Below is a letter we have written to the Director General of the BBC and the head of news.
Dear Mr Thompson,
A call for better scrutiny of the British National Party on the BBC
I am writing to complain about BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat interview with the BNP on Wednesday 30th September 2009.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00mwtbg/Newsbeat_30_09_2009/
Nothing British is an anti-racism campaign seeking to promote gentle British values of tolerance, fair-play and respect for one another. Unlike other anti-racist campaigns we believe that the BBC’s brave decision to allow the BNP a platform is the right one. As democrats we believe it is vital for the BBC to remain impartial, particularly in today’s world. But impartiality is not the same as saying that racism and obscurantism should be left unchallenged.
Yesterday’s interview with the BNP depressingly revealed the plummeting standards of journalism at the BBC in recent years.
Unfortunately, listeners to yesterday’s programme were provided with no context about the two “young BNP” members Mark Collett and Joey Smith. With such a sensitive subject as the BNP, a party mired in criminality and extremist views and violence, framing is important because listeners must not be left with false impressions. But Messrs Collett and Smith were presented to viewers of your web site and listeners to the programme as being “ordinary lads” with simply unorthodox political views.
Mark Collett is not an “ordinary lad” with eccentric and naïve beliefs. As a member of the BNP for over seven years and current Head of BNP Publicity, Mr. Collett is a relatively senior member of the party. And yet, his close associations with up and coming European neo-Nazis were completely ignored. Listeners were not informed about Mr. Collett’s intolerant views on homosexuals, Jews, non-whites and Muslims. No background was provided on his admiration for Adolf Hitler, his disgust for Winston Churchill and his respect for the late Ian Stewart Donaldson, founder of the violent neo-Nazi organization Blood and Honour and former lead singer of the hate rock group “Screwdriver”.
Debbie Randal’s interview with Nick Griffin lacked any suitable scrutiny or criticism of his views on social cohesion, BNP policies or his strong links with international neo-Nazi parties such as Hungary’s Jobbik, Germany’s National Democratic Party (who were recently responsible for beating up a black Briton in Hamburg in front of his wife and three year old child) and individuals such as David Duke, the former head of the KKK, and Don Black in America.
The analysis provided by Dave Howard, Radio 1 political editor, was insufficient and inaccurate. Mr. Howard said the interview revealed how the BNP had more to offer than their “tough immigration line”. The BNP are not just an “anti-immigrant” reactionary party. It is a party whose policies are based entirely on racial hygiene theories dressed up as reasonableness and masked in respectability. The interview totally failed to mention this and left the distorted impression of the BNP being a modern and mainstream party.
We sincerely hope that in future interviews when the BNP are rightfully provided a platform the BBC provides a more robust format, just as you would with mainstream political parties.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and I look forward to hearing your reply.
Yours sincerely,
James Bethell
Director
how unBritish to try and stamp out any debate; Freedom of Expression no longer lives in the UK
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We don’t give freedom of speech to people who will quite happily take it away if they gain power. Those people hate my loved ones and would quite happily see people like me who are in interracial relationships dead.
To be honest I couldn’t give a flying one for freedom of expression when much more serious issues are at stake.
AussieAI, keep your racist freedom of speech for your own country mate, everyone knows how Australia treats non-whites.
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Mark D
I’m a BNP supporter,i don’t care what colour you are, if you love YOUR country the way us Nationalists do,then colour has nothing to do with it.
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marc d , fair dinkum you’re a moron, we treat non whites with preferential treatment, you only have to look at our refugee policy in the last 40 years; we stupidly abandoned the white australia policy invited millions from the world over who now treat us with disdain… sounds like , well it sounds like britain
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[...] More coverage: New Statesman, Harry’s Place, Love Music Hate Racism, Stroppyblog, The F Word, Nothing British. [...]
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Thanks for that I would have missed it otherwise!
But honestly this is a fuss over nothing & what was said here, has been said before.
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‘how unBritish to try and stamp out any debate; Freedom of Expression no longer lives in the UK’
But thats what the main 3 partys are un-British. Also none of the parties that the BNP are supposed to have strong links to are neo-nazi, lets stop using these words when you dont agree with someones opinion, its a bit pathetic now. Especialy when the tories are supposed to be in bed with so called neo-nazi’s in the EU.
The letter is full of stupid buzz words.
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I find the Labour/Tory Party to be abhorrent, racist, repugnant, odious, lying, traitorous,self hating war criminals. The BNP are the party of luuurrve. They love Britain whereas middle class commies hate it. Vote BNP to make things better and don’t believe all the stupid media scare stories.
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The ‘no-platform’ stance has been overtaken by events.
Like it or not the BNP has gained a platform, and it seems to me that anti-racists now have a duty to make that platform as uncomfortable and unstable as possible.
Freedom of speech comes with responsibilty and accountability.
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This is disingenuous, you are not an ‘anti-racist’ – you are anti-BNP. This would make your focus entirely party political except that your emphasis is on the racial make-up of the BNP’s membership and its focus on defending the interests of Britain’s native peoples. Since that emphasis is uniquely targeted at the single organisation devoted to the interests of those peoples, and since you absolutely ignore the hundreds of organisations devoted to the interests of other peoples, you are objectively racist.
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again fellist
the double standards of these people lies bare and naked, but they consider themselves to be morally superior and therefore their hypocricy is to be ignored. All i can say is that the arguments of the BNP seem to be appealing to a wider audience and it has the pc established parties rattled.
Go BNP, someone has to have the guts to rally against the wave of third world immigration engulfing the developed world.
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its like a klan meeting in here…..mark d you are not included in this mate
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This letter is smacks of un Britishness, its been written by a spoilt child stamping his feet in the playground screaming “its not fair”! Grow up James in a democracy there are many different views and opinions which all should be heard and which you may dislike. Many Labour Mps like Peter Hain have been communists or SWP thugs in the past. These are totally un British extremist parties but I dont see you campaigning to have them “exposed” and they are in parliament. Why dont you just admit along with rest of Britains anti racist industry and pc brigade that you only want freedom of speech for those who share your narrow vision of the world and that you justify your organisations existence by scaremongering, spinning and exagerating about the threat of the far right. If the BNP where not around you would find somebody else like the English Democrats or UKIP to hound with your political commissar scare stories. If only you showed the same interest in exposing militant Islam then maybe you could have done something worthwhile and helped prevent the the 7/7 terror attacks. It seems that whenever Islamic extremism appears the British anti racist industry melts away, this is because they wont criticise anyboby who is from a minority or any problems that have been directly caused by multiculturalism. You are anti racist when it suits you.
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now there is a sensible individual, not affected by the lsd or whatever you have taken today sam
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boring racist propaganda ausietwat lsd died out in the 70s
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bet you took more than your fair share
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in the 70s,when i was 4,see us scots mental bastards
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Before going on to share his hate-filled fantasies Mark D. wrote:
We don’t give freedom of speech to people who will quite happily take it away if they gain power.
Think about it Marky boy, we already did. That is the very thing you’re here defending.
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Mark D
With the greatest of repect what gives you the right to decide what freedoms of expression should or should not be allowed and what the “serious” issues are to sacrifice it for. You sound like Stalin or Hitler who regularly ranted against freedom of expression in order to “protect” their people from corruption. By the way Australia is a great country and democracy and to generalise it as a racist nation is on par with Mark colletts generalisations about ethnicity. If it is so racist why do thousands of refugees try to enter it every year? I suspect that you cannot cope with views that do not match your own an so try to create a moral argument to restrict them. Really you have more in common with Mark Collet than you think.
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and believe me Universal Freedom of speech, we in australia are a very patient, easygoing and accepting people: we believe in giving people a fair go and applaude success stories. But the silent majority is getting sick and tired of migrants who trumpet the multicultural card and demand things that prevous migrants did not.
for example.. in a small country town in victoria, which opened up to iraqi refugees years ago, the iraqis are demanding a day when only their women can use the public swimming pool due to their cultural cringe regarding women in the public eye. So if you are a young man , stuck 200 miles from the beach, on a hot day you might not be able to use the PUBLIC swimming pool, least you tread on the cultural sensibilities of recent immigrants. Who by the way, have received very generous handouts from the PUBLIC purse.
thank you for your kind sentiment regarding my dry brown land
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thankfully the majority of aussies arent like you,struth you whinge like a sheila when the painters are in
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Awww, did James throw his toys out of the pram when Nick Griffin stood up to scrutiny? Bless
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your promoting gentle British values of tolerance, fair-play and respect for one another.? have you read your own articals. LOL Do you take medication? If you don’t you need to.
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tracy,same auld shite hen,same auld shite
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Ere Aussie Al
Have you ever thought of coming back to Blighty to stand as a BRITISH NATIONALIST,we need patriotic guys like you who still care about this country even though you are 24000 miles? away,Christ we’ve got people 2 miles away who don’t care as much as you do.God Bless ya mate…………..i SUPPOSE ITS A BAR B QUE TODAY EH.
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Seriously? What’s up with all the racist twats in here?
@Margaret Wilson, The BNP may love the country, but they hate the people! they want to live in a fantasy land where St George (who wasn’t english) sits on the throne.
@AussieAl, if you guys treat non whites so well, why did you try to wipe of the Aborigines?
@fellist, the BNP are racists, therefore anti-bnp = anti-racist.
Simply put, the BNP are stupid, evil and should be destroyed. Not all viewpoints are equally valid, a belief that lead to all this creationist and so-called “intelligent design” nonsense. Lies and stupidity need to be pointed out and stopped from being spread.
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frankie d legend
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Frankie D
Twat yourself!
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Frankie D post is the best one ive read on here EVER
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Sam
To borrow from McEnroe “You cannot be serious”!
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to borrow a quote from Andy Murray”who will i support in the world cup?anyone thats playing England”
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& I back anyone playing Andy Murray!
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he is a big crabbitt so and so .
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[...] The F Word Stroppyblog Pickled Politics Sarah Ditum’s Paperhouse 853 blog Harry’s Place Nothing British about the BNP Lenin’s Tomb Ms Kitton Time Out … and perhaps [...]
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[...] The F Word Stroppyblog Pickled Politics Sarah Ditum’s Paperhouse 853 blog Harry’s Place Nothing British about the BNP Lenin’s Tomb Ms Kitton Time Out … and perhaps [...]
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[...] The F Word Stroppyblog Pickled Politics Sarah Ditum’s Paperhouse 853 blog Harry’s Place Nothing British about the BNP Lenin’s Tomb Ms Kitton Time Out … and perhaps [...]
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[...] The F Word Stroppyblog Pickled Politics Sarah Ditum’s Paperhouse 853 blog Harry’s Place Nothing British about the BNP Lenin’s Tomb Ms Kitton Time Out … and perhaps [...]
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“to borrow a quote from Andy Murray”who will i support in the world cup?anyone thats playing England”
It is like when Germany plays Argentina, you want the ref to win.
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[...] October Nothing British wrote to the BBC’s Director General and the head of BBC News to complain about the shoddy [...]
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