Griffin demands BNP leak probe

Thousands of members of the British National Party are living in fear after their details were posted on the internet. As well as names, the addresses, mobile numbers and job titles of members are all contained on the list. It shows the far-right BNP has soldiers, police officers, teachers, prison officers and even a vicar among its members. Party's spokesman Simon Darby said they had contacted bosses at a company involved with the blog to warn them of the consequences if it was not taken down. He said: "We made representations to the offices of the company involved, stating the implications of what was happening and it seems to have worked." BNP leader Nick Griffin said: "We'll be asking the police to investigate. It's a list which is now just over a year old." He added: "Having spent a lot of money to secure our members' privacy we are disappointed that it's been breached." In a statement on the BNP website, Mr Griffin described the publication as "a disgraceful act of treachery" by former BNP staff members who had subsequently been sacked. He said that he had lodged a complaint with Dyfed-Powys police on the grounds that the publication breached human rights and data protection laws. According to the BNP, the published list is based on its 2007 membership list although a number of names of people who were not or are not party members had been added. Earlier this year, the party said that it obtained an injunction at the High Court in Manchester banning any publication of the list. The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) last night confirmed that serving police officers were not allowed to be members of the BNP. "Membership or promotion of the BNP by any member of the police service, whether police officer or police staff, is prohibited," said Peter Fahy, Greater Manchester Police chief constable and Acpo's workforce development spokesman. "This is because such membership would be incompatible with our duty to promote equality under the Race Relations Amendment Act and would damage the confidence of minority communities. "Whilst the policy may have been controversial at the time it was enacted, in 2004, it has since been accepted by all staff and staff associations and remains unchallenged thus far."

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ITN | November 19, 2008

Tags:. .injunction. .treachery. .vicar. .darby. .disgraceful