Has the BNP claimed its first parliamentarian? Early stories on the leaked membership list, which can now be seen on WikiLeaks, erroneously reported that a sitting peer was among those included.
Baron Bramall, a former chief of the defence staff, was branded as the guilty man and the fact that he once traded blows with Lord Janner after a series of anti-Israel comments did little to dampen speculation. But with a bit of digging I’ve found out that the individual in question is in fact the self-styled “Lord” Brian Bramhall of Newbury, a man who has certainly not been elevated to the House of Lords.
Meanwhile, Mary Riddell has an excellent piece in today’s Daily Telegraph on the practical policies needed to counter the BNP, a welcome reminder that Nick Griffin’s appearance on Question Time is unlikely to swing many votes either way.
UPDATE: Lord Bramall has responded: “I’m completely apolitical and I’ve had no involvement with the BNP,” he told the Guardian.
“I’m the last person who would have anything to do with them. I fought fascism in the second world war. People do have views of every sort in a democracy, but many of the BNP’s views are very unattractive.”
Content from our partners
Related
