Judge agrees with human rights watchdog that British National party's rewritten criteria for joining are still racist
Peter Walker
guardian.co.uk, Friday 12 March 2010 15.17 GMT
The British National party (BNP) has been barred from taking new members after a judge ruled today that its constitution could discriminate against non-white people.
Judge Paul Collins issued an injunction ordering the far-right group to comply with race equality laws, adding that "the membership list will have to be closed until then".
Under the injunction, future prospective BNP members will not have to be vetted at home before being accepted.
Last month the BNP scrapped its whites-only policy in an attempt to avoid legal sanctions brought by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
But today at central London county court, Judge Collins ruled: "I hold that the BNP are likely to commit unlawful acts of discrimination within section 1b Race Relations Act 1976 in the terms on which they are prepared to admit persons to membership under the 12th edition of their constitution."
The commission welcomed the ruling, saying it proved that, while it is not unlawful to hold discriminatory views, it is unlawful for such principles to be used for controlled entry to a political party.
Susie Uppal, director of legal enforcement at the commission, said: "The commission is glad that today's judgment confirms our view that both the BNP's 11th constitution and the amended 12th constitution are unlawful.
"Political parties, like any other organisation, are obliged to respect the law and not discriminate against people who wish to become members.
The decision follows weeks of wrangling over the legality of the party's membership criteria as defined in its constitution.
BNP rules had stipulated that only "indigenous Caucasians" and people from ethnic groups "emanating from that race" could join.
After several months of delay, BNP members voted at an extraordinary general meeting a month ago to scrap the clause and replace the party's constitution.
But the EHRC decided to challenge the new document on the grounds that it still amounted to indirect racism.
The new constitution, which has yet to be published, requires would-be members to agree that they are "implacably opposed to the promotion, by any means, of integration or assimilation" that affected the UK's indigenous white population. Another clause expresses opposition to mixed-race marriages.
"It would be jolly difficult for a mixed-race person to join the BNP without effectively denying themselves," Robin Allen QC, representing the EHRC, told a hearing on Tuesday.
The BNP rejected this. "This party has a particular policy," said Gwynn Price Rowlands, representing the party. "It's a matter for the applicant to decide whether they want to join."
The BNP had a waiting list of non-white people wanting to join, he said.
The hearing was told that applicants under the new party rules would be subject to a two-hour home visit by two BNP officials.
Allen said that could operate as a form of indirect discrimination. "One way the provisions could operate would be to intimidate someone who wanted to join the party.
"Of course, it could simply be a greeting."
BNP critics argue the party has no genuine interest in recruiting non-white members and is merely doing the minimum to avoid legal action and potentially crippling court costs.
An internal BNP memo seen by the Guardian this week told members that the party had not "gone soft".
"We don't expect any more than a handful of people of ethnic minority origin to apply to join the party nationally, and we will not let this deflect us from our political objectives of saving Britain and restoring the primacy of the indigenous British people," the memo said.
The BNP had a waiting list of non-white people wanting to join, he said.
What a joker.