The leader of the British National Party remained defiant tonight after being questioned on suspicion of inciting racial hatred. Nick Griffin claims his arrest this morning was part of a government campaign to "demonise" his party."This is an electoral scam to get the Muslim block vote back to the Labour Party," he said after being bailed. He added: "The police have nothing to do with this. The CPS, David Blunkett, John Prescott, Tony Blair are having a go at a dangerous political rival." West Yorkshire Police arrested the 45-year-old at his home in Wales around 6.15am. He was taken to Halifax Police Station where he was shown video recordings of some of his speeches. The arrest came as part of an investigation into the BBC programme Secret Agent.
The documentary featured covertly-filmed footage showing BNP activists confessing to race-hate crimes. Mr Griffin said he had not been charged with any offence but must report back to police in March. Three Bradford men, aged 29, 33, and 23, were charged with racially aggravated intentional harassment as part of the same investigation. The trio are due to appear before Leeds Magistrates' Court on December 16.
Story on arrest: British National Party leader detained after calling Islam 'wicked faith'. |