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BNP Question Time — your view
Thursday 22nd October 2009, 11:00PM BST.
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BNP leader Nick Griffin said today he planned to complain to the BBC about his “unfair” treatment on Question Time.
The leader of the far right party appeared on the programme last night alongside Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne, Justice Secretary Jack Straw, Tory peer Baroness Sayeeda Warsi and writer Bonnie Greer.
But he said he was treated unfairly by the panel and audience and complained that the show, held at BBC Television Centre in London, was broadcast from a city which had changed beyond all recognition because of what he called uncontrolled immigration.
Mr Griffin, 50, said: “We know from the floods of emails and numerous telephone calls we have had that the programme was not shown in its normal format.
“They deliberately changed the whole format of Question Time in order to deal with me. I wanted to appear on Question Time to be talking about the postal strike, the fact that our boys are coming back from Afghanistan in body bags or with no legs, or to talk about the banks.”
More than 1,000 people protested at Television Centre, and Scotland Yard increased security around the broadcast.
There were six arrests and three police officers were injured.
What did you think of Mr Griffin’s appearance on Question Time? Give us your view in the comment box below.
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Nick, just watched part on question time, and I thought you were stitched up by the BBC. there was hardly any people on your side there, and the one that did speak up was quickly shouted down. They are all afraid of you. As far as my vote is concerned, it will be between you and UKIP. I can’t believe a word the Tories,Labour,or Liberals say.
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I have just finished watching question time as I am sure you, and many others have too.
Nick Griffin has probably done more damage to his image and the scum party he represents, than ever.
Watching him closely, he was very nervous, he kept licking his lips, his hands shook and he laughed nervously.
I am glad he had the oppurtunity to destroy his credibility publicly, my entire family watched Question Time, I’ll be honest, we never normally do.
My 16 year old son was incandescent at comments, as was my 18 year old daughter.
I noticed that very few of the panelists were even prepared to make eye contact with him during the debate.
The man is a real threat to British democracy, I feel sure that the millions of decent people that watched tonight will have the same opinion of myself and my family.
Anyone who believes that this man is right, needs locking up !
I have never felt this angry before.
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I am torn between this issue. I think everyone should be entitled to free speech, but I recognise that some free speech can be harmful. I think the BNP are one of those organisations where free speech should be sacrificed to protect certain groups of our fellow human beings.
However, I think the BBC airing the BNP’s views will help show the BNP for what they are, and hopefully we as British people can unite, as we did seventy years before, to fight a new facist threat.
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The Labour sponsored thugs in the UAF failed again. Well done Nick Griffin.
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They didn’t give Nick Griffin a chance to say much, they just wanted to get the nasty comments about him not the reply….if that makes sense….
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1 thug inside -1000 thugs outside!!
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The only reason Nick was allowed on was as a result of the British public waking up to the inept performance of the current Government.
They voted for his party out of sheer frustration and contempt for Labour, and the way they have brought this nation to its knees.
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Nelson, I thought the revulsion of the audience to Nick Griffin’s divisive, poisonous, racist and homophobic views was clear for all to see.
As you thought he did well, Nelson, could you answer the question that your leader squirmed out of about his repeated, well-documented denial of the Holocaust?
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he should be banned from britain for being a traitor
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I’m not here to stick up for the BNP. Anyone with a bit of common sense will realise that my user name is miles apart from the BNP viewpoint.
However last night question time was a example of bear baiting from the junior tories and labour rites in the audience to the panel made up entirely of people with a opposite viewpoint to Nick Griffin.
I wanted to hear about the issues of the day ie Postal strike, recession, unemployment etc not rake over old ground with the BNP.
The entire panel acted like student demostrators and sadly out of this whole fiasco I can only see the BNP gaining support perhaps if sensible questions had been raised (the ones above) we would have heard the BNP lack of policy and that would have been enough to damage the BNP
Huw Peach – Could ypu please stop your mentioning your interest in the holocaust on here. It was a very sad state of affairs which showed the worst in humankind.
I find it revolting you are bringing up this issue to make a point – everyone knows the BNP have a racist membership and some believe that viewpoint but to incite people to write on the topic on here simply to make a point is beyonf reprehensible.
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Giles Marston : I totally agree with you. The British public voted in a response to the current gov. They have breed this hatred through the policies they have implemented. The majority of British people (whatever their colour or bloodline)realise that things need to change in this country, unfortunately parties like the BNP are always there to corrupt, the same way that the old National Front used to recruit young kids and brainwash them by telling them the holocaust and suchlike is all a lie. This goverment is to blame and unless something is done we will start to see more and more racist violence. Our children are growing up within this atmosphere. We are going to end up breeding more and more members of the BNP. I must state that I would not vote rather than vote for party that represent the BNP’s views.
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I think the audience were fairly representative of the UK electorate. If the BNP only commands 1 million votes why should they have more than one voice in every 60 people in the audience – hardly a stitchup?
I assume the RAF war hero Father that Griffin referred was in fact the same Edgar Griffin who took Nick Griffin to National Front meetings as a child?
I think a lot of people who were hoodwinked into voting for the BNP in the Euro elections would have been quite shocked by what they saw and heard last night Griffin was an embarrassment to the BNP and finally his past comments are coming back to haunt him. It mkes you wonder how Hitler would have coped in today’s Youtube world?
Perhaps most chilling and under-reported was the transcript of Griffin’s speech (see Youtube) when he shared a Texas platform with ‘non violent?’ former Ku Klux Klan grand Wizard David Duke stating:
“perhaps instead of talking about racial purity we talk about identity”
going on to say…
“perhaps one day whilst by being rather more subtle we’ve got ourselves in a position where we control the British media then perhaps the British people might change their mind and say Yes Every Last One Must Go”
if anything sums up the real BNP agenda this is it!
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Huw Peach – My main concerns are the issues that affect Britain in 2009 and beyond – not the events in Eastern Europe over 70 years ago. But for the record, yes I believe it’s a fact that 6 million were murdered by the nazis – just it’s a fact that 100 million people were murdered in the name of communism last century.
As a declared supporter of the communist UAF – do you condone their actions that the nation witnessed on tv last night?
As for Question Time – The hatchet job that was planned for the BNP looks like it’s backfired.
Against a hostile chair, panel, and audience (so obviously hand picked) -Nick Griffin came across polite, calm and rational and despite the constant barage of personal insults that were slug at him, he only once retaliated in kind.- This was when he stated that while his father served in the RAF during WW2 – Straw’s father was in jail for refusing to fight Hitler!
Griffin’s body blow against Straw was when he reminded him of the fact that his government has the blood of hundreds of British servicemen and thousands of muslim civilians on it’s hands.
Against all the odds, the BNP have come out of this on top – The 5 million hits on their party website says it all.
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The left have got this country into the state it is in today. Everything is their fault =- especally that blair – I dont know if there is enough time left to get rid of them and save whats left of our once proud country
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As complete an act of political suicide on air as I have ever seen. It was hilarious. I almost found myself hiding behind the sofa as he repeatedly refused to answer for his Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism. He was an absolute embarrassment.
I always knew he was a lightweight, but the extent of his shallow bigotry was revealed for all to see last night.
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I’m truly saddened to see the BBC exploiting the mentally ill like this. I was always brought up not to laugh at the afflicted – yet here was a man with real problems put in the stocks to be ridiculed when what he really needs is to be taken out of the freak show and given psychiatric help somewhere private out of the glare of the public eye. Shame on the BBC ! (It would great if the punchline was ‘but that’s enough about David Dimbleby’, but of course I’m referring to Mr Griffin)
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Griffin has been given way to much time. I believe the majority of people who voted BNP did so as a knee jerk reaction and after last nights escapade will live to regret their decision.
The BNP and the likes of Griffin have no place in today’s society. This was a platform to show people what he really is and i’m confident people now know and this will be the beginning of the end for the BNP.
We can only live and hope.
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Nelson
Polite calm and rational? Is this the same guffawing imbecile that sat there sweating, refusing to answer questions about proven quotes while clapping at jokes (at his expense) which he obviously didnt understand?
The quote about Jack Straw’s father was made at the very beginning of the debate so how could this be classed as retaliation?
Why do you feel the audience was so obviously hand picked – because YOU didnt agree with them? I would say that it represented a typical cross section of west london including BNP sympathisers.
Yes, there may have been 5 million hits verifying the lies on the BNP website, it must have really upset you to see your saviour so belittled by educated black and asian women.
There is NO backlash and you aren’t going to spin your way out of this one, Griffin was shown up for what he really is – a nasty gloating fascist media whore – the public finally saw him for what he really is without being able to hide behind his violent skinhead minders and PR spin.
As per my previous post visit youtube and enter griffin kkk for a video of him at a private gathering with the KKK in Texas which he obviosuly thought would never get shown in this country.
If anyone votes BNP after Griffin’s appearance on Question Time they are without doubt a Racist themselves!
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Personally, I think he did ok and he has a right to air his views. He is after all elected and this is meant to be a free country, or is it?
And he’s correct about London. On a recent visit I stopped 4 times for directions before I could get anyone that spoke a word of English.
We are overun and foreigners will soon be running our island and kicking us out.
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If Nick Griffen turned out to be say 20% African or Asian origin should we have that 20% deported, preferably including the buccal cavity? :p
#7 Your view is too simplistic and there would be nothing to stop you voting for any other party on that argument, like the green party for example.
The difference is the moral constitution of the party you vote for. Racism, Homophobia and occasional holocaust denial are not acceptable beliefs and values for any party or any person come to that.
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To all you people that say the BNP has got no support and that he made a fool of himself I fear that you are mistaken. At the pub last night everybody was full of applause for him. I drank my pint and left quietly fearing that they might get worked up and lynch the nearest immigrant.
The BNP stands for exactly the same nationalistic principles and policies as found elsewhere in the world. Even down to the definition of an indigenous person is and what protection they should enjoy. The BNP gets shouted down (as it should) but the other terrorist got a statue in Trafalgar square. Hypocrites.
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The BBC were only out to try and ridicule Nick Griffin on apparent racist views etc.
i fully support the BNP and i agree with everthing Nick Griffin said last night.
This party is for British Soveriegnty and British Freedom, and in Shrewsbury there are more BNP members and supporters than people think.
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Nick Griffin came did himself no favours by appearing on Question Time, however he did manage to get both himself and his Party serious air time and to that end I do not think that he should have been allowed on .
By being on a credible show like question time, he has by association gained some credibility for his party, the fact that people who would not normally watched the show did so, just proves what power there is in TV.
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The loud-mouthed non-whites in the audience made Nick’s policies seem worthwhile, reasonable and needed. They failed to get the result they intended and will have boosted the BNP support
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Last night’s audience may have reflected Central London- but not the rest of Britain.
The self-pleased liberal left should be very concerned about how last night’s episode was perceived by millions of angry disenfranchised working class Brits.
I never thought I’d say it but I think the comments made today by Diane Abbott and Peter Hain sound the more realistic than any others of the liberal left.
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The BNP is a thoroughly loathesome party that should not have been given air time. The fact is, they were given it. We had a right to expect the BBC to produce a programme which followed previous formats. It did not do so, the whole fiasco from start to finish was a “stitch up” by the left wing BBC who insult us by their sly antics. Griffin must have known what he was going into but he still went, therefore, I have no more sympathy for him now than what I had before and that was nil. The BBC should be ashamed for taking us, the viewers for fools because it seems we were not taken in. They are just as much exposed for their deceit as id Griffin.
Just as loathesome, just as dangerous, just as anti-British and just as thuggish as the BNP are the louts, layabouts and social misfits in the anti Facist rabble who challenge the BNP. They do not not oppose the BNP for honourable, patriotic or democratic reasons and concern for the underdog, the oppressed and disadvantaged are the last of their concerns. They couldn’t care less about the welfare of ethnic minorities, gays or any of the other minority groups who the BNP oppose. They are also scum, out for a mass punch-up, bent on social disorder and given the extreme, social revolution. These are the idiots who can be found on any Friday/Saturday night drunk to the eyebrows creating mayhem on our streets and causing all sorts of problems for the Police. We should not support or give them any credence whatsoever. They are as bad as the BNP and if we loath the BNP we should similarly loath those that oppose them on our streets.
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Have just checked BNP website-5 million hits?Nowhere can I find a hit counter.Please explain.
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Serotonin – As he’s already explained, he once happened to have shared a platform with David Duke.It doesn’t mean that Griffin endorses his views.
Labour ministers on the other hand, have shared platforms, shook hands and embraced tyrants, terrorists and mass murderers.. .But hey, what’s that compared with two illegal wars and the ruination of our country
As for those Labour/tory sponsored communist thugs in the UAF (yes the very same thugs who injured several police officers last night) – Oh, you might also want to research the links between this mob, Islamists and IRA sympathisers.
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Ive read all the comments above and watched Question Time very closely. He was nervous & rattled.
Im a 2nd generation british asian and can understand some of Mr Griffin’s views.
Totally agree with the knee jerk reactions of voting for the BNP when you have no faith in others. People are frustrated and angry at how this lovely country is going downhill rapidly. They are angry and want to vent and want someone to blame.
Blame the ‘foreigners’ they do. ‘They take all our benefits & jobs…blah, blah blah….lets vote for the BNP to get em out’. Do they look at the big picture??
Griffin’s party is a channel for these people.
No.14 & 22 ‘EDL Telford & Everybodies Friend’ Your comments dont surprise me. Small town mentality who dont venture out of the comfort zones but are quite happy to go out for a kebab, chinese or a curry. All foreign foods made by ‘foreigners’.
The fairness on immigration, jobs and benefits should be controlled a lot better by giving the born residents of the UK priority whatever color or creed. Agree, there will always be a minority who dont want to integrate/change. Leave them to it.
Realistically, what exactly can the BNP do to anyone???……Nothing! They are a channel for the frustrated who want to vent at someone.
Fact. There will always be racism, there will always be parties like the BNP. They will always lose and be out numbered by the majority who want to live in a united society where people just get on.
Idiots like Nick Griffin may have a voice but who is exactly listening??? A very, very small minority only.
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BBC and daft Dimbleby , the program was not impartial, but an orchestrated attack on Nick Griffin and the BNP party. Dimbleby should be sacked for abusing his position by knowingly selecting members of the audience to attack Nick. The New Labour party have encouraged a multicultural society with it’s associated problems i.e. drugs, gun crime, stabbings, terrorist threat and a financial burden on the state. Nick Griffin represents the views of the British people and is brave enough to say stop the flow of ethnic minorities into the country. Get out of Afghanistan and bring the troops back to defend our borders and route out the illegal immigrants and the Pakistani terrorist planning the next bombing in Britain. We are a Christian country. Jack Straw out of touch and time to retire. Nick you have my vote.
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To all those who didn’t think that Nick Griffin should have been allowed on the show you forget one thing – Great Britain is a democratic country , a land of free speech for all and long may it continue but it might not be for long if those who have commented so far condemming his appearance have their way. Immigration is without doubt one of the biggest issues facing this country at this time and what he has to say on the subject is only what a lot more people than you realise are thinking themselves but are too frightend to say anything in fear of being branded racist or what the term is today for someone who speaks their mind! I’m not a BNP supporter,yet,but I think he acquited himself well against what was obviously a very biased, and possibly, hand picked audience. In my opinion the BNP wants to keep Britains traditions British and so do most of us- but not some apparently! Perhaps those people might like to live eleswhere, but then they wouldn’t get all the benefits available to everyone in this country of ours – that’s why so many immigrants travel halfway across the world to get here! Just think about it.
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I for one will be voting BNP at the next election. Because hopefully they will get enough votes then to make the big 2 parties think about the immigration problems instead of just sweeping it under the carpet.
There IS a big immigration problem but if you or I decide to use ”free speach” and talk about we are immediately branded a racist.
Whilst you are quite insular in Shropshire with your comfortable rural lives living in a big City is completely different.
Government figures say the indiginus white population in Birmingham will be in the minority by 2012 and that is based on figures of immigrants the know about.
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I believe he has now complained to the BBC on the basis that the audience were hostile to him.
Some people just don’t know when to stop digging…
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I do a bit of muck spreading myself but not with words. The poisonous venom paraded by the establishment last night,- the BBC, the three largest political parties, topped anything we farmers do. What a smell ! Perhaps the BNP polices do need more serious consideration, if the corrupt self serving lying establishment is so hostile and seeks to cover it up ?
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The best entertainment I’ve had in years. That so many feared this man is unbelievable now. That his supporters so revered him is quite frankly embarassing. If Mr Griffin is the best the BNP has to offer then the country should be able rest easier. Those who believe Mr Griffin did well were clearly watching a different programme. So what if he was given a hard time. He is a politician who put his head above the parapet. The views he and his party uphold are rejected by the vast majority of voters in this country as was reflected in the audience. The BBC should be congratulated and thanked for allowing Mr Griffin the platform he so craved but upon which he could only demonstrate his vile views and obvious stupidity.
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Griffin felt persecuted.Now he knows how minorities feel like when they’re peresecuted by the BNP.
If you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen.
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I am now living outside the UK as I believe that Britain has been taken away from the people who Cherish it the most. I’m not a racist but I believe immigration has destroyed the very heart of the country I once loved. Nick has the best interests of the country at heart but the liberals who have destroyed the very core of Britain for decades have worked their magic and he was set up on this show. Britain for me has vanished it has turned into something i no longer recognise as home and into something I despise.
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James 37.
I too live outside Britain and I agree with you 100%.
Unfortunately the people of Shropshire do not realise the problems of immigration in the large Cities of the UK.
It is not on their doorstep (yet)so it is all too easy to critise those who have to live with it !!
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#37 & 38, James and English Exile
I am intrigued by your comments. Where do you live? In the sea?
The problem as I perceive it is not in the cities, they have problems of the proximity of larger numbers of people, limited budgets etc but are also vibrant multi-cultural places and always have been for centuries.
The problem is small minded parochial towns that do not have the wide educational and cultural infrastructure of cities. Museums, Universities, Art Galleries and Theatres.
I do not see the loss to our country by your emigration as the quality of citizenship is defined by education,intelligence and moral values and has nothing to do with a person’s colour,sexual preferences or one would hope, religion.
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Oh the irony…
So both James and English Exile are themselves immigrants to their respective countries of choice. Lets hope that they are never in a position where they are repatriated against their will!
and Nelson stop trying to spin, are you defending Griffin’s comments on the Texas platform that he shared with David Duke or not?
Something tells me your answer will be as duplicitous as Griffin’s himself.
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Nick Griffin is leader of a so called political party, as such he must aspire to the leadership of the country he claims to love so much (dispite clearly hateing large, integeral elements of it). As the leader of a country Mr Griffin would be expected to robustly defend our best interests in international debate with our European partners and further afield. Such debates about real world issues would be fought with real passion, conviction and zeal. In comparison to such negotiations the Question Time ‘debate’was a tea party. None of the assembled great and good landed many punches and the audience though filled with rightious indignation were not in a possition to land debating punches. The only reason Mr Griffin came out of the show looking so bad was because he made himself look weak and craven, for him to now complain that he was bullied and is victim of BBC bias is absurd and rather a little telling. If Mr Griffin can not stand up to a frankly feeble panel and a powerless audience how will he be able to stand up for Britian in negotiations with ruthless forigners !
Surley the BNP should ditch such a wet blanket as Mr Griffin and find some one who can defend both themselves and their partie’s policy and oppinions.
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#37 & 38, James and English Exile
I am intrigued by your comments. Where do you live? In the sea?
The problem as I perceive it is not in the cities, they have problems of the proximity of larger numbers of people, limited budgets etc but are also vibrant multi-cultural places and always have been for centuries.
The problem is small minded parochial towns that do not have the wide educational and cultural infrastructure of cities which have Museums, Universities, Art Galleries,Libraries and Theatres.
The quality of citizenship is defined by a person’s education,attitude and moral values and should have nothing to do with a person’s colour,race,sexual preferences or one would hope, religion.
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No.14 & 22 ‘EDL Telford & Everybodies Friend’ Your comments dont surprise me. Small town mentality who dont venture out of the comfort zones but are quite happy to go out for a kebab, chinese or a curry. All foreign foods made by ‘foreigners’.
By the way i do travel a lot and don’t really like foreign food please grow up but then again i except from the left wing are you going to march with Islam4theUK?
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Let the man use his right to freedom of speech, we don’t have to agree with him or vote for him. We can’t gag the views we don’t agree with whether they be right or wrong.
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It was because of a legality that a representative of the B.N.P. was able to appear on the B.B.C due to the large numbers of votes cast for them.It did not appear to many a fair or normal Question Time.The audience were obviously carefully picked.The questions planned carefully .Nick Griffins handling of the occasion appeared no better and no worse than many other previous particapants on the programme .He may have lost a few supporters but I hazard a guess he gained some too.
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Lynch Mob TV for the BBC. A much nicer programme is that X Factor with those lovely twins?!
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comment 19 is spot onyou rulalites dont see or hear about the wonton disregard for our laws–our values or the intimidations/secular muggings-ect
you dont know about no- go areas for you know who
the insurance scams and others we have LOST
OUR IDENTITY perhaps not the right person is
daring to speak up and he is vilified
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A bit of balance and rational thought please. Any one who thinks we should gag a legally elected party from having their view aired isn’t really interested in democracy. The whole point of a democracy is to be able to listen and make a decision on what you hear. We may not always like it but that is a price worth paying for democracy.
The BBC were right to let the BNP on but wrong to change the format to make the show about a panelist instead of the other key topics ie the postal strike.
The BNP were exposed for their crass stupidty but this would have Been far more effective if they had run the show fairly. Hearing people sympathise with Nick Griffin for the way he was bullied only built sympathy for him from those who had some leaning in his direction.
I can understand how the prejudice in people grows against immigrants in times of poor job opportunities. Our fears grow axnd we attempt to rationalise our fears by blaming some body else and it’s easy to pick on a minority. When we let fear drive us we open up the worst in us.
It’s only when we stand above our fears that our true humanity is shown. Nick Griffin relies on fear as a tool to generate support – just like Hitler did. Stand above it.
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Nick Griffin and the BNP craved the public platform of Question Time. When it was granted he failed to live up to his party’s billing and was instead shown to be an odious buffoon. His policiies are those of a bully. If you can’t get your way blame everyone else. The BBC were part of a leftist consiracy for not letting him on QT. They’re now part of that same conspiracy for granting him a seat. The audience reflected the majority opinion of most in this country. The questioning reflected that. Possibly the programme format should have covered broader subjects but the same has happened on previous shows when a single issue dominated the news. But no it was all unfair, the audience were hand picked, the questions were pre arranged and to cap it all Londoners don’t represent the normal population of this country. What utter tosh and twaddle. Mr Griffin and the BNP have been shown in their true colours. Now they also have to compete with our generals, the popular press and as I saw on one tabloid headline today even the Queen. I suspect this party’s days are now numbered and good riddance to them. Despite their claims we are actually a tolerant society and don’t need the politics of fear and hatred.
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@ James and English Exile – I hope that you’ve both suitably assimilated in to the culture and customs of your chosen new countries. I assume that you’ve also abandoned all vestiges of your English culture, your right to vote in UK elections, access to UK healthcare and if necessary speak the local language, even at home.
Just make sure that you don’t socialise with any other ex-pats in public (at an ‘English’ pub or an Anglican church for example) or you may be identified by local Nationalist politicians and the indigenous population as a thuggish gang whose only aim is to intimidate, terrorise and dominate their community with your foreign ways or worse still as immigrants that are intent on degrading and diluting their culture heritage. I’m sure all of us insular, rural, non-aware, liberal Salopians would love to hear of your multicultural experiences.
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Some people make me sick.
If he has been voted in then he has a right to represent and speak for the people who voted for him. Has anyone above who said that he was “exposed” seen the recent guardian opinion polls which show 1 in 5 people would vote BNP?
Say what you like about the man and his party, they are the only voice standing up for our community. Here in walsall we have a larger immigrant population to shrops, we have an Afro-caribean community centre and an Asian community centre, try opening one for purely white christian people? youd have a riot on your hands.
Lets compare a few local differences…
Go to your local swimming baths and see the racial mix? whats it like?
Now come to our pools over here, last week I counted 47 asian and african people to just 9 whites, of which 3 where eastern european.
When you become the minority (in lovely little shrewsbury and the borders), you may actually start appreciating why Nick Griffins voice needs to be heard, until then just carry on shouting racist, we’ve heard it for years.
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The audience was a set up. Someone want wanted to ask the panels views about Ramsbottom Council in Lancs, sending a memo to staff telling them to dumb down their Christmas festivities so as not to offend a recently arrived Amish, so called ‘community’, of seven people, but they weren’t allowed to ask their question!
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One has to chuckle at the self-righteous indignation of the established political parties over the appearance of the BNP on Question Time or their criticism of some of the policies stated by Mr Griffin.
Do they not realise that their own inept handling of issues such as immigration over the past fifty years has provided the oxygen that the BNP needs.
Instead of blaming the BNP or the people that have voted for them…they should examine their record….if they are honest then perhaps they will realise that they have only themselves to blame.
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If the audience was a broad representative of Britain today, then it truly is frightening to see how this country has been invaded by so many in such a quick space of time.
What point is our armed forces and nuclear deterrent if our borders are so open to all?
It is no wonder that Nick Griffin has supporters, when they can see that Britain is loosing its unique ‘Britishness’ to multiculturalism.
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Y Mab Darogan (#10), you said that I was being ‘reprehensible’ and ‘disgusting’, bringing up Nick Griffin’s denial of the Holocaust.
Clearly I disagree, and hope that the more this denialism is exposed in threads like this, the better people can understand the true agenda of this fascist party.
This is a transcript of one exchange on the programme 6½ minutes in (you can see it on BBC i-player or YouTube)
Griffin: Without a shadow of a doubt I appreciate that if you look at some of the things I am quoted as having said, in the Daily Mail and so on, I’d be a monster. They are outrageous lies.
Dimbleby: Which is the untrue quote that’s been said about you? The Holocaust denial, possibly?
Griffin: The vast majority. Far too many to go into.
Dimblemby: The Holocaust denial. Did you deny the Holocaust? Yes you did.
Griffin: I do not have a conviction for it.
Dimbleby: But you did deny it. Why are you smiling? It’s not a particularly amusing issue.
Griffin: I was very critical of the way in which the Holocaust was and is abused to prevent serious discussion of immigration.
Dimbleby: It’s just, you say you were mis-quoted…’
Nelson (#13) hiding behind your pseudonym, you accept the murder of 6 million Jews as a fact, but your leader, given the opportunity to set the record straight in front of millions of people, does no such thing.
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What is all the fuss about the Holocaust? You have to remember that that was the way of the world back then.
Britian had more Anti-semetic/racist laws than Germany, when Hitler was still in short trousers. America was ahead of Hitler in genetic purity as they sterilised criminals believing criminal bred criminals.
Britain turned back fleeing Jews from Nazi Germany knowing full well their fate.
Before we criticise one buffoon who may or may have not made an ill-judged casual remark, we should look at ourselves and make amends for our own denials.
I am currently emailing your from Dresden where they are still awaiting for an apology from the British for the unjustified bombing of a civilian town. It wasn’t a little bombing run, it was four days of fire bombing destroying 15 sq miles, killing 40,000 people – for nothing! They didn’t even target the factories outside the city!!
“It is not possible to describe! Explosion after explosion. It was beyond belief, worse than the blackest nightmare. So many people were horribly burnt and injured. It became more and more difficult to breathe. It was dark and all of us tried to leave this cellar with inconceivable panic. Dead and dying people were trampled upon, luggage was left or snatched up out of our hands by rescuers. The basket with our twins covered with wet cloths was snatched up out of my mother’s hands and we were pushed upstairs by the people behind us. We saw the burning street, the falling ruins and the terrible firestorm. My mother covered us with wet blankets and coats she found in a water tub.
We saw terrible things: cremated adults shrunk to the size of small children, pieces of arms and legs, dead people, whole families burnt to death, burning people ran to and fro, burnt coaches filled with civilian refugees, dead rescuers and soldiers, many were calling and looking for their children and families, and fire everywhere, everywhere fire, and all the time the hot wind of the firestorm threw people back into the burning houses they were trying to escape from.”
I cannot forget these terrible details. I can never forget them.” – Lothar Metzger, survivor.
Let him without sin cast the first stone.
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‘Why all the fuss about the Holocaust’, Lucy W?
Because this was a deliberate policy by fascists to eliminate a race of people through genocide.
Your leader, Nick Griffin, denied for years that this crime against humanity happened.
For the vast majority of British people this denialism is disgusting and reprehensible.
Given the opportunity on Question Time to clarify matters for the British public, this was all Mr Griffin could manage;
Questioner: ‘Winston Churchill put everything on the line to ensure that my ancestors were not slaughtered in the concentration camps. But here sits a man, who says that’s a myth just like a flat world was a myth. How could you say that? How could you?’
Nick Griffin: I cannot explain why I used to say those things. (Audience laughs and boos) I can’t tell you any more than I can tell you why I have changed my mind. I can’t tell you the extent to which I’ve changed my mind because European law prevents me from doing so.
Jack Straw: There is no law here that stops you explaining yourself. As the Justice Minister, I promise you, if you want to explain why you don’t believe it… (cheers from audience).
Bonnie Greer: Come on, Nick, tell us.
David Dimbleby: You have the freedom now to explain it….
Nick Griffin: But unfortunately the French courts and the German courts would not recognise that freedom.
Jack Straw: I will sort that out for you as well.
David Dimblebly: I have a question. Have you actually changed your mind? Or do you only say that you have changed your mind because the law makes it illegal to be a Holocaust denier?
Nick Griffin: I have changed my mind. A lot of it is about figures, and one of the key things which makes me change my mind is British radio intercepts of German transmissions about the brutal mass murder of innocent Jews on the Eastern Front during anti-partisan warfare, which changed the figures greatly.
Jack Straw: What about the Holocaust? What about Auschwitz? People can see with their own eyes what happened. It didn’t need a subsequent radio intercept to find out that people were gassed at Auschwitz.
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Lucy W, how convincing do you find your leader’s ‘radio intercept’ point?
Do you think this is going to be a clincher with the British public?
Rather like your desperate red herring about Dresden, Griffin’s response has NOTHING to do with the question he was asked about the Holocaust.
Why all the fuss about the Holocaust?
Probably because British people would prefer their politicians to tell the truth on prime time TV.
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Huw, sorry I can’t engage with you in depth, I am in Germany right now, Leipzig in fact as I have to go to a major car manufacturer’s factory.
I’m very privileged to be accepted by the locals because I live and work with them – I’m not a blinkered tourist. In fact they still talk about the last time I threw up in the fountain at the University and had a row with the police for not using a pedestrian crossing!
Anyway bottom line is the BNP look like the WI compared to some of the Nationalistic sentiment here. Have you got nothing better to worry about?
If you want to see racism, you should be here. Some guy accused of racism smuggled a knife into the court in Dresden and stabbed to death the person who had accused him of racism! Nick Griffin’s feeble grasp of history pales into insignificance, don’t you think? Much better things to divert your energies to – remember Bosnia?
To be honest I only came on to see if Al Gores latest gaff (ban pets as they contribute to Global Warming) had reached the UK.
Anyway, we found an old Dire Straits video and have rolled back the carpet to do the Walk of Life, but don’t worry all the electricity comes from Green Nuclear power!
And as this thread is about free speech, I have had to explain the Dire Straits (with Sting) ‘Money For Nothing’ is now banned from radio play in the UK because it refers to a homosexual with a word that they don’t like, which also means a bundle of sticks or chopped seasoned liver. They call us verrückte Englisch (crazy English).
Oh dear, the video is now onto ‘Brothers of Arms’, perhaps you may want to Google the lyrics and reflect on them?
Anyway, must get back to the party and show Johnny Foreigner how to have a good time!
Auf Wiedersehen
PS I would love to engage with you in my fluent German, but after a misunderstanding with my Polish, the Shropshire Star won’t allow me to post in foreign languages. Now just how racist is that?
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Lucy,
Are you working at the Porsche factory?
If so, nice one, try and smuggle one out for me, I could do with ripping up a few Shropshire B roads ….;-)
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Indeed I am Brian 2. You are obviously a connoisseur of fine automobiles, however they make the Cheyenne 4×4 here so you might be disappointed if its ripping up B-roads you wanted.
However, off to VW Wolfsberg in a few weeks where they have some Lamborghinis, so I will take my big lunch box and see how many bits I can smuggle out for you in Johnnny Cash ‘One piece at a time’style.
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There is an excellent Fact checker on the Channel 4 News site for those wanting to compare what Nick Griffin said on Question Time with the reality.
Just Google: ‘Channel 4 News Fact Check: BNP on Question Time’
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/domestic_politics/factcheck+bnp+on+question+time/3397297
How do you think Nick Griffin did, Lucy W and Brian (2)?
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Lucy W, amongst your untruths about Al Gore and Dire Straits, you said (#58) I should be less concerned with ‘Nick Griffin’s feeble grasp of history’ and more concerned about racism in Germany.
This misses the thrust of my argument, which can be summed up in two sentences.
1) The BNP tell lies to spread hatred, mistrust and racism.
2) Nick Griffen told lies on prime time TV in front of 8 million viewers.
This may be of no concern to you or brian (2), but in my opinion, the overwhelming majority of people want politicians to tell the truth.
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