BBC condemned for BNP appearance

Security at BBC Television Centre will be tight as British National Party leader Nick Griffin arrives to record Question Time later. Anti-fascist activists will picket the building all day and step up their demonstration ahead of the filming of the programme in the early evening. Mr Griffin and his supporters want to avoid a repeat of the ugly scenes that erupted outside Parliament in June when protesters pelted them with eggs and chased them down the street. At one stage there were plans to hire a helicopter to transport the BNP leader to Television Centre in west London, party spokesman Simon Darby said. But they were scrapped after it emerged there was no helipad near the studio where Question Time is being filmed. Mr Darby said the BNP would not rely on help from the Metropolitan Police to get Mr Griffin safely inside the building: "We've got security in hand - we will sort our own security out," he said. Mr Darby insisted there would be no counter-demonstration by the BNP outside Television Centre, saying: "We've got no reason to protest. We're in there and that's it." Scotland Yard said it was working with the BBC on arrangements for the arrival and entry of Mr Griffin and the other four panellists on the show. It said there was a "proportionate policing plan" for panellists' arrival and noted that security within Television Centre was a matter for the corporation. Question Time is filmed several hours before it is broadcast as if it were live, although sometimes sections can be edited out for legal or taste reasons before being aired.

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ITN | October 22, 2009

Tags:. .arrangements. .evening. .scenes. .noted. .helipad