Nick Griffin not guilty.
After a retrial, Nick Griffin, leader of the British National Party, has been found not guilty of inciting racial hatred in a speech in Yorkshire during 2004. The previous link has an extract. The full speech seems to have been pulled from the BNP site, no doubt it will reappear somewhere later. Meanwhile, Griffin's speech can be found in a grainy video on Free Speech on Trial. The BBC also has part of the speech in a news report of the trial.
The Times reports that the judge said, We live in a democratic society which jealously protects the rights of its citizens to freedom of expression, to free speech. That does not mean it is limited to speaking only the acceptable, popular or politically correct things. It extends to the unpopular, to those which many people may find unacceptable, unpalatable and sensitive.
I should not like to put that to the test. The Times also has a lawyer explaining the legal position.
Almost immediately the squalid but authentic voice of the left was heard from Gordon Brown demanding a change in the law to enable people like Griffin to be found guilty. Even those most ardent of multi-culturalists, the Liberal Democrats, who would not give the likes of Griffin the time of day, are against such restrictions. It is not hard to figure Brown's motives. If he is to lead the Labour party into the next election, he will desperately need the Muslim vote to stand a realistic chance of winning.
Update 11.11.06 @ 21.25
The speech can now be downloaded from the BNP site. It is 61MB.
2 comments:
I have lived and worked in Dewsbury and Batley, my Father and grandfather and great grandfather had a mill in Batley.
I worked with Pakistania workers from being fourteen 1974
these people integrated at work and spoke English as fast as they could learn it, there was no religious dress they just ate different food.
The change accurred with the introduction of Saudi money late 1980s financing building mosques suddenly a large amount of pakistanies started to wear religious dress in the 1990s.
I was working in south Wales for three years, and caught a taxi back to my home in Dewsbury 1996 and the taxi driver was in white islamic robes I said to him you would get a lot more fares if you did not dress like that I was so shocked that in three years everything had changed.
The influence from Saudi Arabie had filtered through.
The pakistanies in Dewsbury have islamic teaching which is saudi doctrine which is not condusive to our way of life and as
in Saudi you are not allowed to take a Bible into the country shows they are not tolerent with other religions, why should we be tolerent of their religion when it is alien to our way of life.
I know, anonymous. In the 1970s and 1980s I lived in Huddersfield and in the 1980s worked in Bradford. At that time only the older end wore traditional dress. It was most unusual to see a burka in the street.
Many Pakistanis derided those of their younger fellow countrymen who did not attempt to integrate. Indeed, I first heard to term "TP" - typical Paki - from a 15 year old Pakistani criticising those who did try to integrate. He could see the problems they were creating for themselves.
Then, as you say, it began to change with the expansion of the mosques. I would not blame the Saudis 100%. The Labour left must take some responsibility as well. Kirklees Council, dominated by the extremists from Dewsbury and Batley, did their best to undermine the integration that had taken place in Kirklees. It was a similar story of Labour in Bradford.
Post a Comment