Nick Griffin, the leader of the far-right British National Party, was forced to abandon a press conference yesterday when he was ambushed by protesters outside the Houses of Parliament.
Mr Griffin and his colleague Andrew Brons, who were elected to the European Parliament last week, were pelted with eggs and chased down the street by more than 50 anti-fascism protesters chanting: “Off our streets, Nazi scum.”
Violent tussles erupted between Unite Against Fascism (UAF) and Mr Griffin’s bodyguards and BNP supporters. One protester said that he was run over by a vehicle that was driven by a BNP supporter.
The Metropolitan Police said that it was investigating the road collision as well as one allegation of common assault and allegations of egg throwing. Two people, one of whom was a woman in her twenties, were taken to hospital although their condition was not serious.
Mr Griffin, who was elected as the North West MEP after a collapse in the Labour vote, described the protest as “disgraceful” and said that he had every right to hold press conferences and voice his opinions. Despite accusations that his party is fascist, Mr Griffin is likely to use his European platform to claim political legitimacy.
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Yesterday it emerged that both he and Mr Brons will be given high-security passes to the Houses of Parliament now that they are MEPs.
The Commons pass, which will give them virtually unfettered access to the area, will also allow the men inside Portcullis House — the offices for MPs.
UAF, an umbrella organisation of a number of anti-racism groups and trade unions, declared its protest a “victory for the people”. The protesters said that Mr Griffin, who has a conviction for inciting racial hatred and presides over the BNP’s whites-only membership policy, had duped the 940,000 Britons who voted for the party.
Weyman Bennett, the UAF’s joint national secretary, said: “Wherever Nick Griffin or the BNP exist we will stand up with other people and say that the politics of fascism and Nazism have no place in the 21st century. These types of politics don’t represent the majority of this country and the majority of people have to speak up for a decent society.”
They were criticised for bringing the BNP even more publicity. Jon Cruddas, the Labour MP for Barking & Dagenham, told The Times that the protesters had played into the BNP’s hands by “reinforcing their sense of victimhood”.
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Mr Cruddas, whose local council has the largest contingent of BNP councillors in the country, said: “There’s a democratic right to protest, which we should cherish, but at the same time we can’t disinvent the fact that they have been elected through the democratic process. We should acknowledge that and try to defeat their arguments rather than throwing eggs at them.”
Mr Griffin and Mr Brons, who was elected as a Yorkshire MEP, had called the media to College Green at Westminster for a victory press conference yesterday afternoon. Mr Griffin had been speaking for only a few minutes, condemning what he claimed were the latest “press lies” about his party in the morning newspapers, when he was halted by the protest, which had been organised via the Twitter social networking site.
Immediately engulfed by his bodyguards and supporters, Mr Griffin was chased more than 30 yards towards Westminster Abbey before he was bundled into a car. He had been struck by at least one egg, which covered his suit.
BNP supporters, who had been hit with placards, were caught on tape shoving and striking protesters.
Mr Griffin denied last night that his security had been heavy-handed and accused police of standing by while he was attacked. He blamed “far-left thugs” for the protest and claimed that they had been supported by the Labour movement. Mr Bennett said that UAF was apolitical. He said that it was financially supported by individual members and trade unions.