The M62 Corridor Tinderbox -

BNP Appeals For Restraint By Media

Following four hours of clashes in Preston on Sunday evening between Asian youths from the overwhelmingly Muslim Deepdale area, white youths and the police, BBC Radio Four news announced this morning that the rioting was "between the police and a small number of BNP supporters."

The BNP's Media Monitoring Unit promptly contacted BBC local radio in the North West. BBC Radio Lancashire explained that they had already sent a correction to their colleagues in London, pointing out that the Preston police have stated that "the BNP was not involved." So far, however, Radio 4 have failed to broadcast a correction.

Local sources confirm that the trouble was sparked by a traffic accident, and spread to the Deepdale area, with a Muslim mob attacking the Deepdale Hotel in St. George's Road. The excuse that "a BNP meeting was taking place there" is neither true nor a legitimate reason for violence against any property, let alone innocent cutomers and staff.

This race riot is another example of the dangerous instability of the multiracial towns of northern England. Under these circumstances, the British National Party makes an urgent and sincere appeal to the media to stop 'winding up' tensions by running lurid anti-BNP smears based on the worthless 'testimony' of paid opposition plants and the allegations of far-left extremists.

Jounalists and editors may think that such tales will "stop the BNP" in the run up to the election on May 2nd, but they also need to remember that they cause understandable but wholly unnecessary alarm among ethnic minority communities. Among young Muslims in particular, this can very easily lead to gangs taking to the streets, collecting weapons and missiles and looking for trouble. All it then takes is one small spark and major disturbances can result in which large numbers of police officers, white civilians and gullible young rioters can be hurt. This is a very high price to pay for a smear designed to stop the British National Party getting a handful of local councillors elected.

Media-inspired tensions could easily cause a chain reaction of communal violence which would dwarf the events of last summer in Bradford, Burnley, Oldham and Leeds. The M62 corridor in particular is a tinderbox; it's time for editors to stop playing with fire. A few BNP councillors won't change the face of Britain, but will merely show the the democratic process is working by giving electors a real choice and a way to protest about things which matter in their own areas. If people don't like that, then they should get involved in elections themselves and offer a different alternative, not use smears and encourage violence to subvert democracy and deny the British people the chance to give their verdict on the multiracial experiment.