Nick Griffin

See also:Nicholas Griffin (disambiguation)

Nick Griffin
Griffin at a BNP conference, 2009
President of the British National Party
In office 21 July 2014 – 1 October 2014
Chairman of the British National Party
In office 27 September 1999 – 21 July 2014
Preceded by	John Tyndall
Succeeded by	Adam Walker
Member of the European Parliament forNorth West England
In office 4 June 2009 – 2 July 2014
Preceded by	Den Dover
Succeeded by	Louise Bours
Personal details
Born	Nicholas John Griffin (1959-03-01)1 March 1959 Barnet,Hertfordshire, England
Political party	Alliance for Peace and Freedom(2015–present) British National Party(1995–2014) National Front(1974–1989)
Spouse	Jackie Griffin ​ (m.1985)​
Children	4
Alma mater	Downing College, Cambridge
Profession	Politician

Nicholas John Griffin(born 1 March 1959) is a British far-right politician who was chairman of theBritish National Party(BNP) from 1999 to 2014, and aMember of the European Parliament(MEP) forNorth West Englandfrom2009to2014.Following this, he was president of the BNP between July and October 2014, when he was expelled from the party.

Born inBarnet,Griffin was educated atWoodbridge SchoolinSuffolk.He joined theNational Frontat the age of 14 and, following his graduation from theUniversity of Cambridge,became a political worker for the party. In 1980 he became a member of its governing body, and later wrote articles for several right-wing magazines. He was the National Front's candidate for the seat ofCroydon North Westin 1981 and 1983, but left the party in 1989. In 1995, he joined the BNP and in 1999 became its leader. He stood as the party's candidate in several elections and became a member of the European Parliament for North West England in the2009 European elections.

In 1998, Griffin was convicted of distributing material likely toincite racial hatred,for which he received a suspended prison sentence. In 2006, he was acquitted of separate charges of inciting racial hatred. He has been criticised for many of his comments on political, social, ethical and religious matters, but after becoming leader of the BNP he sought to distance himself from some of his previously held positions, which includedHolocaust denial.Events where Griffin has been invited to participate in public debates or political discussions have often resulted in protests and cancellations. Since 2018, he has been the vice-president of theAlliance for Peace and Freedom.

Early life and education

The son of former Conservative councillor Edgar Griffin(who wasexpelled from the Conservatives amid accusations of racism) and his wife Jean,Nicholas John Griffin was born on 1 March 1959 inBarnetand moved toSouthwoldinSuffolkaged eight.He was educated atWoodbridge Schoolbefore winning a sixth-form scholarship to the independentSaint Felix Schoolin Southwold, one of only two boys in the all-girls school.

Griffin readAdolf Hitler'sMein Kampfwhen he was 14, and "found all but one chapter extremely boring".He joined theNational Frontin 1974, while he was still 14, though he had to pretend he was 15,and at the age of 16 is reported to have stayed at the home of National Front organiserMartin Webster.In a four-page leaflet written in 1999, Webster claimed to have had ahomosexualrelationship with Griffin, then the BNP's publicity director.Griffin has denied any such relationship.

From 1977, Griffin studied history, then law, atDowning College, Cambridge.His affiliation with the National Front was revealed during aCambridge Uniondebate, and his photograph was published in a student newspaper. He later founded the Young National Front Student organisation. He graduated with a lower second-class honours degree in law (2:2), and abo xing blue,having taken up the sport following a brawl inLewishamwith a member of an anti-fascist party.He boxed three times against Oxford in the annual Varsity match, winning twice and losing once. In an interview withThe Independent,he said he gave it up because of a hand injury. He is a fan ofRicky HattonandJoe Calzaghe,and an admirer ofAmir Khan.

Political career

1970s–1990

Following his graduation, Griffin became a political worker at the National Front headquarters.As a teenager he had accompanied his father to a National Front meeting,and by 1978, he was a national organiser for the party.He helped set up the White Noise Music Club in 1979,and several years later worked withwhite power skinheadband,Skrewdriver.In 1980, he became a member of the party's governing body, the National Directorate, and in the same year launchedNationalism Todaywith the aid ofJoe Pearce,then editor of the NF youth paperBulldog.As a National Front member, Griffin contested the seat ofCroydon North Westtwice, in the1981 by-electionand 1983 general election, securing 1.2% and 0.9% of the vote.

Membership of the National Front declined significantly following the election of theConservativesunderMargaret Thatcher.As a result, the party became more radicalised, and a dissatisfied Griffin, along with fellow NF activistsDerek HollandandPatrick Harrington,began to embrace the ideals of Italian fascistRoberto Fiore,who had arrived in the UK in 1980. By 1983, the group had broken away to form the NFPolitical Soldierfaction, which advocated a revival of country "values" and a return tofeudalismwith the establishment of nationalist communes.Writing forBulldogin 1985, Griffin praised theblack separatistLouis Farrakhan,but his comments were unpopular with some members of the party.He also attempted to form alliances with Libya'sMuammar al-Gaddafiand Iran'sAyatollah Khomeini,and praised the efforts of Welsh nationalist movementMeibion Glyndŵr.

Following a disagreement with Harrington (who subsequently formed theThird Way), and objections over the direction the party was heading, in 1989, Griffin left the National Front. Along with Holland and Fiore,he helped form theInternational Third Position(ITP), a development of the Political Soldier movement,but left the organisation in 1990.In the same year, he lost his left eye when a discarded shotgun cartridge exploded in a pile of burning wood,and since then he has worn a glass eye.The accident left him unable to work, and owing to other financial problems he subsequently petitioned for bankruptcy (the accident occurred in France, where he later lost money in a failed business project).For several years thereafter, he abstained from politics and was supported financially by his parents. He later stewarded a publicHolocaust denialmeeting hosted byDavid Irving.

1993–1999

Griffin re-entered politics in 1993and, in 1995, at the behest ofJohn Tyndall,joined theBritish National Party(BNP).He also became editor of two right-wing magazines owned by Tyndall,SpearheadandThe Rune.Referring to the election of the BNP's first councillor,Derek Beackon,at a 1993council by-election in Millwall,he wrote:

The electors of Millwall did not back a post modernist rightist party, but what they perceived to be a strong, disciplined organisation with the ability to back up its slogan "Defend Rights for Whites" with well-directed boots and fists.

Tyndall, also previously in the National Front, had founded the BNP in 1982, but his "brutal, streetfighting background" and admiration forHitlerand theNazishad made any kind of respectability impossible.In his 1999 leadership campaign, Griffin embarked on a strategy to make the party electable, by taking it away from Tyndall's extremist image. He was helped by Tyndall's lack of familiarity with the mainstream media, and in the party's September election he defeated Tyndall to become head of the BNP. One of Griffin's changes included moderating the party's emphasis on the removal of multiculturalism, a policy it claims has a destructive influence on both immigrant and British cultures.Griffin pledged to eliminate "the three Hs: hobbyism, hard talk and Hitler".This realignment was designed to position the BNP alongside successful European far-right groups, such as the FrenchFront National.Street protests were replaced by electoral campaigning, and some policies were moderated (the compulsory repatriation of ethnic minorities was instead made voluntary). Other policies included the introduction ofcapital punishmentfor paedophiles, rapists, drug dealers and some murderers, andcorporal punishmentfor less serious crimes such as juvenile delinquency. Griffin's image as a Cambridge-educated family man was in contrast to the extremist image presented by the BNP under Tyndall's leadership.In October 1999, Nick Griffin, supported byTony Lecomberstood against Tyndall for leadership of the BNP. John Tyndall received just 30% of the votes, while Griffin the majority, 70%.

2000–present

Griffin stood as his party's candidate in several English elections after joining the BNP. In 2000, he stood inWest Bromwich West,in a by-election triggered by the resignation ofBetty Boothroyd.He came fourth, with 794 votes (4.21% of those cast).Following theOldham race riotshe ran inOldham West and Roytonin the2001 general election.He received 6,552 votes (16%), coming third ahead of theLiberal Democrats,but closely behind the second placeConservatives,who received 7,076 votes.He again stood for election in theOldham Council election,for a seat representing theChaddertonNorth ward. He came second to the Labour candidate, receiving 993 votes (28%).In the2004 European Parliament election,when he was the BNP candidate for the North West England constituency,the party received 134,959 votes (6.4% of those cast), but won no seats.In the2005 general electionhe contestedKeighleyin West Yorkshire, and polled 4,240 votes (9.2%), finishing in fourth place.

Richard Barnbrook(left) and Griffin at apress conferenceoutside thePalace of Westminsterin May 2009

Griffin was the BNP candidate in the2007 Welsh National Assembly Elections,in theSouth Wales Westregion.The BNP received 8,993 votes (5.5% of those cast), behind the Labour party's 58,347 votes (35.8%).In May 2007, he was an unsuccessful candidate in theThurrock Council election.In November 2008, the entire membership list of the BNP was posted on the Internet (though the list may have included lapsed members of the party and people who had expressed an interest in joining the party, but had not signed up). Griffin claimed that he knew the identity of the individual responsible, describing him as a hard-line senior employee who had left the party in the previous year. He welcomed the publicity that the story generated, using it to describe the common perception of the average BNP member as a "skinheadoik"as untrue.

He was elected as a member of the European Parliament forNorth West Englandin the2009 European Elections.The BNP polled 943,598 votes (6.2%), gaining twoMEPs.Griffin and fellow MEPAndrew Bronswere subsequently pelted with eggs as they attempted to stage a celebratory press conference outside theHouses of Parliament.A second venue – apublic housenear Manchester – was chosen the following day. A line of police blocked a large group of protesters, who chanted "No platform for Nazi Nick" and "Nazi scum off our streets". Griffin viewed the election as an important victory, claiming that his party had been demonised and blocked from holding public meetings. "In Oldham alone there have been hundreds of thousands of pounds spent on employing bogus community workers to keep us out. To triumph against that level of pressure as a political party has never been done before."

In May 2009, he was invited by the BNP representative on theLondon Assembly,Richard Barnbrook,to accompany him to aBuckingham Palacegarden party hosted byQueen Elizabeth II.The invitation prompted objections from several organisations and public figures, including the Mayor of LondonBoris Johnson,and the anti-fascist magazineSearchlight.Griffin declined this first invitation, out of fear of embarrassing the Queen via association,but when invited personally in 2010 he accepted:

This event shows just how far this party has come in the last few years but I won't be at the Palace for myself or my family. No! I will be there to represent the patriots who made this possible; I'll be there for you. I'll be there for all the stout-hearted men and women who down through the turbulent years tramped the streets with me in all weathers knocking doors, and those who ran the gauntlets of hate wherever we went.

The Palace later decided to deny Griffin entry to the event, claiming that he had used his invitation "for party political purpose through the media", and citing security concerns. Griffin claimed the decision was an "absolute scandal", and appeared to be "a rule invented for me".

In September 2009, he appealed to party activists for £150,000 of extra funding for the BNP. In the letter, he said that the party's ailing fortunes were a direct result of "attacks on the party".He also defended questions by theElectoral Commissionabout the transparency of BNP funding.In November 2009, Griffin was a witness at the trial of an Asian man, Tauriq Khalid, atPreston Crown Court.The prosecution claimed that in November 2008 Khalid repeatedly drove past a demonstration that Griffin was attending, and on the second occasion shouted "white bastards". Khalid admitted shouting derisory comments at Griffin and other demonstrators, telling the jury he shouted "Nick Griffin, you fucking wanker" and "Get the fuck out ofBurnley,you're not welcome here ", but denied shouting" white bastard ". Griffin gave evidence against Khalid, and affirmed that Khalid had shouted" white bastard "at him. Griffin said the man" leaned out of the car and pointed at me and made a gun and gang gesture ", and that he threatened him by shouting" I'm going to... ". Griffin said he had left the demonstration early, fearing for his safety. The 23-year-old defendant denied his comments had any racial intent, and was found not guilty. Griffin later commented" I think it's unfortunate and I think it's wrong, but that's the jury's right. They saw all the evidence, I accept their decision. I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. "

In the2010 general electionhe contested theBarkingconstituency polling 6,620 votes and finishing in third place.In 2011, following the loss of many of the council seats the BNP held in England, Griffin narrowly survived a leadership challenge.

In 2010, Griffin announced that by 2013 he would stand down as leader, to focus on his European Parliament election campaign.He lost his seat in Europe in the May 2014 European electionand stepped down as BNP leader on 19 July 2014, becoming the organisation's president.But on 1 October, the party announced that it had expelled Griffin, who, it claimed, was "deliberately fabricating a crisis" and leaking "damaging and defamatory allegations".Following his departure from the BNP, he founded British Unity,which he describes as "a growing team of experienced nationalist publicists and militants". He was a founder-member of the European far-right party, theAlliance for Peace and Freedom(APF) in 2015. In 2018, a new APF board was elected with Griffin as the vice-president.

In March 2015, Griffin attended the International Russian Conservative Forum in St. Petersburg, wherein he told his audience that Christendom would either face a "terrible civil war", become an Islamist caliphate or perhaps both.

Criminal charges

1998

In 1998, Griffin was convicted of violating section 19 of thePublic Order Act 1986,relating to the offence of 'publishing or distributing racially inflammatory written material' in issue 12 ofThe Rune,published in 1996. Griffin's comments in the magazine were reported to the police byAlex Carlile,then theLiberal DemocratMember of Parliament for Montgomeryshire. Following a police raid at Griffin's home, he was charged with distributing material likely to incite racial hatred.Fellow BNP member Paul Ballard was also charged, but entered a guilty plea and did not stand trial. Griffin pleaded not guilty, and was tried atHarrow Crown Court.He called the French Holocaust denierRobert Faurissonand the nationalistOsiris Akkebalaas witnesses, was found guilty and given a nine-month sentence, suspended for two years, and a £2,300 fine. Ballard was given a six-month sentence, also suspended for two years.He said, "I am well aware that the orthodox opinion is that six million Jews were gassed and cremated and turned into lampshades. Orthodox opinion also once held that the world is flat.

Griffin claimed that the law under which he was convicted was an unjust law and he therefore had no obligation to follow it.He was secretly recorded by the ITV programmeThe Cook Reportin 1997 describing Carlile as "this bloodyJew... whose only claim is that his grandparents died in the Holocaust ".In the same programme, Griffin said of the Holocaust, "There is no doubt that hundreds, probably thousands of Jews were shot to death in Eastern Europe because they were, rightly or wrongly, seen as Communists or potential partisans or partisan supporters. That was awful. But this nonsense about gas chambers is exposed as a total lie."

Transcripts released under a 2014Freedom of Information(FOI) request byThe Guardianclaimed that everything he did could be summed up as follows: "We must secure the existence of our race and a future for white children. Everything I do is related to building a nationalist movement through which peaceful persuasion and through the ballot box can place us in a position wherebythose 14 wordscan be carried out. "He reiterated his contention of Jewish control over the media, as well as his prior stance on Holocaust denial, and said that his aim was to "[take] political power so as to be able to institute changes, to undo the population shift which has taken place since 1948 with the first Immigration Act, to peacefully and as humanely as possible reverse that and to return Britain to being a homogeneous white nation".

2004–2006

Nick Griffin andMark CollettleaveLeeds Crown Courton 10 November 2006 after being found not guilty of charges of incitement to racial hatred at their retrial.

On 14 December 2004, Griffin was arrested at his home in Wales, on suspicion of incitement to racial hatred, over remarks he made about Islam in an undercover BBC documentary titledThe Secret Agent.He was questioned at a police station inHalifax, West Yorkshire,before being freed on policebail.He said that the arrest was "an electoral scam to get the Muslim block vote back to the Labour party"and that the Labour government was attempting to influence the results of the following year's general election.

Griffin's arrest was made two days after those of John Tyndall and several other people, over remarks they had made in the same programme.Following its broadcast on 15 July 2004, the police began an investigation into the programme's contents. The following April he was charged with four offences of using words or behaviour intended or likely to stir up racial hatred.The trial began in January 2006. Griffin stood alongside fellow party activistMark Collett,who faced similar charges. Prosecuting, Rodney JamesonQCtold the jury of six speeches that the accused had made in the Reservoir Tavern in Keighley on 19 January 2004. Reading excerpts from them, he claimed that they included threatening, abusive and insulting words directed at "people of Asian ethnicity", with the intention of "stirring up racial hatred".

Griffin was also accused of calling murdered black teenagerStephen Lawrencea drug dealer and bully who stole younger pupils' dinner money.In the witness box he defended himself by quoting passages from theQur'an,saying that his comments describing Islam as a "vicious, wicked faith" were attacking not a race, but a religion. During the two-week trial he used a laptop to post daily updates on ablogon the BNP's website.In his closing address, defencebarristerTimothy KingQC said, "The British National Party is a legal, political entity. It has a right in a democratic society to put forward ideas and policies which some might find uncomfortable and some might find even offensive. There has been a tendency in this case to over-analyse speeches, to take one line here and one line there. You have got to look at the overall impact of these speeches—remember the context of each speech.

Griffin and Collett were cleared of half the charges against them—the jury remained divided on the other charges, and a retrial was ordered.On 10 November 2006, after five hours of deliberations, the jury atLeeds Crown Courtcleared them of all charges.They were met outside the court by about 200 supporters, who Griffin addressed with a megaphone. He attackedTony Blairand theBBC,and defended the BNP's right to freedom of speech.BNP Deputy ChairmanSimon Darbylater claimed that had Griffin been convicted, the BNP leader planned to go onhunger strike.

Mainstream opinion in this country will be offended by some of the statements that they have heard made. At the same time, of course, the courts make their judgements on these things. But if there is something that needs to be done to look at the law then I think we will have to do that.

Gordon Brown

Public debates

Following his election as BNP leader, Griffin was invited to participate in debates at several universities. In November 2002, theCambridge Union Societyinvited him to take part in a debate the following January. Titled "This house believes that Islam is a threat to the west", the resolution was controversial; alongside more moderate speakers, one of those invited wasAbu Hamza al-Masri,a fundamentalist Muslim cleric. Some participants threatened to withdraw, and several official bodies criticised the invitations.The two had met earlier in the year, in a debate chaired byRod Liddle,then editor ofBBC Radio 4'sTodayprogramme.He was also invited by the Cambridge Forum to a debate on extremism in December 2002, withLiberal DemocratMPLembit Öpik.The venue was changed twice after protests from property owners, but the threat of a violent confrontation between theAnti-Nazi Leagueand BNP supporters forced the president of the Cambridge Forum, Chris Paley, to cancel the event. Paley called the decision an "own goal" for the values of free speech, and Öpik criticised it, emphasising his belief in "people's right to make their own decisions in a democracy".

In February 2005, Griffin was asked to take part in a debate on multiculturalism at theUniversity of St Andrewsin Scotland. He was invited by the president of the students' debating society, who said "We believe that the only way to get the truth of what the BNP are saying and to combat them is to do it in public in a debate."The move was attacked by anti-racist groups, some of whom refused to participate in the discussion. Griffin said "I am coming up because I was invited by the students at the university because they have a debate on an intelligent subject on which I have something to say. The people against it are the usual bunch of people who cannot win the argument and refuse to stand on a platform."The society withdrew the invitation before the event was to take place.

In May 2007, Griffin was invited to address a meeting at theUniversity of Bathby politics student and BNP youth leader Danny Lake. Lake wanted Griffin to visit the university and explain the BNP's policies to lecturers and students. The invitation was viewed by some as an attempt by the party to establish a foothold on the university campus. Eleven union general secretaries wrote to the university's vice-chancellor and asked her to reconsider the decision to allow the meeting. A large protest was planned, and following students' concerns over their personal safety, the University cancelled the invitation.

Several months later, theOxford Unioninvited Griffin to speak at a forum on the limits of free speech, along with other speakers includingDavid Irving.The invitation was condemned by theEquality and Human Rights CommissionheadTrevor Phillipsand the president of the Oxford Students' Union. The Conservative MP DrJulian Lewisresigned his membership of the Union.A rally against the invitation was held at Oxford Town Hall on 20 November, and included the Oxford Students' Union president, theNational Union of Studentsblack students' officer, and theTrades Union Congresssouth east regional secretary. Representatives ofUnite Against Fascismalso attended, as well as the University of Oxford's Jewish student chaplain. Several Holocaust survivors spoke at the rally. Stephen Altmann-Richer, co-president of the Oxford University Jewish Society, said "I don't think these people should be invited to the Oxford Union, by having them speak, it legitimises their views..."On the night of the debate, about 50 protesters forced their way into the venue, and a crowd of hundreds gathered outside carrying banners bearing anti-racist slogans and voicing anti-BNP chants. Police blocked the entrances to the building, and removed the protesters encamped inside. Griffin was accompanied into the premises by security guards. The event was eventually split between two rooms, with Griffin speaking in one, and Irving in the other; many Union Society members were unable to gain access. Although many present found the debate objectionable, some were supportive of both Griffin and Irving's right to freedom of speech. The Oxford Union later endorsed the debate as a success.

Griffin travelled to the United States and spoke atClemson UniversityandTexas A&M University,but the reception he received in October 2007 atMichigan State Universitywas markedly different from that in the other venues. Intending to address the "overpopulation of Islamists in Europe", he was repeatedly interrupted, to the point where the event became a question and answer session. He was heckled by hostile elements of the audience, and at one point the fire alarm was activated.

2009 appearance onQuestion Time

Main article:Question TimeBritish National Party controversy

Protests outsideBBC Television Centreahead of Griffin's appearance onQuestion Time

On 22 October 2009, Griffin took part in the BBC's topical debate programme,Question Time,as a representative of the BNP. He appeared alongsideBonnie Greer,Jack Straw,Baroness WarsiandChris Huhne.He was challenged by members of the studio audience, and questioned by hostDavid Dimblebyon comments he had previously made on the Holocaust.He was also critical ofIslam.His invitation followed the election of two BNP MEPs to the European Parliament, and led to significant debate over the merits of the BBC's decision. The appearance sparked a protest outside theBBC Television Centreprior to the recording of the programme, in which an estimated 500 people picketed the front entrance of the complex, many chanting anti-Nazi slogans and others trying to break into the building to stop the programme being filmed. Some got past the police and security, but were expelled. Six protesters were arrested, and three police officers were injured, one needing hospital treatment.

It was an odd show because almost all of the questions — even the five minutes on gays — were BNP-related, and the entire audience and panel anti-Griffin.

Libby Purves

The programme was watched by an estimated 8.2 million viewers, more than three times the average figure forQuestion Time,and on a comparable level with prime time entertainment shows. Griffin's appearance dominated the following day's media; a follow-up report in theNew York Timessaid that "the early reading by many of Britain's major newspapers was that Mr. Griffin lost heavily on points."

In a press conference held on 23 October, Griffin stated that he would make a formal complaint about the format of the programme, which he said was "... not a genuineQuestion Time;that was alynch mob".He suggested that he should appear again, but that "... [we] should do it properly, and talk about the issues of the day",and added, "That audience was taken from a city that is no longer British... That was not my country any more. Why not come down and do it in Thurrock, do it in Stoke, do it in Burnley? Do it somewhere where there are still significant numbers of English and British people, and they haven't been ethnically cleansed from their own country."

Policies and views

Griffin describes himself as a "moderniser", and "new nationalist", and after his election as leader of the BNP, according toThe GuardiancontributorFrancis Wheen,was "contemptuous" of the party's traditional supporters.He changed the BNP's traditional focus on immigration and race, to a defence of what it sees as "our traditional principles against the politically correct agenda"espoused by mainstream politicians. He has portrayed himself as a defender of free speech, and has repeatedly spoken out againstmulticulturalism.During 2000, he attempted to further the BNP's popular appeal by targeting specific groups, includinglorrydrivers—some of whom were at the time engaged in mass protests against fuel prices—and farmers. The BNP also produced a journal devoted to rural matters.

The BNP's constitution grants its chairman full executive power over all party affairs, and Griffin thus carried sole responsibility for the party's legal and financial liabilities, and had the final say in all decisions affecting the party.

Upon his election to the European Parliament Griffin unsuccessfully tried to form an alliance with right-wing parties, which would have entitled the group members to extra funding. He also held talks with other far-right European parties, such asVlaams BelangandJobbik.The BNP maintains ties withRoberto Fioreandfascistgroups across Europe.Griffin criticisedGordon Brown's Labour government for its attitude towards the BNP, accusing it of treating elected representatives of the BNP as "second-class citizens".Following his election, in a press conference held at a public house in Manchester, he criticised the privatisation of national industries, such as the railway network, and accused MPs generally of being involved in this "... giant looting of Britain".He accused private corporations and the "ruling elite" in Britain of building a "Eurocratic state", a process he called "Mussolinifascism... under Gordon Brown. "He supported theGurkhas,stating that the BNP would allow them and their families entry to the country for medical treatment "for as long as they needed treatment, or for as long as they lived."He also suggested the removal of 100,000 Muslims "disloyal to Britain" and their replacement with the Gurkhas.

After assuming control of the party, Griffin sought to move it away from its historic identity, although on theBBC'sNewsnighton 26 June 2001 he stated thatHindusand whites had both been targeted in the "Muslim" riots of 2001, and in the August 2001 issue ofIdentity(a BNP publication) he said thatradical Muslimclerics wanted "... militant Muslims to take over British cities withAK-47rifles ".OnThe Politics Showon 9 March 2003, he appeared to accept ethnic minorities who were already legally living in the country,and, on 6 March 2008, he was again interviewed onNewsnight;when told of a poll that demonstrated that most working-class Britons were more concerned about drugs and alcohol than immigration, he linked the UK's drug problem with Islam, specificallyPakistaniimmigrants. His inclusion on the programme was criticised by contributor and radio presenterJon Gaunt,who branded the decision as "pathetic".When asked byThe Timesabout concerns that his recent success was presaged inEnoch Powell'sRivers of Blood speech,Griffin replied:

The divisions are already there. They were created by that monstrous experiment: the multi-cultural destruction of old Britain. There is no clash between the indigenous population and, for instance, settled West Indians,SikhsandHindus.There is, however, an enormous correlation between high BNP votes and nearby Islamic populations. The reason for that is nothing to do withIslamophobia;it is issues such as thegroomingof young English girls for sex by a criminal minority of the Muslim population... I am now there to give political articulation to the concerns of the mainly indigenous population. The ethnic populations have always had Labour to speak up for them. Finally their neighbours have got someone who speaks up for them.

In a June 2009 interview withChannel 4 News,Griffin claimed that "There's no such thing as a blackWelshman",which was criticised byVaughan Gething,the first black president of the WelshNUSand theWelsh TUC,and the first black candidate for theNational Assembly for Wales.Commenting on Griffin's claim, he said "on that basis, most white people wouldn't qualify. It's quite clear that Nick Griffin just doesn't accept that black British people or black Welsh people are entitled to call themselves proper, full citizens of the country."Griffin's interview withChannel 4 Newswas in response to a decision by theEquality and Human Rights Commissionto investigate the BNP's membership criteria, which, it stated, "appeared to discriminate on the grounds of race and colour, contrary to the Race Relations Act."He rejected claims that the BNP was "acting unlawfully" and said "... because we are here, as it was pointed out, for specific ethnic groups—it's nothing to do with colour, your reporter there said that we'll only lift a finger for white people—that's a simple lie."

Following theAdmiral Duncan pubbombing by former BNP memberDavid Copeland,Griffin stated "The TV footage of dozens of 'gay' demonstrators flaunting their perversion in front of the world's journalists showed just why so many ordinary people find these creatures so repulsive."The BNP states that, privately, homosexuality should be tolerated, but that it "should not be promoted or encouraged".It opposed the introduction of civil partnerships and wishes to ban what it perceives as the promotion of homosexuality in schools and the media. A series of messages he posted in October 2012 on the social networkTwitter,regarding a discrimination claim won by a gay couple, sparked widespread opprobrium.Cambridgeshire police investigated the tweets, which included the couple's address and a suggestion that a "British Justice team" would give them "a bit of drama", but took no further action.

In 2012, although he denied being "anti-gay", he said that civil partnerships undermined "the institution of marriage, and as a result of that, children will die over the next few years, because they'll be brought up in homes which aren't married".In 2009, he also said that "a lot of people find the sight of two grown men kissing in public really creepy. I understand that homosexuals don't understand that but that's how a lot of us feel."He also suggests thatgay pride marches"[verge] on heterophobia which, like its twin Christianophobia, is on the rise."

Writing forThe Rune,Griffin praised the wartimeWaffen SSand criticised theRoyal Air Forcefor its bombing ofNazi Germany.At Coventry Cathedral, he distributed leaflets that referred to "mass murder" during theSecond World War bombing of Dresden.

Fourteen Words

In the 1990s Griffin stated his political ideology could be summed up by theFourteen Words,which are usually quoted as: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children".During a police interview in 1998, he said that "everything I do is related to building a nationalist movement through which [...] those 14 words can be carried out".

Global warming

In a BBC interview on 8 June 2009, Griffin said that "global warmingis essentially a hoax "and that it" is being exploited by the liberal elite as a means of ta xing and controlling us and the real crisis ispeak oil".He was a representative of the European Parliament at the 2009UN Climate Change Conference,where he repeated his claim that global warming is a hoax, and called advocates of action on climate change such asAl Gore"mass murderers" by supporting biofuels, claiming that their use would lead to the "third and the greatest famine of the modern era". AGreenpeacespokesman said, "In reality the environmental and development groups he has been disparaging have been in the forefront of concerns about biofuels. Griffin's claims that climate change is a hoax is one of many curious things going on between his ears."

Holocaust and Zionism

His comments onthe Holocaust(which he once referred to as "the Holohoax") made as an editor ofThe Runedemonstratenegationism.He criticised Holocaust denierDavid Irvingfor admitting that up to four million Jews might have died in the Holocaust; he wrote "True Revisionists will not be fooled by this new twist to the sorry tale ofThe Hoax of the Twentieth Century."In 1997, he told an undercover journalist that he had updatedRichard Verrall's bookletDid Six Million Really Die?and, in the same year, he wroteWho are the Mindbenders?,about a perceived domination of the media by Jewish figures.Despite this, the BNP had a Jewish councillor,Patricia Richardson,and spokesman Phil Edwards has stated that the party also has Jewish members.The BNP has stated that it does not deny the Holocaust, and that "Dredging up quotes from 10, 15, 20 years ago is really pathetic and, in a sense, rather fascist."In an interview with the BNP deputy leader Simon Darby, Griffin said that theEnglish Defence Leaguewas a "Zionist false flag operation", and added that the organisation is "a neo-con operation".

In 2019, Griffin was reportedly part of a delegation which met a senior official from the proscribed terrorist groupHezbollah,which has committed attacks on Israeli civillians and is suspected to have been involved in attacks on Jewish targets outside Israel.

Migrant crisis

In an interview with the BBC on 8 July 2009, during a discussion on European immigration, he proposed that the EU should sink boats carrying illegal immigrants, to prevent them from entering Europe. Although the interviewer, BBC correspondent Shirin Wheeler, implied that Griffin may have wished the EU to "murder people at sea", he quickly corrected her by saying: "I didn't say anyone should be murdered at sea—I say boats should be sunk, they can throw them a life raft and they can go back to Libya" (a staging post for migrants fromEgyptandsub-Saharan Africa).

Family and personal life

Parents

Griffin's father, Edgar Griffin (born 1921,Brighton,East Sussex) was previously a long-standingConservative Partymember,and from 1959 to 1965 acouncillorfor theMetropolitan Borough of St Marylebone.He was also a councillor onWaveneyDistrict Council during the 1980s.Griffin's mother, Jean (née Thomas), whom Edgar married in 1950, was an unsuccessful BNP candidate forEnfield Northin the1997 general election,inChingford & Woodford Greenfor the2001 general electionand forLondonin the1999 European elections.Nick Griffin has one sister.

Personal life

Griffin lives with his family inShropshire.He is married to Jackie Griffin, a former nurse who also acts as his assistant; the couple have four children, some of whom have been actively involved with the party.He was declaredbankruptin January 2014.In March 2017, Griffin expressed a desire to emigrate to Hungary within six months.In May 2017, Griffin was banned from Hungary as he was perceived to be a "national security threat", according to security sources cited in the Hungarian weekly newspaperMagyar Narancs.

Elections contested

UK Parliament elections

Date of election	Constituency	Party		Votes	%	Source(s)
22 October 1981 by-election	Croydon North West		National Front	429	1.2
1983 general election	Croydon North West		National Front	336	0.9
23 November 2000 by-election	West Bromwich West		BNP	794	4.2
2001 general election	Oldham West and Royton		BNP	6,552	16.4
2005 general election	Keighley		BNP	4,240	9.2
2010 general election	Barking		BNP	6,620	14.6

Welsh Assembly elections(Additional members region; party list)

Date of election	Region	Party		Votes	%	Result	Source(s)
2007 Welsh Assembly election	South Wales West		BNP	8,993	5.5	Not elected

European Parliament elections(Multi-member constituency; party list)

Date of election	Region	Party		Votes	%	Result	Source(s)
2004 European election	North West England		BNP	134,959	6.4	Not elected
2009 European election	North West England		BNP	132,094	8.0	Elected
2014 European election	North West England		BNP	32,826	1.9	Not elected

References

Bibliography

• Atkins, Stephen E. (2004).Encyclopedia of modern worldwide extremists and extremist groups(Illustrated ed.). Greenwood Publishing Group.ISBN0-313-32485-9.
• Brinks, Jan Herman; Timms, Edward; Rock, Stella (2006).Nationalist myths and modern media: contested identities in the age of globalization.I. B. Tauris.ISBN1-84511-038-2– via Google Books.
• Eatwell, Roger; Mudde, Cas (2004).Western Democracies and the New Extreme Right Challenge(Illustrated ed.). Routledge.ISBN0-415-36971-1– via Google Books.
• Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas (2003).Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism, and the Politics of Identity(reissue, illustrated ed.). NYU Press.ISBN0-8147-3155-4– via Google Books.
• Ryan, Nick (2004).Into a world of hate: a journey among the extreme right.Routledge.ISBN0-415-94922-X– via Google Books.
• Ware, Vron; Back, Les (2002).Out of whiteness: color, politics, and culture(illustrated ed.). University of Chicago Press.ISBN0-226-87341-2– via Google Books.

Further reading

• Thompson, Mark(21 October 2009)."Keeping Nick Griffin off air is a job for parliament, not the BBC".The Guardian.Retrieved26 October2009.

External links

• Nick Griffin's official Twitter
• European Parliament profile of Nick Griffin