BNP membership list closed over race bias

The British National Party was today barred from taking new members after a judge ruled its constitution could discriminate against non-white people.

Judge Paul Collins issued an injunction ordering the far right group to comply with race equality laws. He said: "The membership list will have to be closed until then."

Under the injunction, prospective BNP members will not in future have to be vetted at home before they are accepted.

Last month the BNP scrapped its whites-only policy in an attempt to avoid legal sanctions brought by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

But today at Central London County Court, Judge Collins ruled: "I hold that the BNP are likely to commit unlawful acts of discrimination within section 1b Race Relations Act 1976 in the terms on which they are prepared to admit persons to membership under the 12th addition of their constitution."

Today's judgment found that, while it is not unlawful to hold discriminatory views, it is unlawful for such principles to be used for controlled entry to a political party, the EHRC said.

Susie Uppal, director of legal enforcement at the commission, said after the judgment: "The commission is glad that today's judgment confirms our view that both the BNP's 11th constitution and the amended 12th constitution are unlawful.

"Political parties, like any other organisation, are obliged to respect the law and not discriminate against people who wish to become members.

"The BNP will now have to take the necessary steps to ensure that it complies with the Race Relations Act.

"This matter could have been resolved last year by the BNP changing its constitution properly, rather than believing that it could find a way round discrimination laws so that it appeared to be open to members regardless of their ethnicity, while in practice continuing to prevent them from joining."

Mr Griffin had been met with angry scenes as he arrived at court, with a small group of protesters chanting "Nazi scum".

Speaking earlier, he said: "The constitution was always legal."

During a day of legal submissions on Tuesday, the BNP was accused of "indirectly" discriminating against black and Asian people.

The party denied the allegations and said it had a "waiting list" of black and Asian people and would welcome more applications from ethnic minorities.

Following the change in the constitution, millionaire Asian businessman Mo Chaudry said he would apply to join the party to "fight them from the inside". But he was told his application would be blocked.

Mr Chaudry, 49, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, said earlier: "They have no real intention of allowing people like me into the fold. It is just a camouflage to appease the system."

Pakistan-born Mr Chaudry, who is worth £60 million, runs a string of businesses around Stoke-on-Trent, which has eight BNP members on the city council.

The decision to change the BNP constitution came after the far-right party held an extraordinary general meeting in Essex on February 14.

Following the meeting, Mr Griffin said he soon expected to welcome the party's first non-white member, Sikh Rajinder Singh.

Speaking after the judgment, Mr Griffin said: "It's opened a very dangerous door and it is a huge change to the unwritten constitution of Britain.

"They are claiming that they have been granted the right to interfere in what a party believes but the only people who have the right to judge are the electorate."

He said the ruling was "more than symbolic", adding: "It has given an organ of the state the power to interfere in the aims and objectives of any political party."

Mr Griffin said there were about 7,000 people on the waiting list to join the party, including "a number of ethnic minorities".

"It is only a couple of each," he said, adding that there were two Chinese people on the list, several Sikhs and several West Indians.

He said that if the party was forced to pay £60,000 in costs it would have "some effect" on the general election campaign "but not a huge amount".

Mr Griffin said the ruling was "utterly bizarre" and would mean the party was not allowed to require prospective members to agree with its principles.

But he said people like Mr Chaudry would still not be able to join.

He said: "These people are wanting to join for a confrontation so he is not a suitable member.

"If anyone is joining us to cause trouble then they are always going to be removed from the party."

Weyman Bennett, general secretary of Unite Against Fascism, said: "The BNP were exposed for what they are, which is a racist and illegal party.

"The cosmetic changes that Nick Griffin tried to make were exposed as not being honest.

"I believe the BNP wants to pervert our democracy in order to introduce racist policies into the mainstream."

Mr Griffin avoided the clutch of protesters and media outside the court by leaving via a back entrance.

The judgment was a "devastating personal humiliation" for Mr Griffin, anti-BNP campaign group Searchlight said.

A spokesman said: "His desperate attempt to give the BNP a veneer of respectability in time for the general election has been torn to shreds.

"The BNP has been proven in court to be as racist and extremist as ever."

Responding to the judgment, Mr Chaudry said: "This was the only decision that could have been made today. There was no alternative."

He laughed off the label of "troublemaker" and said: "All I can say is that I think I've made my point. I'm not a troublemaker, I just want justice."

He said he hoped he inspired the "silent majority" to "get off their backsides and vote".

He added: "They are going to have to tone down their racist element.

"(The ruling) has proved they have absolutely no intention of allowing people of ethnic origin to become members."