BNP councillor defends party after members burn gollywog at festival
A | 29.08.2009 09:42 | Anti-racism | Social Struggles
A BNP councillor has defended the party after members were filmed burning a gollywog and making racist comments during a festival.
Paul Golding, British National Party councillor for the St Mary’s ward in Swanley, has condemned members who were shown performing the mock trial of the gollywog.
Paul Golding, British National Party councillor for the St Mary’s ward in Swanley, has condemned members who were shown performing the mock trial of the gollywog.
A News of the World reporter filmed the ritual while undercover at the party’s Red White and Blue family festival in Derbyshire last month.
The group, which included a 12-year-old girl, dubbed the stuffed toy ‘Winston’ and charged him with being black before dropping him onto a fire.
A 12-year-old girl danges the gollywog over the fire while BNP member John Coombes laughs
One member, identified as John Coombes, of Maidenhead, Berkshire, a council candidate for that area, said: “He thinks he's not black. He's charged with being black. Get on there.”
The 45-year-old added: “Let's get a real one. In the town we'll find one or two.”
The BNP members charged the gollywog dubbed Wingston with being black before throwing it onto a fire
Police in Derbyshire have launched an investigation after seeing the video footage.
A spokeswoman said: “Officers will be contacting the newspaper which alleges that an undercover reporter witnessed unlawful activity while at the event.”
Cllr Golding, who was elected in February, says the views of the people involved in the mock trial are not representative of the BNP.
He said: “If you subtract these morons from our 13,000 members it is something like 0.01 per cent of the party.
BNP Councillor for the St Mary's ward of Swanley claimed Helen Forster had never been a member of his party, but she was registered as a member and activist under the name Helen Colclough
“They are all being disciplined and it will be very severe, if not being kicked out of the party.”
The News of the World article claims members gave Nazi-style salutes and shouted Sieg Heil, and music with racist lyrics supporting Hitler was played.
Cllr Golding said he was at the festival but was not aware of the racist activity, and he says the party is not racist.
Party leader MEP Nick Griffin was also at the event, which was attended by around 1,200 BNP supporters.
He said the party will be organised to give non-whites no power if new legislation forces it to allow them to become members, the article alleges.
Cllr Golding says the BNP is for white British people, so there would be no reason for non-whites to join other than to cause trouble within the party.
Last month News Shopper revealed that a Gravesend woman convicted of intimidating an Asian mother was a member of the BNP, after Cllr Golding made a video stating she was not.
Helen Forster, aged 32, of Park Place, denied being a member in the video posted on YouTube and the BNP website, but she was registered under a different surname - Colclough.
Cllr Golding says he was unaware Forster was a member of the party under a different name at the time of making the video.
Go to newsoftheworld.co.uk to see the video of the mock trial.
The group, which included a 12-year-old girl, dubbed the stuffed toy ‘Winston’ and charged him with being black before dropping him onto a fire.
A 12-year-old girl danges the gollywog over the fire while BNP member John Coombes laughs
One member, identified as John Coombes, of Maidenhead, Berkshire, a council candidate for that area, said: “He thinks he's not black. He's charged with being black. Get on there.”
The 45-year-old added: “Let's get a real one. In the town we'll find one or two.”
The BNP members charged the gollywog dubbed Wingston with being black before throwing it onto a fire
Police in Derbyshire have launched an investigation after seeing the video footage.
A spokeswoman said: “Officers will be contacting the newspaper which alleges that an undercover reporter witnessed unlawful activity while at the event.”
Cllr Golding, who was elected in February, says the views of the people involved in the mock trial are not representative of the BNP.
He said: “If you subtract these morons from our 13,000 members it is something like 0.01 per cent of the party.
BNP Councillor for the St Mary's ward of Swanley claimed Helen Forster had never been a member of his party, but she was registered as a member and activist under the name Helen Colclough
“They are all being disciplined and it will be very severe, if not being kicked out of the party.”
The News of the World article claims members gave Nazi-style salutes and shouted Sieg Heil, and music with racist lyrics supporting Hitler was played.
Cllr Golding said he was at the festival but was not aware of the racist activity, and he says the party is not racist.
Party leader MEP Nick Griffin was also at the event, which was attended by around 1,200 BNP supporters.
He said the party will be organised to give non-whites no power if new legislation forces it to allow them to become members, the article alleges.
Cllr Golding says the BNP is for white British people, so there would be no reason for non-whites to join other than to cause trouble within the party.
Last month News Shopper revealed that a Gravesend woman convicted of intimidating an Asian mother was a member of the BNP, after Cllr Golding made a video stating she was not.
Helen Forster, aged 32, of Park Place, denied being a member in the video posted on YouTube and the BNP website, but she was registered under a different surname - Colclough.
Cllr Golding says he was unaware Forster was a member of the party under a different name at the time of making the video.
Go to newsoftheworld.co.uk to see the video of the mock trial.
A
Comments
Hide the following 8 comments
yep
29.08.2009 16:55
By infidel they mean me and people like me
I never hear leftists complaining about that. Hypocrisy perhaps?
Wouldn't it be better for leftists to complain about the BNP -AND- the other hate mongerers?
Max
?so whilst BNP & griffin applauded fundamentalist islam in the 80s& 90s
29.08.2009 17:48
What twisted world do live in max??
""Expressing his support for Muslim fundamentalism (which the BNP now paradoxically deplores) Griffin wrote in National Front News that “common interest must be turned into practical cooperation” and that he and his colleagues were not afraid “to be seen standing side by side with Third Way nations such as Libya and Iran.” Griffin also backed black separatist Louis Farrakhan who likewise called for racial apartheid""
james
Whats that got to do with anything!?
29.08.2009 18:12
I never hear leftists complaining about that. Hypocrisy perhaps?
Wouldn't it be better for leftists to complain about the BNP -AND- the other hate mongerers?
Max
Max
30.08.2009 12:58
:)
Smirk
Subtracting the morons
30.08.2009 15:03
Yep - if you subtract the racist morons from the 13,000 members of the BNP only 0.01 percent of the party remain.
Statsman
I'm what you might called a "leftist" and I condemn religion
30.08.2009 15:51
You have to see that the (im)balance of power is such that Islamic extremists use guerilla warfare and terrorist tactics, but Christian extremists are all running the world and using billion dollar aircraft and bombs to kill people in their thousands.
So you have to condemn all religion. Slating Islam on its own just fuels racism and ignores the fundamental point that all religion is hierarchical brainwashing bullshit.
atheist
nice
30.08.2009 18:11
oops. I dunno!
> I'm what you might called a "leftist" and I condemn religion
Good job. But it saddens me to think that the cappuccino slurpers will protest against the BNP and others all day long, but you'll never see them around the "7/7/jihad on its way" brigade. The condemn "equally" never really seems to appear because everyone is scared of being labelled a racist. It is impossible to go out in front of a load of ranting muslims and condemn all religions equally. People will assume you are just another racist nutter.
Max
Al Quds Day
31.08.2009 21:50
Antifa-scist