Nick_Griffin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Nick Griffin Nick Griffin Nick Griffin 1999, has served as chairman of the British National Party (BNP). Background Nicholas John Griffin was born in Barnet (1959) and was educated at two Suffolk private schools: St Felix School in Southwold and Woodbridge School. Griffin was the son of Conservative Councillor Edgar Griffin. He began to show his far right affiliations early in life, attending a National Front meeting aged 15.[1] Griffin studied History and Law at Downing College, Cambridge where he established the "Young National Front Students" society.[2] He eventually graduated with a lowersecond-class degree in History with Law[3] and a boxing blue, having taken up the sport after a brawl with an anti-fascist in Lewisham, south London.[4] He became a political worker at the National Front headquarters after graduation. When the far-right group fragmented into splinter organisations shortly afterwards, Griffin helped to launch the International Third Position, a movement claiming to oppose both capitalism and communism. In 1990, Griffin had a serious accident, which led to his eye being surgically removed. He has worn a glass eye since then.[5] He dropped out of politics for a while but relaunched his career five years later when the BNP founder, John Tyndall, invited him to join the party. In 1998, Griffin was convicted of inciting racial hatred for publishing material that denied the Holocaust.[6] He received a ninemonth prison sentence, which was suspended for two years. A few months later he ousted Tyndall as leader of the BNP. Griffin at the American Renaissance Conference in early 2006. Chairman of the British National Party In office September, 1999 – present Preceded by Born Political party Spouse Residence John Tyndall 1959 Barnet, England British National Party Jackie Griffin Powys, Wales, United Kingdom Career in politics National Front and International Third Position Nick Griffin became involved with the far right at the age of 15 when his father, Edgar Nicholas John "Nick" Griffin (born 1959) is a British far-right politician who, since 1 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Griffin, took him to meetings of the National Front (NF). By 1978, he was a local secretary for the NF. In 1980, he became a member of the NF governing body, the National Directorate, when he also set up the NF Student Organisation. In 1980, Griffin launched Nationalism Today with the aid of Joe Pearce, editor of the NF youth paper Bulldog and twice imprisoned for incitement to racial hatred.[7][8] Nationalism Today became the springboard for the Third Positionist ideas that the NF later adopted. Writing in Nationalism Today in 1985, Griffin praised the black separatist Louis Farrakhan, saying, "white nationalists everywhere wish [Farrakhan] well, for we share a common struggle for the same ends: racial separation and racial freedom".[9] Griffin left the NF in 1989 angry at where they were heading and in a split with Patrick Harrington. Harrington went on to form the Third Way. Meanwhile, Griffin joined with Derek Holland to form the International Third Position (ITP), which developed from the Political Soldier movement that had formed within the NF. Given the secretive nature of the ITP, it is hard to establish exactly when Griffin left, although he was still part of its leadership in mid-1990.[10] International Third Position (ITP) was a neofascist organization formed by the breakaway faction of neofacist British National Front and Italian neofascists[11] led by Roberto Fiore. Nick Griffin claim has a destructive influence on both immigrant and British culture. This realignment was designed to position the BNP alongside successful European far-right groups, such as the French Front National. The campaign would also involve moves against Tyndall, who was expelled from the party for a time in 2002 along with his closest allies, Richard Edmonds and John Morse. Under the BNP’s constitution, Griffin is solely responsible for the party’s legal and financial liabilities, and has the final say in all decisions affecting the party. While he routinely consults with various colleagues on matters which affect them directly, he is not bound to do so. Some areas of policy have been delegated to other BNP leaders, but Griffin has retained the right to make the most important decisions.[13] 1998 public order conviction In 1998, Griffin, along with Paul Ballard, was convicted of violating section 19 of the Public Order Act 1986, relating to incitement to racial hatred[14] for his editorship of issue 12 of The Rune, published in 1996. The complaint regarding the magazine was made by Alex Carlile QC, who was then Liberal Democrat MP for Montgomeryshire. Carlile had asked the police to obtain for him a copy of the magazine, which they did. After reading it, the MP called the police again and complained about its content, whereupon the police raided Griffin’s home and charged him. He was convicted and received a ninemonth prison sentence, suspended for two years, and was fined £2,300. Griffin claims that the law under which he was convicted "is an unjust law and he therefore has no obligation to follow it". British National Party While still a leader of the ITP, Griffin became involved with another far-right nationalist group, the British National Party (BNP). By 1993 he was speaking at BNP meetings and writing pseudonymously for BNP publications.[10] In 1995, he officially joined the party. For a time Griffin edited Spearhead, a publication owned by then party leader John Tyndall. Between 1995 and 1997, he was editor of The Rune, an anti-semitic weekly.[12] In 1998, he was prosecuted in connection with the magazine (see below). In September 1999, Griffin was elected as head of the BNP. He embarked on a campaign to make the party electable by taking it away from Tyndall’s agenda. These changes included an emphasis on the need to dismantle multiculturalism, which the BNP 2005 prosecution and 2006 retrial On 14 December 2004, Nick Griffin was arrested on suspicion of incitement to racial hatred, relating to a BBC documentary broadcast in July 2004, in which he was recorded at Morley Town Hall (in a constituency which later went on to elect a BNP councillor in 2006) as saying that Islam was a "...wicked and vicious faith". He was the 12th 2 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia person to be arrested following the documentary and the second most prominent after BNP founder John Tyndall, who had been arrested two days earlier. Griffin was released on police bail the same day but, the following April, was charged with four offences of using words or behaviour intended or likely to stir up racial hatred. On 6 February 2006, a jury at Leeds Crown Court returned not guilty verdicts on two of the charges and was unable to reach a verdict on the other two. The Crown Prosecution Service announced that it would seek a re-trial.[15][16] Nick Griffin Oxford Union debate In November 2007, the Oxford Union invited Griffin to speak at a forum on the limits of free speech, along with other speakers including David Irving. This provoked controversy within the University as the student body was divided over the issue. Many supported Griffin’s right to free speech, with some Junior Common Rooms passing motions in support of the invitations and a vote at the Oxford Union itself being carried by a majority of 2 to 1. Others, including the Oxford University Student Union (OUSU), Unite Against Fascism and the Oxford Jewish Society, staged protests and argued that Griffin and Irving should be denied a platform which they could use to provide legitimacy for their views. The decision to allow him to speak caused such controversy that many members of the Oxford Union resigned their memberships, including several MPs. That evening, hundreds of demonstrators congregated in central Oxford, surrounding the Oxford Union, and blocking people from entering the building. The debate was delayed by more than three and a half hours, and when Nick Griffin arrived (he attempted to enter through a side door to avoid being seen), he was pelted with eggs. The Union was unable to carry out a proper debate in the usual chamber, and was forced to hold a side debate in a smaller room, as anti-BNP activitists were present on the floor. Nick Griffin would later blame "The hound-dogs of the Labour government" for persuading people to protest against him.[20] Nick Griffin and Mark Collett leave Leeds Crown Court on November 10 2006 after being found not guilty of charges of incitement to racial hatred at their retrial. In early November 2006, the retrial of Griffin and co-defendant Mark Collett took place and once again both men were found not guilty on all counts, which means that of all the people arrested in connection with the BBC documentary none had been convicted of any offence relating to it. After the trial, Griffin celebrated outside the court with over two hundred supporters and champagne in red, white and blue bottles donated by Jean-Marie Le Pen. "What has just happened shows Tony Blair and the government toadies at the BBC that they can take our taxes but they cannot take our hearts, they cannot take our tongues and they cannot take our freedom," he told his supporters.[17][18] The Sunday Times contributor Rod Liddle wrote an article ’Alas, I must defend the BNP’ supporting Griffin’s right to free speech.[19] Revocation of University of Bath invitation Nick Griffin was invited to address a meeting by first-year politics student and BNP youth leader Danny Lake at the University of Bath in May 2007. Lake wanted Griffin to visit the university to explain the BNP’s policies to lecturers and students. It was, however, widely viewed as the party’s attempt to establish a foothold on the university campus, some students were fearful of their personal safety, and the invitation was withdrawn.[21] 11 union general secretaries wrote to the university’s vice-chancellor, Glynis Breakwell, calling on her to reconsider the decision. Student leaders and union officials said the initial decision to allow Mr Griffin, 3 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Date of election 22 October 1981 by-election 1983 general election 23 November 2000 by-election[22] 2001 general election 2005 general election Constituency Croydon North West Croydon North West West Bromwich West Oldham West and Royton Keighley Party NF NF BNP BNP BNP Nick Griffin Votes 429 336 794 6552 4240 % 1.2 0.9 4.2 16.4 9.2 who has a conviction for inciting racial hatred, to address the meeting was naive, describing the BNP as dangerous and divisive.[21] The Guardian reported ’The university reversed its initial decision in light of the scale of opposition. In a statement published on its website it said many students had expressed fears for their safety if the BNP leader was allowed to appear. It added: "The university has now learned that a very large number of protesters intend to arrive on campus. This creates the likelihood of substantial public order problems and real possibility of disruption ... making it impractical for the university to allow the event to go ahead. In the light of all these considerations the university has decided to refuse permission for the event to take place."’[21] In October 2007, the BNP announced that Griffin had been selected as Parliamentary candidate for Thurrock in Essex. He is contesting the European Parliamentary election in the North West of England in 2009 [[2]] Parliamentary elections contested Anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial In issue 12 of the BNP publication The Rune (see 1998 public order conviction) he called the Holocaust "the Holohoax" and criticized the Holocaust denier David Irving for admitting in an interview that up to four million Jews might have died in the Holocaust. Griffin wrote: "True Revisionists will not be fooled by this new twist to the sorry tale of the Hoax of the Twentieth Century."[23][24][25] Griffin was eventually prosecuted for his articles in The Rune (see below). In 1997 he told an undercover journalist that he had updated Richard Verrall’s Holocaust denial book Did Six Million Really Die?. On an edition of The Cook Report, Griffin was shown at a meeting recorded clandestinely, describing his former MP, Alex Carlile, QC, as "this bloody Jew... whose only claim is that his grandparents died in the Holocaust."[26][27] Carlile had reported The Rune to the police. In his defence during his 1998 prosecution, Griffin 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 ... I have reached the conclusion that the ’extermination’ tale is a mixture of Allied wartime propaganda, extremely profitable lie, and latter witch-hysteria."[28] Recent election campaigns In June 2001, Griffin ran as a BNP candidate in the constituency of Oldham West & Royton and received 6,552 votes (16%), beating the Liberal Democrats to third place and running a close race for second place with the Conservatives. In May 2003, Griffin stood for election again in Oldham for a seat on the local council representing the Chadderton North ward, winning 993 votes (28%). He was not elected. In June 2004, Griffin topped the BNP list for the European Parliament for the North West England Constituency. The party received 134,958 votes (6%). No one from the BNP was elected. Nick Griffin stood in the 2005 General Election in the Keighley constituency, West Yorkshire, where he polled 4,240 votes, 9.16% of those cast. Griffin contested the 2007 Welsh National Assembly Elections in the South Wales West region. 4 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Nick Griffin Current stance Griffin went on record in 2005 stating "This party has finally cast off the leg iron of antiSemitism and not a moment too soon." The BNP currently has a Jewish councillor, Patricia Richardson, and has stated that it has Jewish members.[29] On 6 March 2008, he was interviewed by Kirsty Wark on BBC Two’s Newsnight. He blamed Muslim immigrants, particularly Pakistanis, for the country’s hard drugs problems,[30] and stated that he and the BNP remained opposed to interracial relationships. The BNP says it does not deny the Holocaust and that "Dredging up quotes from 10, 15, 20 years ago is really pathetic and, in a sense, rather fascist."[31] However, the BNP and Euronat still maintain close ties with Roberto Fiore and other openly fascist groups across Europe.[32] References [1] Nick Griffin: Right-wing chameleon [2] "Programmes | Under the skin of the BNP". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/ hi/english/static/in_depth/programmes/ 2001/bnp_special/the_leader/ biography.stm. Retrieved on 2009-02-27. [3] "Politics | Profile: Nick Griffin". BBC News. 2006-11-10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/ 1/hi/uk_politics/4670574.stm. Retrieved on 2009-02-27. [4] "Nick Griffin profile | Politics | guardian.co.uk". Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/ nov/19/bnp-leader-nick-griffin. Retrieved on 2009-02-27. [5] Last Updated: 1:50AM GMT 11 Nov 2006 (2006-11-11). "Nick Griffin". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ uknews/1399674/Nick-Griffin.html. Retrieved on 2009-02-27. [6] "The BNP can never make itself respectable | David Aaronovitch". Times Online. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/ comment/columnists/david_aaronovitch/ article5191772.ece. Retrieved on 2009-02-27. [7] Barberis, P "National Front" in Encyclopedia of British and Irish political Organizations: Parties, Groups and Movements of the Twentieth Century 2000, p639 Continuum International [8] "Violence In Our Minds", http://www.skinheadnation.co.uk/ tilburyskinheads.htm [9] Nationalism Today no. 29 May 1985, p. 17 [10] ^ Patrick Harrington, "The Politics of Failure", Third Way magazine 17, nd (mid-1993) [11] The World Trade Organization: Legal, Economic and Political Analysis. Springer. 2005. p. 467. ISBN 0387226850. http://books.google.com/ books?id=96x7IwWDJUQC&pg=RA1-PT2944&dq=% fascist&ei=LzEjSceFAqW0zATlksx3. [12] The Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism, "United Kingdom" at http://www.tau.ac.il/Anti-Semitism/ asw97-8/united-kingdom.html [13] BNP Constitution Section 3, online at [1] [14] BNP under the skin, BBC News [15] BNP: "BBC liars caught red handed" 2 February 2006 (archived from original http://www.bnp.org.uk/ news_detail.php?newsId=764) [16] BNP: "Video appeal" 3 February 2006 (archived from original http://www.bnp.org.uk/ news_detail.php?newsId=765) [17] BBC News: "BNP leader cleared of race hate" 10 November 2006 [18] Sky News "BNP Pair Cleared Of Race Hate Charges" 10 November 2006 [19] Rod Liddle "Alas, I must defend the BNP", Sunday Times 5 Feb 2006 [20] - 49k [21] ^ Matthew Taylor. "University bars BNP leader from campus after protest fears | UK news". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/may/ 11/students.thefarright/. Retrieved on 2009-02-27. [22] West Bromwich West by-election, 2000 [23] BBC News "BNP: Under the skin" [24] Nick Cohen: "Fist in the kid glove", The Observer, 1 July 2001 [25] Northamptonshire Racial Equality Council: The British National Party - A briefing, Jan 2004 [26] Nick Ryan, "England’s green and unpleasant land", The Times, 10 April 1999 [27] Nigel Morris, et al "BNP goes on attack with record number of candidates", 26 April 2003. Retrieved on 9 April 2009. [28] BBC News "BNP: Under the skin" 5 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Party political offices Preceded by John Tyndall Chairman of the British National Incumbent Party 1999–present Nick Griffin [29] BBC News: "Learning lessons from history" by Jackie Storer, 28 Sep 2005 [30] "BBC in race row after BNP leader blames Muslims for Britain’s drug problems" Evening Standard, 7 March 2008 [31] December 3, 2007 (2007-12-03). "Countering the Smears. : The British National Party". Bnp.org.uk. http://www.bnp.org.uk/2007/12/ countering-the-smears/. Retrieved on 2009-02-27. [32] Paul Waugh,"BNP City Hall official meets neo-fascists at Euro summit" Evening Standard, 14 April 2009 External links • C4 News: article about clearance on charge of racial hatred - includes link to TV report and studio discussion. • BNP Website • Nick Griffin’s official blog Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Griffin" Categories: Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge, Anti-Islam activists, British conservatives, British National Front politicians, British National Party politicians, Criticism of Islam, British anti-communists, English people of Welsh descent, Holocaust denial, 1959 births, Islam-related controversies, Leaders of political parties in the United Kingdom, Living people, People from Barnet, People from Suffolk, Holocaust denial in the United Kingdom This page was last modified on 22 May 2009, at 17:57 (UTC). All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) 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