LONDON - The Mayor of London Thursday accused the anti-migrant British National Party (BNP) of seeking to whip up a ‘political stunt’ after its leader was reported headed for the British Queen’s garden party.
Richard Barnbrook, a BNP member of the London Assembly, said he will take along his leader Nick Griffin as his guest to the Queen’s garden party at Buckingham Palace July 21 - an annual event to which all London Assembly members are invited alongside other select members of the public.
Griffin was convicted in 1998 of distributing material likely to incite racial hatred and Barnbrook is the first BNP member of the London Assembly.
A BNP spokesman said: ‘Richard Barnbrook has got an official invite in his capacity as a member of the London Assembly and he is allowed to bring a guest, which will be Nick Griffin. For him to snub an invite from the Queen would be absurd.’
But London Mayor Boris Johnson said Thursday he had written to the chairman of the London Assembly asking him to intervene.
‘It now transpires… that Mr Barnbrook plans to bring as his guest the Leader of the BNP, Mr Nick Griffin, or another prominent member of the party, thereby threatening to turn a happy annual event - at which thousands of people across the country are acknowledged for their service to the community - into a political stunt.
‘We cannot tolerate any such abuse of the invitation or any potential embarrassment to Her Majesty. I am therefore writing to call on you to inform Mr Barnbrook - at the earliest opportunity - that he must either bring a guest who will not provoke political controversy, or consider his invitation rescinded,’ Johnson’s letter said.
The row comes amid fears that a long-running scandal over dubious expenses claimed by British MPs could lead voters to reject mainstream political parties for smaller ones like the Greens and the BNP, which is described by its critics as a racist party.
The prospect horrifies mainstream political parties who have shunned the BNP, rejecting its anti-immigrant stance across the political divide.
When Barnbrook took the stage last year after being elected to the London Assembly, all other candidates walked off.
Commentators say one of the first tests will come next month in the form of elections to the European Parliament.
A BNP spokesman said: ‘It is something people are going to have to get used to because if we get elected MEPs (Members of European Parliament), this is the kind of thing we are going to be doing on a regular basis. It is the emergence of a party from beyond the pale to mainstream.’
A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said he could not confirm individual invitations.
‘A number of organisations and bodies receive an allocation of tickets for the garden parties so it is a matter for those organisations who they invite,’ he said.
A spokesman for the anti-racist organisation, Searchlight, said many members of Griffin’s party have been convicted of crimes of violence and of racial harassment.
‘We would have thought that on security grounds alone he would be denied access to Buckingham palace.’
Related News
Far-right, anti-immigrant British political party agrees to allow nonwhite membersOctober 15th, 2009 UK far-right party to allow nonwhite membersLONDON — The far-right British National Party agreed Thursday to change its constitution to let nonwhite people become members. The party opposes immigration and says it fights for "indigenous" Britons.
Russians Oligarchs' London pad to rival Queen's palaceSeptember 27th, 2009 LONDON - A high-profile Russian political family is all set to give stiff competition to the Queen's Buckingham Palace, as they plan British capital's second biggest residential building at a cost of about 100 million pounds. The Witanhurst, a dilapidated mansion in Highgate, north London, was purchased for 50 million pounds by a British Virgin Islands-based company.
NYC comptroller wins Democratic nomination for mayor, will face Bloomberg in general electionSeptember 15th, 2009 NYC comptroller wins primary to face BloombergNEW YORK — New York City Comptroller William Thompson Jr. has cruised to victory in the Democratic mayoral primary and will face billionaire incumbent Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Irresponsible election campaign may cause race riots in BritainSeptember 11th, 2009 LONDON - If political parties do not take necessary precaution while campaigning for next year's general election, British cities may witness race riots like those seen in 2001, an expert has warned. In recent months, Luton and Birmingham have seen many instances of street violence between anti-fascist demonstrators and far right organisations, Sky News reports.
Great British Duck Race makes it to Guinness Book of RecordsSeptember 8th, 2009 LONDON - A record breaking 205,000 plastic ducks floated down the Thames on Sunday as part of the third annual Great British Duck Race in London. The event shattered the previous record of 175,000 ducks in a similar race held in China earlier this year.
British prime minister's wife joins thousands of revelers at London's Gay Pride paradeJuly 4th, 2009 British PM's wife joins 1000s at gay pride paradeLONDON — The wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has joined thousands of revelers in London's annual gay pride march. Sarah Brown held a red, white and pink version of the Union Jack as the noisy parade wound through the city center before a rally and concert in Trafalgar Square.
Indian-origin MP in race to be speaker of British parliamentJune 11th, 2009 LONDON - Indian-origin MP and former minister Parmjit Dhanda has joined the race to become the next speaker of the House of Commons, warning that the British parliament "is in crisis."
Dhanda, a 37-year-old clean shaven Sikh, threw his hat in the ring to succeed Michael Martin, who will step down June 21 after a controversial intervention last month in favour of disgraced MPs found to be claiming dubious parliamentary expenses. If successful, he would be the first British Speaker - a centuries-old office - from an ethnic minority brackground.
Demonstrators throw eggs, halt news conference held by British far-right party, the BNPJune 9th, 2009 Demonstrators throw eggs at far-right UK leaderLONDON — British far-right leader Nick Griffin was forced to abandon a London press conference Tuesday when egg-throwing demonstrators chased him away. Griffin was hustled by bodyguards into a waiting car after a small group of protesters charged journalists assembled in front of London's Houses of Parliament, pelting Griffin with eggs and hitting him with a placard.
Demonstrators halt news conference held by British far-right party, the BNPJune 9th, 2009 Demonstrators stop BNP news conferenceLONDON — Demonstrators in Britain threw eggs Tuesday at the leader of a far-right political party, forcing him to abandon a news conference outside Parliament. The protesters, many of whom carried signs reading "Stop the Fascist BNP," chased British National Party leader Nick Griffin from the area.
British soldier who lost use of legs in Iraq completes London Marathon after 2-week effortMay 9th, 2009 Injured British soldier completes London MarathonLONDON — A British soldier who lost the use of his legs in a rocket attack in Iraq has completed the London Marathon, two weeks after starting the race. Maj. Phil Packer set off April 26 and walked the 26.2-mile (42.2-kilometer) course on crutches at a rate of two miles (3.2 kilometers) a day.
Oxford defeat Cambridge in 155th Boat RaceMarch 30th, 2009 LONDON - Oxford defeated Cambridge in the 155th annual boat race. Fortunes change quickly in the Boat Race, and Saturday's was no exception.
Not in the race for PM, 'at least for now': JayalalithaMarch 17th, 2009 CHENNAI - AIADMK boss and former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalitha Monday said she was not in the race to be prime minister, 'at least for now', and that the Third Front grouping has a 'bright future'.
Prince Harry sent on race awareness courseFebruary 11th, 2009 LONDON - The British army has ordered Prince Harry, the third in line to the British throne, to attend a race awareness course after being caught on video calling a Pakistani fellow-cadet a 'Paki.'
Furious army chiefs have told the 24-year-old British royal to attend an equality and diversity course, the Mirror reported Thursday. It will be the second time Harry has had lessons on how not to be racist since joining the Army.
Kings and queens exist in cards, not Bollywood: KareenaFebruary 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor is not vying for the crown of Bollywood queen despite her hit performances and high profile brand endorsements because she feels that kings and queens only exist in a pack of playing cards. 'I think kings and queens are in cards, not in Bollywood,' Kareena told reporters at an event here Saturday.
British queen's former butler jailed for child abuseDecember 22nd, 2008 LONDON - A former butler to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II was sentenced by a court in Manchester city Monday to at least six years in prison for child abuse. Paul Kidd was found guilty of abusing underaged boys and possessing more than 18,000 images of child pornography.
Loading ...