Free speech - but no overdraft

[Illinoisblue]

from www.bbc.co.uk:

Barclays Bank has frozen the accounts held by the far-right British National Party.
The move is believed to be in response to a BBC documentary, The Secret Agent, which showed BNP members confessing to racially motivated crimes.

The bank has not confirmed the decision but the BNP's John Walker said he had received a call from the bank informing him that the accounts are to be closed.

BNP leader Nick Griffin said the move was "absolutely scandalous".

Mr Walker said that he was unaware whether any other banks that hold party funds would follow suit.

But Mr Griffin said the party may find it difficult to open accounts with other banks.

He described the move by Barclays as an "attempt to ban it by the back door".

He said a member of the party's treasury department was informed about the freezing of their accounts on Friday afternoon.


The legal position of the account closures will be studied, he added.

"If we can, we will take them [Barclays] to the cleaners.

Human rights

"We don't want to take them to the cleaners, all we want is the democratic right to access back accounts."

He said: "Barclays may find themselves up against European human rights legislation.

"We have the right to hold political opinions and to impart them."

Mr Griffin said the accounts contained thousands of pounds - "enough money to run a small but effective political party".

The party must have a bank account in Britain to comply with electoral commission regulations.

A Barclays spokeswoman said the company would not comment because of client confidentiality.

However, a bank official said Barclays would consider whether there was a "reputational risk" when it was deciding whether to open or close an account.

Tapes reviewed

In the documentary, footage recorded at a meeting in Keighley shows Mr Griffin saying Islam was a "vicious wicked faith" and warning the audience to "stand up" to Muslims.

In an interview on BBC Two's Newsnight programme following Thursday's broadcast of the documentary, Mr Griffin refused to say sorry for his comments and added the "Islamification" of the West had partly happened by rape.

However, he did apologise for comments made by other BNP activists shown on the documentary confessing to race crimes. Three of them have been expelled from the party, Mr Griffin said.

Reporter Jason Gwynne spent six months infiltrating the BNP's West Yorkshire branch with the help of a former local organiser.

West Yorkshire Police and the Crown Prosecution Service, in a joint statement on Friday, said officers were collecting tapes from the programme makers to review.

"The BBC programme (Secret Agent) broadcast last night raises a number of issues which warrant further investigation.

"Working with our colleagues in the Crown Prosecution Service we will be reviewing the material to identify what, if any, information of evidential value it contains and decide on the appropriate action."

[Rude Boy]

Good on Barclays, hopefully now we'll see hardline treatment of equally foul left-wing political organisations too.

[mart]

Like...????

Mart

[Rude Boy]

eeerr..Class War for one, how many others do you want?

[diplodocus]

stick the animal liberation front in there as well, let's see how they like being the target for a changeRude Boy wrote:

[Rude Boy]

The animal liberationists sprang to mind but I have far more sympathy for them than the scumbags involved in the likes of class war. I've had a personal problem with them ever since two of their number decided to carve "Class War" into the paintwork of a mate's car while it was parked outside a restaurant in London. I'd love to know what went through the little twat's mind when "Capitalist Whitey" sprang out of the door at him and turned out to be an Indian bloke!

It was pretty bizarre watching this previously mild-mannered fund manager turn into a Bollywood Ray Winstone at his most intense and conduct his own individual class war upon this nasty little specimen's face. His mate, who was brave enough to help fuck up a car minutes before, shit himself and ran off rather than join in the "Debate."

[Kloot182]

I didn't fancy debating an issue with a group of north africans that stabbed me in the head in 1995, I shat myself, then ran too before being found in a pool of the red stuff. Although an unprovoked attack I should have been weary of my surroundings. But why should I be on edge the whole time in my home city now that it's multi national and cultural?

I have no personal problem with them and I think that people should have the freedom of speech and belong to what ever group they decide fit. I'm sure that there are groups from other 'sectors' of the community that harbour the same thoughts as these blokes, its just that the media decide to play the 'racist whitey' game.

What a wonderful world we live in.

K

[Spook]

"I'm sure that there are groups from other 'sectors' of the community that harbour the same thoughts as these blokes"

Really? - so such groups are forming political parties, claim to represent mainstream opinion, getting council seats and nearly getting seats in the European elections?

I've seen plenty of programmes - even on the "anti-whitey" BBC highlighting the violent thuggery of yardies, triads etc. There have been programmes about the extreme views of some Islamists - highlighting the very unpleasant Al-Q wannabe videos that have been on sale. But these are petty criminal groups or radical extremists - not people in the pursuit of mainstream political acceptance.

And the amount of media coverage given to Abu-Hamza is off the scale. Hardly an example of the media playing the "racist whitey" game. Care to name 5 other Muslim clerics in Britain at the current time? - or is it just "Capt Hook" that represents the Muslim religion in large parts of the UK media?

BNP are "racist whiteys" - they claim not to be. They are a political organisation that is gaining increasing support. It is entirely right and correct for the BBC to show that senoir members of this party, who have been nominated to contest in the political process, hold such vile racist views - especially when they continue to protest that they are not racist or violent, just "pro-British" and "patriotic".

If senior Labour party members (or members of any other political party)were filmed secretly speaking about their involvement in violent illegal acts, or indicating their support for violent illegal acts, then I can't see why the BBC should refuse to show those conversations.

"What a wonderful world we live in."

Well if you see the BBC programme as another example of the media deciding to play the "racist whitey" game, then you must live in your own, fairly desperate, little world.

I'm sorry to hear about your experience with the North African thugs - but I can't quite grasp why you think that highlighting a vicious beating carried out by a BNP member is damaging to the BNP's freedom of speech, or why you wouldn't be very keen for the perpetrator of this attack to face justice.

[Spook]

Well seeing as the ALF are an anonymous organisation with no central control then its a bit unlikely that they have a bank account.

Also the idea of Class War having a bank account with a major mutinational "globalist" bank like Barclays would be hilarious for its hypocrisy.

Barclays don't want to do business with the BNP - a perfectly reasonable commercial decision, they don't want to be associated with a violent political movement. I imagine that it would also be in their commercial interests to disassociate themselves from the ALF and Class War - although the idea that they are providing banking services for these organisations is farcical.

[mart]

Beat me to it spook...lol
Although I sometimes have my suspicions about Class War, could they be agents provocateurs?

Mart