It’s not like Nick Griffin to shy away from publicity. His reaction to any possibility of a flicker of spotlight is to run towards it, maximising the impact of his message of hate. But it seems that the BNP leader is now revealing a reticent side to his personality.
Today’s London edition of the BBC’s Politics Show will be covering the constituency of Barking, the one which Griffin hopes to win and become the BNP’s first MP. The programme will feature a discussion between the main parties’ candidates for the seat – and in the case of Barking, the BNP are sadly one of the contenders. But Griffin won’t be appearing, despite an invitation from the BBC. Why?
It appears that Griffin is running scared not just of the BBC, but also of LibDem candidate Dominic Carman. Griffin derides the proposed discussion as ‘another Question Timelynch mob set-up’ and Carman as ‘a failed journalist and plastic candidate in Barking whose sole intention it is to lie about me instead’.
So why this hatred of the LibDem candidate in particular? Because, as announced last week Dominic Carman is not only the son of the late George Carman QC, but also Griffin’s very unofficial biographer. The Times stated that Carman, ‘intends to use information from his research into the biography to attack his opponent. It was never released because publishers were unwilling to associate their brand with the BNP leader’.
“I will put it to good use in exposing Griffin beyond what’s already been in the public domain,” he said. “It’s very important to fight a strong campaign and it will be critical to challenge Nick Griffin every step of the way. I want to make people think long and hard about voting for him in Barking. It’s very, very important.”
So what is Griffin’s excuse for chickening out? He accuses independent producers Juniper of conspiring with the Labour Party, the BBC and the Conservatives and LibDems to ‘shut out’ Griffin’s party and ‘gang up against the BNP in a four-to-one attack’.
Griffin’s second argument is even more bizarre. He takes issue with the BBC for ‘setting up a debate between parliamentary candidates … where the agenda has been preset to only discuss local issues’. Apparently the Labour councillors who currently run the council in Barking and Dagenham have fed inside information to the other participants in today’s programme, in order to leave the BNP looking stupid. I didn’t realise they needed any help.
The secret of Nick Griffin’s successes over the past few years has been to present himself and the BNP as political outsiders, just as much the victims of the establishment as the white working classes he seeks to represent. But shouldn’t someone who represents himself as the leader of a legitimate political party be willing and able to make a case for himself and his party’s politics whenever the opportunity presents itself? Has Nick Griffin realised that his party and politics have no justification in today’s Britain and that their game is up? And have the media learned their lesson – that sunlight is the best disinfectant? Play ‘no-platform’ with the BNP and they become martyrs. Give them the same opportunities as the other parties and they run away in fright.
As The Guardian’s Dave Hillstates on his blog, ‘Carman’s candidacy only become known a week ago. Is it already having the desired effect?’
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6 Comments
Because he’s a fat old Nazi who’s being linked to other Nazis by the media?
The Lib Dems have shot themselves in the foot by putting Domonic Carman up. he comes across as a nasty horrible piece of work. Have you read the book written about his father George ‘pure poison’. What sort of man writes a hateful book about his dead father. Sick…
Looking at Bob Bailey’s link he may, just possibly, not be the most objective commentator around.
To be honest i can’t really blame Mr Griffin on this occasion, look what happened at the last Question Time setup. The full format was changed just to attack him and no policy was discussed
Here is his full response
British National Party leader Nick Griffin is more than happy to debate national issues with his parliamentary opponents in Barking but has refused to take part in another Question Time lynch mob set-up on the Politics Show this weekend.
“In exactly the same way that last year’s Question Time was manipulated, the BBC has once again reversed all of its standard procedures for the Politics Show to set up the BNP,” Mr Griffin said.
“I and the public want to know from all the other parties why they support the illegal war in Afghanistan.
“I and the public want to know from the Labour Party why they deliberately lied to the public about the effects of their disastrous mass immigration policies.
“I and the public want to know from the Tories why their leadership tricked — their words — their own members into accepting dozens of ethnic candidates against their will.
“I and the public want to know from the Lib-Dems why they have put up a failed journalist and plastic candidate in Barking whose sole intention it is to lie about me instead of dealing with the national issues.
“I and the public want to know from all the parties why they have supported the deindustrialisation of Britain, the privatisation of all our state assets and the hideous climate change swindle,” Mr Griffin said.
“So what have the producers of the Politics Show done? They have engaged in a major departure from normality by setting up a debate between parliamentary candidates in the run-up to a major national election where the agenda has been preset to only discuss local issues in a borough controlled by the Labour Party.
“They know full well that all the BNP councillors are shut out by the Labourites and that we do not have access to all the insider information which they do. No doubt they have already shared this information amongst all three candidates and the show chairman so that they can all gang up against the BNP in a four-to-one attack again, just as was the case with Question Time.
“If the Politics Show producers want to organise a debate on the national issues, I would be more than happy to take part and attend, but they must not think for a minute that I will take part in yet another obvious far left mob lynching,” Mr Griffin said.
“We are very disappointed in the behaviour of Juniper TV who are the independent producers of the London Politics Show,” Mr Griffin added. “While I have acted in good faith it seems that this has not been reciprocated.”
dominic carman has got nick griffin scared……..
Is it hardly surprising that Griffin declined to take part in another “biased-BBC” show so close to an election, after the stitch up on biased-BBC Question Time is it? Doesn’t take a genius to see that. Funny how every time the media mentions the BNP it’s biased and selective on it’s reporting. You never hear of all the good work the BNP does in communities all around the country, like dealing PC-incorrect and sensitive issues such as racially motivated rapes and “grooming” of white teenage girls in some areas by black and asian gangs, which the police, government and local authorities prefer to just sweep under the carpet.