Singing led to racist abuse

A HOTELIER made homophobic remarks about a next-door neighbour's friend after a row about out-of-tune guitar playing and singing.

David Howse told the man to get back to Scotland, hurling racist and homophobic language.

Howse, 45, of The Regency Hotel, Charnley Road, Blackpool, admitted threatening behaviour.

He was fined £65 with £60 costs and ordered to pay the £15 victims’ surcharge by Blackpool magistrates.

Charity

Allan Cobain, defending, said his client, a former serviceman with a campaign medal from the Falklands, was also a member of The Buffaloes, a charity which encouraged good neighbourliness.

Over the past four years Howse and other hoteliers had problems with Howse’s next door neighbour.

Howse went to ask him to move a vehicle as it was blocking a delivery. He also asked if his neighbour would stop playing his guitar and singing.

Blackpool Gazette
13 December 2008

Keep Merseyside Fascist Free!

COUNTER PROTEST

SATURDAY 29TH NOVEMBER,

10AM, CHURCH ST (BOLD ST END), LIVERPOOL

BRING BANNERS, PLACARDS AND PEOPLE!

called by Liverpool UAF and Liverpool LMHR groups, supported by North West UAF

On Saturday 22nd Nov 2008, 12 members of the BNP were arrested in Liverpool city centre while handing out leaflets spreading their message of racism and hate ( racism cuts both ways leaflets) . The fascist BNP are planning to hold a demo in Liverpool this Saturday 29 November and are asking their activists to bring more leaflets !

We are organising a protest to stop the BNP spreading their racist lies in Liverpool. We are calling on everyone to unite against them and come to Liverpool and oppose the BNP !

BNP members under arrest for "racist" leaflets

Twelve men were arrested today on suspicion of distributing racist material in a city centre, police said.

The men were arrested after distributing leaflets at around 12.50pm in Whitechapel, Liverpool city centre.

Merseyside Police said those arrested were: a 29-year-old and a 51-year-old from the Liverpool South area; a 64 year-old from the Wirral area; a 19 year-old; a 46-year-old and a 41-year-old from Liverpool North; a 61-year-old and a 42-year-old from Knowsley; a 70-year-old; a 44 year-old; and a 29-year-old and a 48-year-old from St Helens.

Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable Colin Matthews said: “Merseyside Police condemns racism in all of its forms and will take prompt action to support all of our communities.

“Merseyside Police today arrested 12 people on suspicion of distribution of racist material.

“This follows the distribution of leaflets in Liverpool city centre, which officers believe to contain racist content.

“Racist literature is not welcome on the streets of Merseyside in any circumstances.

“We serve many communities in Merseyside and it is important that all our communities are assured that we will take positive action where it is needed.”

The men have been taken to Merseyside police stations where they will be questioned about the incident.

A police source said tonight the arrests were linked to the British National Party (BNP).

The organiser of the Blackpool and Oldham branches of the BNP, Roy Goodwin, confirmed 12 members of the party had been arrested.

He said: “I understand 12 of our members have been arrested distributing official party leaflets in Merseyside.

“There was nothing unlawful in the leaflets - all the contents of the leaflets had been carefully vetted, or they would not have gone out.”

Liverpool Daily Post

Nov 22, 2008

Man attacked after anti-fascism demo

A man was attacked as he left an anti-fascist demonstration in Blackpool, Lancashire police said.
The protester had been attending the Unite Against Fascism demonstration when he was attacked on the promenade on Saturday afternoon.

A Lancashire police spokeswoman said: "The aggrieved, who had been at the BNP rally, was coming away from the demonstration along the promenade when he was approached by an unknown male and was attacked, causing cuts to his face and a possible broken nose."

Detectives are appealing for witnesses to the assault, which was carried out by a man in his mid-20s wearing a black baseball cap, black scarf and black top. Police could not confirm reports of a second assault.

Naomi Byron, spokeswoman for the Socialist Party, said: "We condemn this unprovoked assault. We thank members of the public and other demonstrators for coming to the support of these two peaceful young men.

""This will not deter us from continuing to oppose the far right."

Fleetwood Gazette
Published: 18 November 2008
Source: http://www.fleetwoodtoday.co.uk/latest-north-west-news/Man-attacked-after-antifascism-demo.4702644.jp

Entire BNP membership list goes online

Before reading this, you should appreciate that there are very strict limitations on what we are allowed to print and we intend to stay strictly within the law in the comments that we allow.

Having said all that, this breach of data security is startlingly bad for the BNP, not simply for the fact that the party has lost data - almost everyone seems to have managed to do that recently - but for the nature of that information.

Not only does the data, now available online, include the entire membership list with full names (and former names where there have been changes for any reason), addresses, contact numbers, email addresses and in many cases the member's age, particularly where those members are under eighteen. Yes, that's right. This list includes members as young as fourteen, male and female. Where a family membership is bought and paid for, the whole family is listed.

As if this isn't bad enough, the notes that are attached to many of the entries leave a lot of the members open to difficulties in their jobs, some of them being in the armed forces or the police and the BNP too - an illegal combination, and where not illegal, frequently frowned upon. Other members are noted as construction managers, receptionists, district nurses, lay preachers, police officers, company directors and teachers among many others.

Like this wasn't enough, the BNP has also listed hobbies or interests where for some reason they are deemed relevant. Thus we have short-wave radio hams, amateur historians, pagans, line-dancers and even a witch (male).

The contributors to nazi sites, many of whom are also members of the BNP, are suddenly in a frenzy, expecting to be outed at any moment. Here's just one comment from the North-West Nationalist blog:

'I've just had a call, I'm on it to. I want my fucking member money back, like has been mentioned here, I could lose my fucking job. I'm bloody angry.'

Not surprising really. I'd be pretty pissed off too.

Curiously, there are quite a number of BNP members abroad, presumably ex-pats or those working abroad temporarily - Australia, the USA, United Arab Emirates, Sao Paulo, Spain and the Netherlands were some that I noticed. Isn't the BNP opposed to foreign workers? I'm sure it was last time I looked.

One final thing (for the moment, because I'm sure this one will run and run): the list appears to include the December rebels. At first, I took this to mean that the membership list was a year out of date but after a good look through, it's become clear that by keeping a running list (as opposed to a clean list each membership year) the party is able to claim a much larger membership than it in fact has. Some of the additions to the list are as recent as September of this year, indicating that some of the members listed - though how many is anyone's guess - are not in fact members at all. The implication is pretty clear (to me, at least) - BNP members are being defrauded when they have been told that the membership is growing exponentially. Take off all the dead members, those who have resigned (many still listed along with their reasons for leaving) and the most recent batch of rebels and the size drops considerably.

It's been suggested that the party's former treasurer John Walker is responsible for posting the list up publicly. We wouldn't know but by doing so, the poster has stuck a stick of dynamite under Griffin's rear end. The consequences and the repercussions may be interesting to watch.

Just as a complete aside, I should point out that we do not have a copy of this list, nor do we want one. The information we had was obtained online and appears suddenly to have been removed, at least for the moment...

Source: Lancaster Unity

BNP protester attacked in Blackpool

A MAN was left with a broken nose when he was attacked after leaving an anti-BNP demonstration in Blackpool.

His companion suffered cuts and bruises during the altercation.

It happened after the pair had walked away from a Unite Against Fascism protest held outside the Kimberley Hotel on South Promenade where the BNP was holding its annual conference.

The demonstration itself was heavily policed and went off without any trouble, but the victims had left the vicinity of the hotel when the incident occured.

The Socialist Party, of which they are members, believes the attacker was a far right supporter.

But the BNP today dismissed claims that it was someone attending their event.

Blackpool Police has confirmed the attack took place at around 2.30pm on Saturday, but said they could not link it directly with the BNP conference.

* Full story, see Tuesday's Gazette

Blackpool Gazette
Published: 17 November 2008
Source: http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/blackpoolnews/BNP-protester-attacked-in-Blackpool.4702294.jp

Hundreds protest at Blackpool BNP conference

Campaigners came out in their hundreds at the weekend to protest against the BNP.

People marched through Blackpool town centre before descending outside the Kimberley Hotel, South Promenade, where the controversial right wing party held its annual conference.

Dozens of police officers manned the area in the event of any trouble but the event, the third held in the town, passed off without incident.

Blackpool Citizen
Monday 17th November 2008

Demonstration against the BNP Conference in Blackpool

JOIN THE PROTEST AGAINST THE FASCIST BNP CONFERENCE IN BLACKPOOL
Saturday 15 November 2008
Assemble at 12.00noon

Assemble in the square at the top of Victoria Street, Blackpool

(near side entrance to Winter Gardens).

and then march to protest outside New Kimberley Hotel 585-589 New South Promenade, Blackpool, FY4 1NQ.


The British National Party (BNP) has announced it is to hold a national conference on 14th, 15th and 16th November in Blackpool at the New Kimberley Hotel. Last year over 200 people attended the protest called by North West UAF against the presence of these fascists in Blackpool. Local people including members of the council, hotels, trade unions, students , residents and anti-fascist condemned the BNP for holding it's conference in Blackpool .

In the run up to the European elections the BNP will try to spread its message of hatred and division and will target the NW Region in the hope of gaining a seat in these European Elections. We must unite to stop them.

We must show our opposition to the fascist BNP and it's politics of race hate and division. We must show that there is united opposition to the BNP and ensure that Blackpool is a fascist-free zone.

Unite Against Fascism calls on all those that oppose fascism to mobilise and attend this protest of unity.

If you are able to attend and also help with mass leafleting please email unite@ucu.org.uk or telephone 020 7833 4916.

Transport and coach details available from the National Unite office on 020 833 4916

Called by -North West Region UAF . Supported by: Unite Against Fascism.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=36541626651

Grimy BNP-link hotel 'a hazard to humans'

THE Blackpool hotel used by the far right British National Party for its annual conferences was branded a hazard to humans by health chiefs.

Officers investigated after guests complained about diarrhoea and vomiting while staying at The New Kimberley Hotel, Blackpool.

They were also told of guests being given uncooked food and meat which smelt bad.

Officials found the kitchen of the 50-bedroom hotel on South Promenade was filthy and discovered food which was out-of-date and in danger of cross-contamination from bacteria.

Peter Metcalf, 45, of Wyredale Road, St Annes, the hotel's former-leaseholder, admitted nine offences of breaching food hygiene safety rules and was found guilty of 11 similar offences after a trial.

He was fined £1,000 with £500 costs and ordered to pay the £15 victims' surcharge by Blackpool magistrates.

Victoria Cartmell, prosecuting for Blackpool Council, said there were complaints in 2006 about the hotel.

Health officers first visited the hotel in July 2006 and Metcalf was given numerous chances to clean the kitchen. Officers again visited on August 14 last year and found the kitchen was filthy.

Ceilings, walls, sockets, surfaces, pipes, floors, a cooker, fryer and freezer were greasy and dirty and food debris was scattered around.

Black mould was on chopping boards, freezer seals and an ice-making machine. A wash basin was dirty and there were no paper towels.

Ms Cartmell said: "Double cream in the fridge was past its use-by date. Containers of ice-cream were stored next to boxes of raw bacon which could have caused cross-contamination of bacteria."

Mitch Sarangi, defending, said at the time Metcalf's mother-in-law had been diagnosed with a terminal illness. He and his wife travelled to and from Scotland to visit her before she was transferred to a hospice and died.

Metcalf had now been declared bankrupt and he no longer held the hotel's lease.

The hotel hit the headlines in November 2006 and 2007 when it twice held the BNP's annual conference.

Tim Coglan, head of trading standards at Blackpool Council, said: "The conditions were disgusting and totally unacceptable. We know the majority of premises in the town are well run but we will continue to crackdown on those that aren't. Blackpool has the most robust enforcement regime in the country."

The hotel is now under new management.

Blackpool Gazette
Published Date: 05 September 2008

Call for boycott of BNP hotel

TRADE union bosses are calling for the boycott of a Blackpool seafront hotel which opened its doors to the BNP.
The Kimberley Hotel on New South Promenade hosted the BNP conference in November following a veil of secrecy.
Today, the Lancashire Association of Trades Union Councils (LATUC) urged visitors to refuse to stay at the hotel in protest.
Peter Billington, secretary of the Lancashire TUC, said: "We are supporting Blackpool, Fylde & Wyre TUCs' call for trade union members and all decent people not to use this hotel.
"There are 2.7 million workers in the North West and 34 per cent of them are trade union members.
"We have written to the national TUC and asked it to circulate the hotel's details to all UK unions so that members can avoid this place."
Mr Billington said the hotel had knowingly supported for "a group of violent, racist, criminal thugs".
He added: "It shouldn't be forgotten that two Lancashire BNP members, one of them a BNP local council candidate in last May's elections, are currently in custody awaiting trial on bomb-making charges."
The BNP has vowed to return to Blackpool for its annual conference this year after hailing November's conference a huge success. Members of the far-right group staged the two-day conference at the New Kimberley Hotel on South Promenade in secret.
The Gazette quizzed Kimberley Hotel boss Peter Metcalf in the days before the conference but he denied the event would be held at the hotel
Anti-fascist demonstrators staged a protest outside the hotel but the conference passed off peacefully.
BNP bosses today promised this year's conference would be "even larger" despite being issued with "stay away" messages from council chiefs.
Roy Goodwin, from Blackpool's BNP, said: "The TUC is interfering with the democratic rights of a perfectly legal political party to hold its conference where it wishes.
"The amazing thing about what they are doing is that they are doing it under the banner of the UAF (United Against Fascism).
"I feel that a great deal of the British public may come to the conclusion there is a distinct odour of hypocrisy surrounding them."
The Gazette contacted the Kimberley Hotel but no-one was available for comment.

Blackpool Gazette
Published Date: 31 January 2007