The UK's most up-to-date social housing and public sector news website
Police to control anti-fascist demonstration at BNP festival
Special police powers will be used to control an anti-fascist demonstration at a British National Party festival, a police force said today.
The BNP is holding its annual Red, White and Blue festival in Denby, Derbyshire, this weekend and about 500 demonstrators are expected to attend.
Derbyshire Constabulary said today that it will use special powers under the Public Order Act 1986 to control the protest which is expected to last most of Saturday.
Only 30 protesters will be allowed to demonstrate next to the event, whilst the number of people gathering before and after a planned rally has been limited to 700.
The rally, which involves members of the group Unite Against Fascism, the TUC and Unison, will receive a police escort.
Peter Goodman, assistant chief constable of Derbyshire Constabulary, said: "We are trying to find a balance between allowing legitimate protest and maintaining public safety and minimising
inconvenience to people who live or work in the affected area.
"We hope that people will abide by the law and enjoy the opportunity of voicing their opinions in safety."
The BNP has had two requests for a licence to serve alcohol at the event, which will include a speech by the party's leader Nick Griffin, turned down by Amber Valley Borough Council after police
raised objections.
Police have also banned protesters from straying from the agreed route of the march. If they do so they face possible arrest, police said.
Weyman Bennett, spokesman for Unite Against Fascism, described the BNP event as a "hate fest".
He said: "People who make a stand against fascism should be congratulated, not restrained. They (the police) should allow as many people as possible to demonstrate."
Josie Nicholls, branch secretary of Unison in Leicestershire, said: "We want to make sure it's a safe and peaceful protest but to make it clear that the BNP aren't welcome wherever they turn
up."
Simon Darby, deputy leader of the BNP, said that up to 4,000 of his party's members would attend the festival.
He said: "It has always been a completely peaceful festival. It's a family festival, we don't want anything else. We have our kids, our wives and our girlfriends coming.
"Can you imagine the fuss if we brought 700 people to demonstrate against the Labour Party at their conference? It would be outrageous."
COMMENTS
JSmith
Commented 14 weeks ago
Did anyone notice that every single one of the anti-bnp groups are directly funded by, and expressly supported by the Labour party?
benny
Commented 14 weeks ago
Notice that it's the so-called anti-fascists who are the ones that need controlling.
How precisely does Weyman Bennett know that the festival is a "hate fest" when he's never been to it? Perhaps his Unite Against Fascism (aka "Unite in favour of Communism") meetings are hate fests?
There has never been any trouble at the Red, White and Blue festival yet the police fear there might be this year and coincidentally it's the first year that the communists are staging a demonstration. I think we can all draw our conclusions from that.
Why don't these communists go to Zimbabwe instead and protest there against Mugabe's murderous communist regime? Or course they wouldn't dare because there's no freedom of speech under a communist regime.
JohnBaker68 http://www.uaf.org.uk
Commented 14 weeks ago
What a shame that the police continue to side with the fascists over the anti-fascists. But then, it stands to reason that the establishment would side with those anti-progressive forces who, like them, choose the gutter tactic of 'divide and rule' rather than those who preach 'an injury to one is an injury to all'. The BNP are the state's useful little idiots and the police will be there in full force tomorrow to protect them tomorrow against those who oppose racism and bigotry. You do not even have to read between the lines here to see that is what they are doing - they have proudly admitted it.
As for the previous comment - I for one do NOT support the Labour party so keep your cheap ignorant stereotypes to yourself.
See you tomorrow fellow protesters!
Please Login to comment
To comment you must be logged in. You can either Login or Register