walks of life that will actually do us good," he said.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said "everybody has a right to protection under data protection laws" but it was a matter for Dyfed-Powys Police as to whether the matter should be taken further.

And she told the BBC News Channel she did not mind people knowing she was a member of the Labour Party, adding: "I wonder why it is that BNP members are rather more ashamed of their membership."
How convenient to ignore the unjust discrimination BNP members face when their party affiliation is disclosed. How convenient to ignore that BNP members risk the sack as a result of disclosure of their political affiliation to a perfectly legal party!!



'Discretion required'

Occupations ascribed to the names on the list include teachers, a doctor, nurse, vicar and members of the armed forces.

While there is no ban on many of those professions joining the BNP, its right-wing political stance and whites-only membership policy are seen by many as incompatible with frontline public service.

Police officers, on the other hand, are formally banned from joining, a policy which is recognised in the list.

Alongside the name of a serving officer, the document states that there is "Discretion required re. employment concerns".

Peter Fahy, chief constable of Greater Manchester Police and spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said: "Membership or promotion of the BNP by any member of the police service, whether police officer or police staff, is prohibited.

"This is because such membership would be incompatible with our duty to promote equality under the Race Relations Amendment Act and would damage the confidence of minority communities."

The BNP said the publication could lead to identity theft and endanger children named in the list.

Some as young as 14 are included where their families have party memberships.

The publication prompted fear among BNP members using internet chatrooms.

One person wrote: "I'm also on the list, what is going on? I could lose my job."

Another said: "God help anyone who is in the Army, the prison service, healthcare, a police officer or a teacher."

Earlier this year, the BNP obtained an injunction at the High Court in Manchester banning any publication of the list.


Elections

Mr Griffin earlier said the list was "essentially genuine", but a number of names of people who were not or are not party members had been added.
He claimed the leak was linked to next year's elections to the European Parliament and that those responsible were former members who had subsequently been sacked.

"Just six months before the proportional representation European Parliamentary elections give us the chance for a gigantic leap into the mainstream big-time, we get another leak intended to frighten the faint-hearted," he said.

The anti-immigration party has won council seats in recent years, and took a London Assembly seat in May.

Labour MPs are pushing for trade unions to be given the right to expel members who belong to the BNP without penalty.

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Radio DJ fired (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1087101/Radio-DJ-fired-BNP-teachers-police-lawyers-exposed-membership-list-leak.html)

Today, a DJ was dropped and a police officer was facing investigation for his alleged membership as alarmed bosses started to scour the list for employees' names.

TalkSport radio said it would 'no longer use' DJ Rod Lucas who covered late-night shifts for the station earlier this year.

Mr Lucas's name was published along with his address and contact numbers. His profession was given as 'media: radio/tv production'.

Lucas, a Sony Award winner who once worked for Radio One, had been hailed by TalkSport bosses for his work but they took swift action today.

A spokesman said: 'Rod Lucas has on occasion worked as a fill-in presenter on TalkSport. We were aware that he has worked for BBC Radio Kent and LBC. We were not aware of his membership of the BNP until today.

'We have no plans to use Rod Lucas in the immediate future.'

[Arrow Cross]

Oh yeah. Enter the Democratic Inquisition.

[Lenny]

Newspapers are freely publishing the members' names now (which has to be against the law). And all the "out'ed" members are more-or-less forced to recant in public...for being members of a legal political party :eek: :rolleyes:


Faces behind the BNP names

http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00656/SNN2014A_280_656330a.jpg

A VICAR named on the leaked BNP membership list last night claimed he was no longer involved with the party.

Rev John Stanton, 75, who runs the Rock Dene Christian Fellowship in Rochford, Essex, admitted: “I was a member of the BNP back in March but in June I came out. I’ve had enough of the whole thing.”

In March he told a local paper he was “stupid” for joining as a local organiser because he did not know what it really stood for.

He said he joined because he agreed with the party’s policies on immigration and Europe, but left after realising it was racist and homophobic.

The former Tory and Lib Dem councillor said at the time: “I ended my involvement with the BNP after learning more about them. It was very stupid of me.

“The impression I got was that it was just a very British, Christian organisation. Now, I don’t trust anything they say.

“Friends contacted me to say, ‘Those people are nasty.’ My daughter rang me sobbing and said, ‘What have you done?’

“I had no idea Nick Griffin was convicted of inciting racial hatred. I also found they were anti-Semitic and homophobic.”

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1950736.ece

[Lenny]

I thought these remarks by one them rang very true:

How it feels to be a BNP member now that the entire BNP membership list has been published

Philip M. writes from England:

This couldn't have come at a worse time for me as I am currently waiting to hear back from a job in the ____, and membership of the BNP is not likely to make you a strong candidate in that very left-wing institution. Nevertheless, when I looked at the list to find myself on it, my reaction was one of relief. Being "on the list" to me is a badge of pride and non-conformity to our soulless, destructive liberal values. The people on that list are political dissidents; which is a novel thought. I never thought when I was young that modern Britain could see such a thing.

Something I have noticed recently is the highly polished and sophisticated news management in this country by the left-wing media, particularly the BBC--their ability to help corral the Herd, manipulate the facts and reinforce their ideological Statism....

The media coverage of the BNP leak is also notable for the spin the media have placed on the story. Already a radio DJ has been sacked, and there are policemen on the list facing the same. The BBC report I watched talked about how the story raised questions about whether BNP members should be able to be employed in "sensitive" areas (we are already banned from the police and prison service). A woman from a teaching union said that the BNP should be banned from all public sector jobs--which in Britain would be around 50 percent of all jobs. I have no doubt that she will eventually get her wish, and much more.

Why does this story provoke questions about banning BNP members from certain jobs? There is no obvious reason. No one seem in the slightest bit bothered about the fact that the police are openly perusing a list which is illegal and has a high-court injunction against it, so that they can sack the people on it, that people are now being sacked in "free" Britain for being members of a legal political party. There is not even the pretence that this isn't happening, it just doesn't matter. It seems that if you are BNP, anything goes--by being "racist" we put ourselves outside the protection of the law.
.....

http://www.amnation.com/vfr/archives/011917.htmlWhat is the difference between this and the post-1970 Soviet Union? There is no difference.

[Skandi]

We all seem to be forgetting that we live in a democracy that champions free speech. Until you disagree with the ruling liberal elite that is, how can you ban members of a political party from holding certain jobs without banning the party?

I'm still not sure if this is good or bad for the BNP; with a bit of spin on the fact that people are loosing jobs over their personal political beliefs, it might be possible to turn this to our advantage. Even my left wing liberal friends find it horrendous that this happens, they disagree with the BNP but understand that it also has a right to exist and people have a right to their opinions

As an aside I missed having my name published as I joined after the list was compiled, fortunate? Is that a cowards attitude?

[Loyalist]

The officer involved has already been suspended from duty.


A Merseyside Police officer whose name was included on a list of British National Party (BNP) members has been suspended from duty.

Pc Steve Bettley was listed in a leaked membership document published online.

Police officers have been banned from being members of the anti-immigration party since 2004.

Merseyside police said Pc Bettley had returned from holiday to co-operate with their inquiry and had been suspended from duty.

A force spokesman said: "Merseyside Police can confirm that the police officer is subject to an ongoing internal investigation into his alleged association with the BNP has today been suspended from duty.

"He returned from his holiday early to co-operate with the investigation.

"We would like to reiterate we will keep an open mind until the facts around the alleged investigation have been established."

The officer once worked for a six-week period as a personal driver for the force's chief constable, Bernard Hogan Howe.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/7740817.stm

In this case, there is nothing to suggest the officer's membership in the BNP conflicted in any way with his job. Silencing his political views under some laughable argument over race relations amounts to nothing more than a draconian muzzling of free thought. In a so-called "democratic" society, I didn't believe such censorship was allowed, but the double standard of the left rears its head here. I can only take comfort in the embarassment this causes the PC brigade that is the police force, as well as the government, and the fact that Mr. Bettley certainly isn't the only officer out there that's also a member of the BNP. I wonder if there's now going to be a witch hunt to root out other suspected nationalists. :rolleyes: