* BNP performs perfect U-turn over Ebanks' court fund
* Accusations of theft and fraud pop up like mushrooms
The fun started when the moderators of the BNP forum, including the fake Birmingham City councillor Sharon Ebanks, resigned en masse. Lee Barnes, the BNP's resident control freak and legal beagle (because he's clearly no legal eagle) had it closed down immediately and a notice posted saying in effect that the BNP would be monitoring it ruthlessly for posts they deemed could be described as inflammatory or indeed anywhere near the edge of legality, and that the moderators would be lesser creatures, there only to do the bidding of the BNP's upper echelon.
The BNP, who drone on about freedom of speech on every possible occasion, has always denied it to its members though at the moment Nick Griffin is probably nervous about his impending court case for incitement to racial hatred in October and is no doubt anxious to avoid any potential for more charges between now and then.
Angered by their fall from grace, the moderators resigned and took their complaints to the Stormfront nazi forum which seems to be the average BNP member's second home.
The response was both immediate and vitriolic. The BNP's hypocritical public stance on freedom of speech was compared unfavourably with what it does on its own forum, which seems to be the immediate removal of dissenters and their posts as soon as they appear.
Both Griffin and Barnes came in for much angry criticism for their refusal to negotiate or even discuss anything that the membership might perceive to be a problem - but the latter caught the worst of the flak for what the rank and file see as his warped idea of white nationalism, his repeatedly-stated support for Israel in the conflict with Lebanon and the control he seems to be exerting over all aspects of BNP policy. Lee Barnes does not appear to be well-liked within the party which is a bit of a bugger really because he seems to be positioning himself for a takeover.
The BNP's unaccountably popular Sharon Ebanks, former would-be councillor for Birmingham's Kingstanding Ward, finally booted out after a long drawn-out High Court battle over the seat at a cost to the Birmingham council tax payer estimated to be around £100,000, was highly prominent in this messy weekend. It was she who asked that the news of her resignation as a moderator on the BNP forum was posted to Stormfront, thus kicking off twenty pages worth of criticism for the party and several (mostly critical) new threads. Somehow I don't think she's going to be in the party for much longer, particularly as one of the threads speculated on who should be leader of the BNP and she came a very firm second. Griffin hates competition and gets rid of it as soon as it appears to threaten him.
It wasn't long before Ebanks' supporters started going on about the 'terrible' way she had been treated over the election cock-up at Kingstanding.
A little background may be necessary here. Ebanks stood for the ward in the elections in May. She was announced as the winner though it very soon became apparent that there had been a miscount. Rather than stand down and reap the propaganda rewards of the council's incompetence, Ebanks - on party advice - stayed to fight. Of course she lost and was left with a legal bill of roughly £5000. The BNP appealed to its members, raising roughly £7000.
Her mistreatment was that the party had allegedly told her that it would not be footing the bill for the case, thus posing the questions; 'Why not?' and 'What happened to the £7000?'
Party members were even more annoyed to hear that Ebanks had had to resort to selling her own goods to pay the bill - though I have to say this seems unlikely as he councillor's allowance alone for the short period she held the seat would have been something approaching £3000. Nevertheless, the claim was made and the questions asked. This sparked off a huge amount of furious posts on Stormfront - many hinting at long-term fraud and theft within the party and mostly pointing the finger at Griffin himself as the sponge that's eternally soaking up party funds - some of which spun off to become articles in their own right on other websites. For instance, Northwest Nationalist's blog ran this:
'BNP Head Office using party funds fraudulently........................
We are receiving a fair few reports of this coming in from all over the Country. Of course, this has always been so, Nick Griffin started the money scams with his AFFORDABLE CARS venture using BNP party monies. He has never stopped ripping off the poor old BNP party members.
There will be more on this very soon..........................
The BNP collection for the BOADICEA bus ?
The BNP collecting for help to legally represent Nick Griffin and Mark Collett, when I understand, they both receive 'Legal Aid' for their Race case in Leeds.
There is also some talk about a fund for Sharon Ebanks that was/is still being collected, due to having won/not won the Kingstanding, Birmingham ward in the recent elections. Ebanks has been left with a fairly hefty bill apparently.
Another nationalist that was 'left in the lurch' was the popular Tess Culnane from London. She was left with a whopping bill of six figures, after a Court case battle , when she had stood in an election.
There is still 'bad blood' from the very first RED/WHITE/BLUE Festival in Clitheroe. Apparently a bill for over £1,000 + was never paid to a local member and his hotel, in the town by Nick Griffin.
Nick Griffin also has used many ruses in order to have his ever expanding farmhouse and family home built and renovated.
The TRAFALGAR Club is another nice little earner/sluch fund for the Griffin clan.
I have a document by old Walter Carr who was the Hereford - Worcester BNP Organiser from 2000. mentioning all this. Things haven't changed under Mr. Griffin.
Being as Nick Griffin has been made a bankrupt on at least one occasion, he should never be allowed around the BNP funds'
The result of all this fuss was a post stating that Ebanks had been told that her legal bill would after all be paid by the party. Mysteriously, one post suggested (or tried to suggest but was largely ignored) that Ebanks had been told about this reversal the day before all the fuss started. Damage limitation anyone? Curiously, the forum has been put back up too, though the old moderators are out and the new hierarchy appears to be in place and ready to censor as and when they deem it necessary.
The upshot of all this is that the populist British National Party has made itself extremely unpopular with its membership by denying them free speech on the forum, by refusing to pay what they promised to pay (then backtracking), by mistreating one of the more prominent figures in the party and by apparently attempting to steal or at least redirect money donated by its members for a specific cause. All of this in a single (long) weekend. There's efficiency for you.
All of this has caused and will cause a whole bunch of problems for Griffin and his little gang of chums at the top of the party. Disgruntled members will be watching very closely and won't miss an apportunity to have a go at Griffin and the appalling Barnes whenever the opportunity arises. More power to them.
Comments
Hide the following 7 comments
More shenannigans on Stormfront
02.09.2006 19:59
Most of the interesting threads about the BNP have now been closed by Andy Robertson (John Joy Tree) over at Stormshite and a thread garnering support for the newly-proscribed Keith Axon has been closed too. Another thread by some nazi calling himself Stone Cold (is that Chris Hill?) which suggested everyone stopped donating to the BNP or supporting them in any way until all this chaos was resolved was also closed and Stone Cold has had his account disabled. All is chaos!!! So much for the BNP's love of free speech. LOL
Meanwhile, over at VNN, Fat Sid is also closing threads that are too critical of the BNP and banning people who say too much against it. Looks like Sid's all the way up Griffin's butt.
JH
Homepage:
http://82.69.12.18/lancasteruafblog/
newsflash: nazis arent democratic.
03.09.2006 00:24
the extreme left dont like criticism any more than the extreme right
funny that, you all seem to like criticising each other though
birds of a feather flock together
left wing freak
swp democracy
03.09.2006 00:32
nor are new labour or tony blair
why dont the uaf campaign against these terrible people opposing democracy
fuck the swp
Another pointless post
04.09.2006 09:41
Whatever the BNP does they are criticised by people on here. Just watch now i will be accused of being a troll.
It laughable that the finances of the BNP is being discussed. They dont take money from British tax payers and give it to the super rich like New labour. But you wont get the people on here criticising that and campaigning against labour.
Hypocrisy in a word.
Grant
"Another pointless post"
04.09.2006 18:26
Bacon Slicer
What a relief!
05.09.2006 11:36
John C, you really are a cunt.
The Present Occupier
Sharon Ebanks update
19.10.2006 23:38
PO BOX 158
Deeside
Flintshire
CH5 2WW
Tel 0870 7515296 Mob 07815 146712 BRITAIN FIRST!
E-Mail:
Steel & Hamish Solicitors
12 Baylis Road
Waterloo
London
SE1 7AA
19th October 2006
Your Ref: GDS/DTT/30781-0035
Re: Election Petition- Kingstanding Ward, for Sharon Ebanks
Dear Sir,
Thankyou for your letter of the 16th of October. After making enquiries it appears there has been a misunderstanding.
The British National Party has no legal agreement with Sharon Ebanks to meet any payments on her behalf for costs awarded against her by the court. You will have to pursue this matter directly with her.
Yours Faithfully,
John Walker
National Treasurer.
Dear Mrs Ebanks,
I am surprised to have received the attached letter from the treasurer
of the BNP.
In view of this refusal to pay, would you please let me have the funds
as ordered by the court, and to assist I will extend the time such that
I must receive the funds within the next 7 days. If this is not received
I will be forced to commence enforcement proceedings for recovery. As
this is effectively a court judgment I think it correct to inform you
that bankruptcy proceedings is an option that is open in addition to the
usual routes for recovery.
Yours sincerely,
Gerald Shamash
So for the last couple of days there has been a frantic whip round trying to raise another 5 grand to pay the bill. A lot of the rank and file of the party are not happy and there is already talk of setting up independent BNP groups away from the control of Griffin and Barnes.
BNP members do have to ask themselves what is happening to the money they donate. The Victory Bus, the cars, the trafalger club, £70.000 spent on entertainment ect and all the rest.
P.O.D