BNP told 'don't hijack army image'
Updated on 20 October 2009
The British National Party leader Nick Griffin has warned the former generals who criticised his party for hijacking military images, they should remember the Nazi war criminals who were hanged at Nuremburg.
In an open letter, a group of senior officers said the values of the far-right were "completely at odds" with the British armed forces.
But writing on the BNP website this afternoon, Mr Griffin said that after the second world war, generals and politicians "accused of waging illegal aggressive wars were all charged, and hanged, together".
One former chief of defence staff and two ex-heads of the army are among the signatories to a letter, which accuses the British National Party of "tarnishing" the reputation of troops by seeking to associate itself with their sacrifices.
The letter comes on the day the Royal British Legion has launched its annual poppy appeal.
The Times newspaper reported that former Army generals had written a letter warning that political extremists had no right to share the armed forces' proud reputation.
The letter, signed by former heads of the Army, General Sir Mike Jackson and General Sir Richard Richard Dannatt, amongst others, said far right groups were "fundamentally at odds" with the values of the British military.
The move follows the BNP's tactic of using images of Winston Churchill and wartime insignia during recent European election campaigns.
The letter reads: "We call on all those who seek to hijack the good name of Britain's military for their own advantage to cease and desist.
"The values of these extremists - many of whom are essentially racist - are fundamentally at odds with the values of the modern British military, such as tolerance and fairness."
In response the BNP told Channel 4 News at Noon: "The use of nostalgic and military imagery during the recent European election campaign struck a chord of resonance with large sections of the British public. So much so that this was by far the most successful campaign in the party's history.
"The BNP is the only party on record to consistently condemn the illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The generals do not speak for all sections of our armed forces, many of whom support, vote or are members of the British National Party."
James Bethel, founder of Nothing British About The BNP, told Channel 4 News: "Nick Griffin claims to be sharing values with British military armed services. That's just not true. The armed services stand for courage, fairness and decency, Mr Griffin stands for segregation and confrontation.
"I'm really concerned that they will continue to draw on the warm feelings of the public towards the military."
Colonel Tim Collins who commanded the 1st Battalion, the Royal Irish Regiment, during the invasion of Iraq, told Channel 4 News at Noon that he had never heard of anyone in the armed forces being a member of the BNP.
"We have to strike a balance, in an open and democratic country people should have a freedom of choice," he said. "But it would be very difficult to be in the army and a member of the BNP because if you are a soldier you could be sharing a barrack block or a slip trench with someone who's from Nepal or indeed someone that you disapprove of from Ireland."
The move by the generals comes after the BBC rejected a call from Cabinet minister Peter Hain to drop BNP leader Nick Griffin from the panel on BBC1's Question Time this Thursday, and a document apparently listing thousands of BNP members was posted on the internet.
"There's a certainty that there is going to be a general election," Col Collins said when asked about the timing of the letter. "Because of the appalling record of the current government in things like immigration, and really abandoning the white working class, the fear is that these people will gravitate towards extremist parties because of their fear and anger about what is happening in the country.
"This is a mess of the government's making, but it's actually down to the mainstream parties to solve this because this is something that can be addresses, and should be addressed.
"Whoever the next government is…will address this."
"Servicemen can't speak out so it is down to those who have retired to speak out. We speak on behalf of the armed forces and say there's nothing British about the BNP."
