Far-Right Leader's TV Appearance Sparks Protests

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STEVE INSKEEP, host:

Hundreds of protesters gathered last night outside the headquarters of the British Broadcasting Corporation in London. They were upset that the BBC included a far-right politician on its leading political debate show. Nick Griffin is the man's name. He's the leader of the British National Party. That party, until recently, demanded the forceful repatriation of all immigrants - not illegal immigrants - immigrants. Griffin himself has denied the Holocaust and has been convicted for inciting racial hatred. NPR's Rob Gifford reports.

(Soundbite of chanting)

ROB GIFFORD: Confrontations on the BBC's flagship show "Question Time" are usually limited to verbal jousting. But last night, hundreds of anti-fascist protestors tried to storm the BBC, and at one point managed to break through the police cordon and run into the building.

(Soundbite of crowd)

GIFFORD: Once the recording of the show got under way, Nick Griffin was peppered with questions especially from ethnic minorities, such as this black member of the audience.

Unidentified Man (Audience Member): Did you not think of the benefits that parents - that my parents brought to this country, and other parents from an Asian, from an Indian, from a Pakistani background have brought? The vast majority of this audience find what you stand for to be completely disgusting and…

(Soundbite of applause)

GIFFORD: The 50-year-old, Cambridge-educated Griffin is used to such hostility. Though the BNP has no seats in the British Parliament, earlier this year the party won two seats in the European Parliament. And in recent years, Griffin has tried to project his party as more mainstream, standing up to the political correctness of what he has called the multiracial hellhole of modern Britain. Under fire from the other panelists including Justice Secretary Jack Straw, Griffin presented his party as the defender of the British way of life.

Mr. NICK GRIFFIN: All the effort in the Second World War - and the first - was designed to preserve British sovereignty, British freedom, which Jack Straw's government is now giving away lock, stock and barrel to the European Union, and to prevent this country from being invaded by foreigners.

GIFFORD: Griffin struggled to refute his previous racist and anti-Semitic remarks, and continued to reiterate his view that Islam is incompatible with British society.

Mr. GRIFFIN: There are good points about Islam, but it doesn't fit in with the fundamental values of British society, free speech, democracy, and equal rights for women.

GIFFORD: It was not just Griffin defending himself. The BBC was criticized for even giving him a platform. Mark Byford is the organization's deputy director general.

Mr. MARK BYFORD (Deputy Director General, BBC): It would have been quite wrong for the BBC to have said, yes, you are allowed stand in elections; yes, you've got a level of support that now meets the threshold; but the BBC doesn't think that you should be on. We have no views on the politics or the political leaders. What we do hold absolutely dear is that viewing partialities are a value we uphold, and that's why Mr. Griffin was on tonight.

GIFFORD: Meanwhile, in the traditionally white, working-class area of Barking in East London, there was widespread support for Griffin's appearance on "Question Time." Lucy Millham(ph) and Cathleen Murphy(ph) were sitting having a cup of tea at their local café.

Ms. LUCY MILLHAM: I think he's all right.

Ms. CATHLEEN MURPHY: I think he's all right. At least he speaks the truth. He's just standing up for the whites.

GIFFORD: Would you vote BNP?

Ms. MILLHAM: Yeah.

Ms. MURPHY: I would.

Ms. MILLHAM: Oh, yes.

Ms. MURPHY: I'd love to.

GIFFORD: So you feel like in some ways, you're becoming like second-class citizens?

Ms. MURHPY: We're not second-class. We're what, fourth-class?

GIFFORD: Fifty-two-year-old Ken Redferd(ph) came over to join them. He said immigrants are taking British jobs, and government policies are skewed to help ethnic minorities.

Mr. KEN REDFERD: It seems every day our rights are just being sent down the toilet, and their rights are getting stronger and stronger.

GIFFORD: Would you vote BNP?

Mr. REDFERD: Yes. Definitely. Absolutely.

GIFFORD: Perhaps the sharpest question of last night's TV debate was not addressed to Nick Griffin at all, but to Justice Secretary Jack Straw, asking him if was not his government's policies on immigration that are pushing people towards voting for the BNP.

Rob Gifford, NPR News, London.

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