BNP City Hall official meets neo-fascists at Euro summit
antifa | 14.04.2009 18:34
A BRITISH National Party official at City Hall came under fire today after he attended a conference where European neo-fascists gave Nazi salutes.
Simon Darby, who works at the Greater London Authority at the expense of the London taxpayer, was pictured at the event in Milan last week.
Simon Darby, who works at the Greater London Authority at the expense of the London taxpayer, was pictured at the event in Milan last week.
He appeared alongside French National Front MEP Bruno Gollnisch and Italian far-Right MEP Roberto Fiore to discuss policies ahead of June's European Parliament elections.
Mr Gollnisch was convicted in 2007 of Holocaust denial after he questioned the existence of the gas chambers.
Mr Fiore, leader of the Forza Nuova party, was hunted by police after the Bologna station massacre in which 85 people died in 1980. Far-Right terrorists were blamed for the attack.
He was later cleared of involvement but convicted of "subversive association" and sentenced to nine years in prison.
Mr Darby, aide to BNP London Assembly member Richard Barnbrook, today insisted there was nothing wrong with him meeting the pair.
"Nelson Mandela was convicted of far worse crimes than them," he told the Evening Standard. "He was a convicted terrorist, as were Sinn Fein, who have been invited into government. So that won't wash."
When put to him that members of the conference were seen making Nazi salutes, Mr Darby replied: "I can't do anything about that. There were 500 people and three of them were caught doing that stupid behaviour."
He added: "Every time European nationalists meet up we are accused of being Nazis. I only work part-time. What I do in my spare time is up to me. I have done nothing wrong. I don't have a conviction. What have I done? Met two members of the European Parliament. Labour politicians see them a lot in the debating chamber."
When asked if he felt it was acceptable for an MEP to have denied the Holocaust, he replied: "I don't think it's right, but why don't you ask that question to these Labour and Tory MEPs who sit in the same chamber?"
Labour's leader on the London Assembly, Len Duvall, said: "People who associate with those who promote Nazi ideology and who offer simplistic solutions to some of Britain's most complex problems have no place in modern political life."
A spokesman for anti-fascist organisation Searchlight, which took the photos, said: "Darby's wages are paid by London taxpayers, and yet here he is swanning around Milan, glad-handing convicts and Holocaust deniers."
antifa
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waste of time really
14.04.2009 18:51
- he is as entitled as any other representative to travel around,
- he went to a conference where people did NAZI salutes....but he didn't do any,
- he sat in a room with holocaust deniers....but he isn't a denier himself,
- not all BNP members are actual NAZIS (in fact just a minority of the actual fascists are NAZIs, others are different brands of right wing thought)
So there isn't a whole lot to say about this really. Shame there isn't some ACTUAL information about what transpired within the meeting - such as strategies they plan to employ at the European Elections. It would have been ten times more interesting than this.
Really rather bored
shame on You, denier Yourself..
14.04.2009 19:15
Probably if You were in Milan last week, I imagine You within that room giving a Roman salute.
redflagged
FFS
14.04.2009 20:23
You're like the antifa who go round destroying musical instruments of non-fascist bands in Italy right? ( http://switzerland.indymedia.org/frmix/2008/10/63605.shtml)
Sounds about right.
You're so antifa that you see fascists everywhere - how about dealing with some real fascism, huh? Or just too pussy for that?
Anti-fascist but not retarded
and...
14.04.2009 22:06
Far right parties are thankfully very rare and rarely get any sniff of power, in the UK the BNP is a total joke and could hold a full meeting in a phone booth, its members are banned from holding possitions in the police etc and when found out are sacked, and rightly so. Not so for the far left.
Extreamism is the true evil, seek it out and destroy it, for it only serves itself not us.
reality check
stamp out extremism everywhere,destroy it everywhere???People like Mr Fiore& Gri
15.04.2009 08:28
Respect to @ll international brigades.
Italy at the moment is a joke, just like it was in the 1930's when it was thrashed by Ethopia.This time their largely on their own except for maybe Putin& the eurasian movement which ostriches need to study. Both Putin & Berlusconi try to keep their nazis well hidden, but!!. We need well organised international brigagedes prepared to do deal with it, before that though we need to hold onto what democracy we have by voting for the good candidates that support it the most in whatever democractic parties there are. The Greens, independents,cooperative labour,even conservatives like the Goldsmiths & Respect too as long as both of them rain in their CEOs & dictatorship of the proles
Green Syndicalist& Universal Democrat
Unfortunately
15.04.2009 14:44
Annie