In an article entitled 'Councillor faces enquiry over BNP', the BBC today states that 'a Lincolnshire councillor has been suspended from the county's Racial Equality Council (REC) over his links to the British National Party'. It goes on to say that the Conservative councillor, Robert West, who is on South Holland District Council, is being investigated by his party, and includes the statement; 'The REC said allegations he addressed a BNP meeting are wholly incompatible with its aims and objectives.'

Vice chairman of the REC, Sidney McFarlene, said: "A motion to suspend Mr West from the council was put before the district council and was not even seconded. But if they won't do it, then we will do it ourselves. What is particularly concerning is that he was suspended by the local Conservative association but subsequently reinstated while still being investigated by the national party.'

West has got some peculiar ideas, not the least of which is his view that the public has misjudged the BNP. Referring to his relationship with his own party, he says; 'I do not subscribe to the idea I should have to get my every move and action passed by those at the top.'

Robert West is far from simply being a councillor who just happened to attend a BNP meeting. He is in fact, the spokesperson for the BNP front group, Christian Council of Britain (when he calls himself 'Reverend' Robert West), set up to enable the fascist party to jump on any Christian-related campaign (like the anti-'Jerry Springer - the Opera' campaign) and as a so-called balance to the Muslim Council of Britain. The real Christian group who actually are organising the anti-Jerry Springer campaign have stated clearly that the BNP is unwelcome, whether as the BNP or in the Christian Council of Britain disguise.

West has also been rather more active within the BNP than he lets on. He has appeared at a number of BNP-organised functions, has formally addressed at least one BNP meeting, appeared (complete with megaphone and clerical dog collar) among the BNP crowd at the opening day of the trial against Nick Griffin and Mark Collett at Leeds Crown Court and (allegedly) attended last year's Red, White and Blue festival - the white nationalist holiday event where BNP members and hangers-on and their chums from Combat 18 and the National Front congregate to get pissed, tell racist jokes, generally make merry and attack each other.

The Christian Council of Britain has been proven to be linked to the BNP in a number of ways but the clincher came when it was discovered that the domain name for the Christian Council of Britain is registered to a Steve Blake (coincidentally, the registrar of the BNP's own domain name). According to Labour MP Tom Watson's website, Steve Blake imported hardcore Nazi material from the US in the 1980s.

In response to this, West still defends the BNP. He claims that it has been portrayed unfairly. 'The image of them as racist thugs is not the reality,' he says.

The BNP has been very defensive about West's organisation. In one of his peculiar columns on the party website, the British National Party's Press Officer Phil Edwards has attempted to launch an attack on anyone who has dared criticise them. He recently attacked the radical theological thinktank Ekklesia for warning the readers of its web site that the BNP 'was attempting to employ religious arguments in the run up to May's local council elections'.

Methodists recently and energetically joined in the fray stating; 'The policies of a body calling itself the Christian Council of Britain - which, according to a Methodist Church news release, is associated with the BNP - have prompted a comment from the Methodist Church to clarify the Bible's teaching on love and peace for people of all races.'

Their statement was unequivocal.

Anthea Cox, Methodist Coordinating Secretary for Public Life and Social Justice, has commented on the organisation - saying: 'I am outraged that the BNP and its allies are using Christianity to further their agenda of segregation and division. I think most Christians will be deeply affronted by this and want to speak out against such misguided extremism. We reaffirm our earlier statements that Christian belief is incompatible with any political party or philosophy that is based on hatred or treats people as inferior because of their race, beliefs or for any other reason. We are deeply concerned that some people are now appropriating Christian language and symbols for policies that are the very opposite of Christian values.'

Despite all this, West is adamant that the CCoB is a bona fide group. In a recent interview on Three Counties Radio, West had lots to say about his new group and the clear connections between it and the BNP.

'There is a link in that the BNP has encouraged and facilitated the formation of the Christian Council of Britain. They are working as facilitators. They are supporting what we do,' he said. He denied however that he himself was a member of the BNP. But, he said, the church 'arose in connection with the Nick Griffin trial.'

The presenter asked him whether his views coincided with those of the British National Party. 'The CCoB believes in the biblical teaching of nations. We should live in nations as nations' West said. 'If we are to exist as nations then we are to have our own national homelands. In our own national homelands in which our own identity has priority...The mixing of races challenges the glory of God.'

So we can safely assume that the 'Reverend' West is a white nationalist who believes in racial segregation and that he is voicing the beliefs of his 'church'.

David Cameron's new squeaky-clean and greenish Conservative party is clearly appealing to the general public - the local government elections on May 4th proved that - but that appeal will soon tarnish if it allows its members to have such close ties with what is clearly a fascist party that promotes its anti-semitic and white nationalist agenda at every opportunity. Time then that Robert West was very firmly thrown out.