The family of a BNP ­activist chosen to ­become the far-right party’s first mayor has disowned him in disgust.

John Cave’s daughters say they are so ashamed of their father’s views and behaviour they are changing their surnames.

And they claim he had an affair while their mother had breast cancer then abandoned the ­family – even ignoring them if he saw them in the street.

Sales manager Donna, 27, says: “We’ve kept quiet about it for years but we want people to know he abandoned his family without a backward glance.

“The BNP is very active where we live but they are not supported by the vast majority. There’ll be riots again when he’s made mayor because people won’t like it.

“We’re changing our surname. I can’t mention it at work in case I have to discipline someone and they say I picked on them because my dad’s a racist.”

Donna’s sister Rachel, 25, says: “We’re like a secret family. He’s being talked about as some kind of upstanding member of the ­community and he’s not.”

BNP Mayor John Cave

British National Party member Mr Cave, who has been a ­councillor for 12 months, will become ­deputy mayor of Padiham Town Council in Burnley, Lancashire, in the next civic year. He is due to take office as mayor a year later.

He has said his role is “not about politics” but campaign group Hope Not Hate says: “The role of mayor is to act as the figurehead of a community, and we don’t see how that role can be carried out by anybody who represents a party whose sole aim is to divide.”

And division is something Cave’s daughters say they know only too well. Mr Cave married their ­mother Marlene in 1970 and the couple had a daughter, Victoria, but split up four years later.

They got back together and married for a second time in 1984, having the sisters and another daughter, Katie.

Donna and Rachel say they ­remember a happy childhood with their father, who worked as a landscape ­gardener.

But in 1999 after a string of rows he temporarily left the family’s home. Shortly afterwards Marlene was diagnosed with breast cancer and he returned home to support his wife and girls.

Mr Cave had become “good friends” with Sharon Wilkinson, a married mother-of-three who ran a local shop.

Donna says: “During the ­evenings dad would make several trips out to the shop and then walk the dog at 10pm just when she closed up. He helped her do the cash-and-carry runs. I might have been a ­teenager but I’m not ­stupid.”

The daughters claim that while their mother was having a ­mastectomy, radiotherapy and ­chemotherapy, their father did not help as much as he could.

Donna said: “We got our own tea and got ourselves to school. He spent a lot of time with Sharon.”

And they believe it was Mrs Wilkinson – a BNP county ­councillor – whose influence led their father to join the party. Rachel says: “Sharon was ­extremely upset when an Asian family opened a bigger grocery store opposite her off licence and then began to sell alcohol. Their shop was always full and hers was ­always empty.”

Eventually Mr Cave split from Donna and Rachel’s mother for good, moving out of the home and later marrying Mrs Wilkinson.

Donna says: “We wanted to stay in touch and I tried to ring him but after a while he never responded. I sent him a Christmas card with a letter in it saying we ­understood that affairs happen and while it was upsetting we would like to have a ­relationship with him. He never wrote back.”

Now his daughters say their ­relationship with their father can never be repaired. Rachel says: “With his affair and ­abandoning us it’s very ­difficult.”

And their sister Katie, 26, says: “I saw him once a month or so for about a year or 18 months. I always had to arrange it with Nana.”

When the Sunday Mirror asked him to comment Mr Cave, who is in his early sixties, denied he had ­abandoned his children – who he referred to as “those people”.

He said: “What my daughters want to say is up to them.

“My ­divorce from their mother was not at all amicable and they seem to have taken her version of events. I’ve absolutely no ­comment to make about what those people say. They’ve always said that I had an affair with ­Sharon, but I don’t want to ­comment on that. As for me not being fit to be mayor, it’s not up to them is it?”

Deserted manifesto launch signals election disaster

The low-key launch of the BNP’s English manifesto in a deserted Stoke-on-Trent shopping street yesterday was in marked contrast to previous events held by the group in the area. In 2008 the city played host to a 300-strong BNP rally; only around 30 members turned up yesterday.

With three volunteers holding up modest Union flag backdrops to ensure they did not blow over during the speech by the deputy leader Simon Darby, and press interviews held in the corner of a giant retail centre car park, the event was notably different from last year’s general election campaign launch. Then, a man dressed as St George appeared with the leader Nick Griffin in Stoke to begin the party’s ill-fated push for a Westminster seat. Mr Griffin was unable to attend this time due to poor health, leaving the floor – or rather pavement – for Mr Darby to address his small gaggle of followers.

He called the Labour Party leader Ed Miliband an “alien”, a “reptile” and a thoroughly “odd-looking bloke”, and accused Labour of gerrymandering the council ward boundaries to reduce the BNP’s presence.

Michael Coleman, one of five BNP councillors in Stoke, said its nine-page policy document was intended to stop an “invasion and occupation by a foreign body of people”, lauding it as “exciting, positive and uplifting”.

All members present denied they were racist, but anti-Islamic rhetoric dominated the short affair, with Mr Coleman claiming white folk will flee the area because they are intimidated by the building of a mosque. “They’ve got no right to be in this country and everybody knows it,” he said.

Mr Darby portrayed the BNP as the underdogs and claimed some of its supporters faced prison for their beliefs. He professed his delight to be out campaigning on a “sunny English day”, but it appeared yesterday that the BNP’s moment in the sun could be coming to an end.

It is expected to field about 200 candidates in next month’s elections, compared with more than 700 in the comparable campaign in 2007, and faces losing all the seats that it is defending. Following its relatively poor general election showing, the BNP has been riven by internal strife, including a failed challenge to Mr Griffin’s leadership. Some disaffected former BNP members have defected to the English Democrats, while others have set up a breakaway party, British Freedom.

Matthew Goodwin, of Nottingham University, an analyst of far-right politics said “Their situation is very grave. Even in their core areas, the BNP are struggling to find candidates.”

THE BNP has been reported to the Electoral Commission over a campaign leaflet that falsely claims there are more Muslims in the UK than Scots.

A pamphlet was put through letterboxes across Scotland which said the BNP would put an end to mosque-building and warning of a “flood” of Eastern European immigrants about to arrive in Scotland.

Campaign group, Hope Not Hate, has reported the party over its claims. There are an estimated 2.4 million Muslims in Britain and more than five million in Scotland alone, 89% of whom declared themselves Scottish in the last census.

The far-right BNP is planning to field a record number of candidates in the next Holyrood and Westminster elections, but the Sunday Herald can reveal that a shortage of candidates has meant Nick Griffin’s daughter Jenny has been forced to stand in English, Welsh and Scottish elections under her married name, Jennifer Matthys.

Opponents said it was damning evidence of the BNP’s lack of support.

A spokesman for Hope Not Hate said: “The BNP’s campaign of hate has been rejected by the Scottish people, which is why they have resorted to a tissue of lies.

“The BNP is desperate when Nick Griffin is forced to pressgang his own daughter into standing in three separate elections. This makes a mockery of their claims to be building support across the country.”

Aamer Anwar, human rights lawyer, said Muslims could be intimidated by the leaflets and they should call the police if they felt threatened. He said: “This could be considered breach of the peace. It’s racist nonsense which is totally inaccurate and trying to play on people’s fears.”

BNP Scottish organiser Gary Raikes said the leaflets were checked before going out and questioned whether the UK’s Muslim population had been accurately measured.

Concerns: Councillor John Cave is set to become Britain's first BNP mayor after colleagues voted overwhelmingly for his appointment

However, his selection was criticised by Bishop of Burnley John Goddard, who said a mayor had a responsibility to represent all citizens of his town, ‘regardless of race, colour or status’.

He added: ‘It will be interesting to see if he acts in the best traditions of a mayor in the community, and I pray he does, as he will have to reject the philosophy of the BNP.

Councillor Cave is married to BNP Lancashire County Councillor Sharon Wilkinson

With a population of around 10,000, Padiham’s town council only has limited powers, and elected members do not stand on party political grounds. However, the next mayor is a long-term BNP activist in nearby Burnley and his wife, Sharon Wilkinson – expected to be his mayoress – became the party’s first county councillor, representing the town, in 2009.

He contributed a clip of former Labour minister Shahid Malik speaking about British aid being given to Muslim countries to a website under the heading ‘The threat of Islam’.

Mr Cave also wrote a letter to a local newspaper last year demanding that Britain’s political and religious leaders ‘admit their multicultural folly’ and direct their efforts to benefit the majority.

Although the town council has three members who are Labour borough councillors in the area, none opposed Mr Cave in the vote, which was based on seniority.

They were advised that the position of mayor is allocated on a rotation basis, with the longest-serving member not to have already held the post next in line.

And despite having been on the council for just 12 months, that left Mr Cave, after another councillor opted not to stand.

As a result, he was backed by nine out of 11 who were present, with two abstaining. He will spend a year as deputy mayor before taking over as mayor next April.

Yesterday he pledged to play a non-political role: ‘It is a vote of confidence. This is my home town and I was born here. It is all about Padiham and Padiham is not about politics.’

ne of those who abstained was John Harbour, also a Labour member of Burnley council.

He said: ‘It had absolutely nothing to do with John being a BNP councillor. There was no political motive behind it.’

Anti-BNP campaigners Hope not Hate said they were ‘disappointed’ by his selection.

‘The role of mayor in any community is to act as the figurehead of the community, and we don’t see how that role can be carried out by anybody who represents a party whose sole aim is to divide communities,’ a spokesman said.

THE BNP have accused David Cameron of stealing their immigration policy in his speech to Conservative members earlier today (April 14).

BNP spokesman, Simon Darby, said: “It’s cynical opportunism, isn’t it? It’s almost like a ceremonial adoption of our policy

“He knows what ordinary British people are thinking. He completely ignores that until two weeks before a major poll, and then all of a sudden starts pressing a few buttons to try and make people believe he’s actually doing something about immigration.”

Business Secretary Vince Cable also accused Cameron of electioneering and attacked the immigration speech by deeming it “very unwise” and said that it “risked inflaming extremism”.

The Prime Minister delivered the speech to Conservative party members in Hampshire in a bid to re-affirm the Government’s pledge to cut down immigration. But Cable’s remarks have sparked yet again more rumours of tensions within the coalition Government.

Mr Cable, who is well known for supporting the theory of non-EU migrants being the key to economic recovery, also said that Cameron’s proposal to reduce migration to the UK was “not part of the coalition agreement.”

The Liberal Democrats have distanced themselves from Cameron’s language after deputy PM, Nick Clegg, “noted rather than approved” the speech when he read it.

During the question and answer section of his speech, Cameron denied that the two parties within the coalition are at odds about the immigration policy.

“Coalitions do mean you have discussions and argument within your government. We have had those, we’ve settled the policy, we’ve agreed it. We have a very good, robust policy and that is the policy of the whole government,” the PM said.

The referendum, local and devolved elections are taking place just three weeks time on May 5.

Should we be manning the barricades as a new generation of Blackshirts takes over the country? According to reports in yesterday’s newspapers, “almost half the country would back a far Right party” that dissociated itself from violence and fascist imagery.

The reports – based on the results of a poll of 5,054 people conducted by the anti-fascist organisation Searchlight – stirred up a good deal of shock-horror as, I suppose, they were intended to. Searchlight is a campaigning organisation. Saying “Eek! Look out! Fascists! They’re everywhere!” is – not to impugn the good work they do – slightly the point of its existence.

When you look at the question that this 48 per cent figure (“almost half the country”, natch, rather than, say, “less than half”) answered yes to, the story unravels. These interviewees were asked whether they would “definitely support” or “consider supporting” a non-violent political party that “wants to defend the English, create an English parliament, control immigration and challenge Islamic extremism”.

Are these the four key indicators of fascism? “Defend the English” is an almost meaningless phrase – and could just as easily cover the people who bore on about celebrating St George’s Day or campaign for authentic Cornish pasties as neo-Nazi boot-boys. The creation of an English Parliament is no more than the logical conclusion of New Labour’s wet-blanket plans for a succession of regional talking shops. To “control immigration” was the stated aim of all three main political parties at the last election (well, duh: I challenge you to find the party that stands for abolishing passports and throwing the borders wide open).

And how many people do you see sticking up for Islamic extremism? The aspiration to “challenge” it is hardly a mark of the far Right, unless we’re to imagine jackbooted hordes marching in lockstep down Whitehall threatening “firm words and a searching dialogue”.

My guess is that 52% were put off supporting this blandly centrist imaginary political party only by the thought of finding unctuous English Assembly Members in cheap suits on their doorsteps at election time.

It is only by wilfully interpreting these things as code-phrases for “send them home”, “outlaw Islam” and “kill all the Welsh” do you arrive at the idea that 48% of people would vote for fascists given the chance. And, of course, it’s bollocks: they wouldn’t and they don’t.

A poll on actual parties of the Right gets conducted, for real, and with a much larger sample size, every time we have an election. The BNP is a far Right party that doesn’t use fascist imagery and does its best to dissociate itself from violence – and its share of the vote remains more or less what it has always been: that is, pathetic.

A number of the largest Sikh and Hindu organisations in Britain have formally released a joint statement forcefully condemning the EDL and any Sikhs who join them. The latter is of course particularly applicable to the EDL’s “Sikh” spokesman Guramit (sometimes known as “Amit”) Singh; he was also one of the EDL members interviewed by BBC’s Newsnight as part of a documentary about the group which the programme showed earlier this week. As previously discussed on Pickled Politics, Guramit himself is currently being prosecuted by the police for “intentionally causing religiously aggravated harassment alarm or distress, under Section Four of the Public Order Act 1986”, following a public speech by Guramit which included the following remarks:

“I’m going to tell you precisely right now what threat of Islam is. Muhammad and Islam is not a religion… Muhammad was a paedophilic pirate… Islam, in not just this country but around the world, has been using their disgusting threat, their threat has been going on for 1400 years, “if you do not bow before Muhammad and his so-called Allah, you are to be beheaded”… Hitler had fuck all on Muhammad.

The Koran and the Hadiths is written in Arabic. Muslims are not allowed to be taught Arabic in the mosque. Muslims are told, “do not question what your Imam says, although they don’t even know what the Imam’s saying, because the Imam’s just a “Allah, fuck it”. Stick your Allah up your arse, you cunt. Fuck em, fuck em, fuck em. I’m not being funny, fuck em. I may get arrested for this shit, but fuck em, fuck em, I’m not having it, fuck em, fuck em, fuck em, fuck em.”

The speech is available on Youtube. Guramit has also previously boasted on his Facebook page about his murderous hatred of Muslims:

“the muzzies wanna keep away from me im just looking for an excuse im fucked off at the mo fuck the pakis … i just think we shud burn the cunts now!!”

Joint statement

The full text of the joint statement by the aforementioned British Sikh and Hindu organisations condemning the EDL is as follows; the signatories so far also include the largest Sikh temple outside India, along with a number of other prominent Sikh and Hindu temples, numerous Sikh councillors, and a Member of Parliament:

We, the undersigned, are deeply concerned by the rise in fascism, Islamophobia, anti-semitism and racism. The English Defence League (EDL) has organised events across the country, stirring up hatred, Islamophobia and racism – running riot in some cases and provoking violent attacks on Muslim, black and Asian communities and on Mosques and Mandirs (Hindu temples).

Alongside this the British National Party (BNP) has received unprecedented electoral support for a fascist organisation in Britain.

They are using the old tactics of ‘divide and rule’ and are trying to divide the Asians by isolating the Muslim community. Furthermore, some misguided Sikh youth are letting themselves to be used by the EDL while a Sikh man has disgracefully joined the BNP. These people are helping to spread mistrust within our communities and we whole heartedly condemn their actions.

At a time of economic crisis with mass unemployment and impending deep public spending cuts – if the racists are allowed to make any further gains then we all would suffer from grave consequences. Thus we urge all Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jews and people of other faiths to come together to strongly condemn the actions of these racist organisations and unite to turn back this tide of hatred.

• Sunny Singh, President, Sikh Society, Hertfordshire University
• Gurdev Kaur, President, Sikh Society, Imperial College, London
• Gulzar Singh Hanspal, Vice President, LSE Sikh-Punjab Society, London School of Economics
• B. S. Virk, President, Sikh Society,University College London (UCL)
• Jasdeep Singh, President, Sikh Society, Westminster University
• Surinder Singh Purewal, Gen. Sec., Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Southall
• Balvindar Singh, Vice President, British Sikh Council, U.K.
• Harmander Singh, Principal Advisor, Sikhs In England (SIE)
• Teja Singh, Gen. Sec., Sikh Missionary Society (U.K.)
• Jaspal Singh Bhamra, Gen. Sec., Ramgarhia Sabha, Southall
• Varinder Singh, Spokesperson, Turban Campaign
• Harsev Singh Bains, National Gen. Sec., Indian Workers Association (G.B.)
• Umesh Sharma, Chairman, Hindu Temple Trust, Southall
• Pyara Lal Sohi, President, Siri Guru Valmik Sabha, Southall
• Sarswati Sharma, Cultural Sec., Vishwa Hindu Mandir, Southall
• Balwindar Singh Rana, Spokesperson, Unite Against Fascism
• Virendra Sharma, M.P.
• R. Sansarpuri, Councillor, Hillingdon
• Darshan Singh Gurm, General Secretary, Singh Sabha London East Barking & Seven Kings.
• R. Singh, Spokesperson, Mata Sahib Kaur Sikh Academy, Newbury Park, Ilford.
• Gurcharan Singh, Councillor, Ealing Southall
• Gurjeev Nandra, President, Kings College London Sikh Society.
• Councillor Lakhbir Singh (Former Mayor of Luton), Labour Party, Luton
• Councillor Gurdial Bhamra, London Borough of Redbridge
• Councillor Balvir Sond, Hounslow West Ward
• Councillor Bally Singh, Coventry City Council
• Councillor Harjinder (Joe) Singh Naitta, Blagreaves Ward – Derby

The EDL are planning a large demonstration in Luton on Saturday 5th February 2011.The EDL’s leader (and ex-BNP member & convicted criminal) “Tommy Robinson” aka Stephen Yaxley Lennon was interviewed by Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight earlier this week (video available on Youtube) and he admitted that he is now opposed to Islam in general, not just extremist interpretations of the religion.

The EDL’s previous claims to be opposed “only to militant Islam” are further thrown into question by the fact that, for example, in October 2010 they held a large demonstration in Leicester, a city where the majority of British Asians are actually Gujarati Hindus. Furthermore, the rally was held during Navratri, a major annual Hindu festival which is of particular importance to Gujarati Hindus and which occurs just a couple of weeks before Diwali itself. I expect an “anti-Islam” rally by the EDL outside the Hare Krishna temple in Watford is next; and yes, I’m obviously being sarcastic, but you get my point.

Sikhism’s Guru Gobind Singh versus the EDL’s Guramit “Singh”

On Newsnight, Guramit was shown to be poring over numerous out-of-context quotes from the Quran along with openly referring to Islam as “evil”. Since Guramit was also visibly wearing a ‘kara’ – the steel bangle which, like Guramit’s surname “Singh”, is a direct historical legacy of the formation of the Khalsa in 1699 by the 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh — perhaps Guramit’s time would be better spent researching Sikhism’s actual views on Islam, Muslims, and Allah.

Suitable starting points would include the fact that the foundation stone of the Golden Temple in Amritsar was laid by a Muslim saint upon the invitation of the Sikh Guru at the time, on land granted to the Sikhs by a Muslim emperor; the architecture of the Golden Temple itself was specifically designed to reflect a pluralistic, multi-faith ethos, open to all, and symbolising both the unity of God irrespective of what name people call their deity by and the unity of mankind irrespective of what religious affiliation people may identify themselves by; “Allah” and Muslims are explicitly included. Or the fact that the 6th Sikh Guru Hargobind, who began the process of militarising the Sikhs by raising a standing army and whose successor provided military assistance to the Mughal crown prince Dara Shukoh, also had a mosque built for the ordinary Muslims who had settled in the town he’d founded in Punjab; the mosque was recently renovated by a joint project in India consisting of Sikh and Muslim volunteers; considerable assistance was provided by the Sikh group known as “Nihangs”, who historically formed the most dedicated professional soldiers of the 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh’s Khalsa army.

Other examples include the fact that the Sikh scriptures, the Guru Granth Sahib, include numerous hymns originally written by Muslims along with Islamic names for God such as “Allah”. Or the fact that the final version of the Guru Granth Sahib was compiled by Guru Gobind Singh, who was also responsible for fully militarising the Sikh population and creating the Khalsa; the Guru Granth Sahib condemns bigotry and extremism (religious or otherwise), but Guru Gobind Singh did not add a single word disparaging “Allah” or attacking Muslims en masse or denigrating Islam as a whole. Or the fact that all of the Sikh Gurus had numerous Muslim allies and supporters, including Guru Gobind Singh himself, whose army included senior Muslim officers and whose own life was proactively saved by several Muslims during one of the very worst periods he ever experienced in his lifetime. After the death of the fanatical Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind Singh provided military assistance to one of Aurangzeb’s more liberal sons during the war of succession and played a pivotal role in facilitating the prince’s victory, for which the new Mughal emperor – Bahadur Shah I – subsequently publicly honoured Guru Gobind Singh with the formal title “Pir-i-Hind”, meaning “Saint of India”.

As a stark contrast to the EDL’s bigoted views, including their spokesman Guramit “Singh’s” disgusting remarks about Islam, Muslims and Allah, Guru Gobind Singh succinctly made his own stance very clear indeed in the Akal Ustat:

“Someone calls himself a Hindu, another a Turk, someone a Shia, another a Sunni. Recognise the whole of humanity as one race……

He the One is the only God of us all: it is His Form, His Light that is diffused in all…..

The temple or the mosque are the same, the Hindu worship or the Muslim prayer are the same; all humans are the same, it is through error they appear different…..it is the one God who created all.

The Hindu God and the Muslim God are the same; let no man even by mistake suppose there is a difference.”

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh.

The Turban Campaign statement can be viewed, reposted and signed here:

http://www.turbancampaign.com/updates/joint-statement-release/

A FORMER member of the British National Party in Wales has lashed out at party leader Nick Griffin.

Kevin Edwards, a councillor for Llandybie in Ammanford, resigned from the ultra-nationalist party after he claimed it failed to properly deal with a member who had been convicted of assault.

The party’s South Wales organiser Roger Phillips, of Cross Hands, was convicted at Llanelli Magistrates’ Court last month after he admitted assaulting Adam Margetts, a fellow drinker at Llanelli Workingmen’s Club.

When Cllr Edwards e-mailed party leader Nick Griffin he claims he was told: “He’s got to go. I’m shocked that this was not dealt with in South Wales ages ago.”

But when a meeting of party organisers chose to back Mr Phillips, Cllr Edwards said the party’s refusal to oust him had left him no choice but to cut all links with the BNP.

Writing on his blog, he said: “What can I say? I have always been a loyal Griffinite and have always believed in Nick’s integrity and honesty.

“That is now shattered. Nick is either a blatant liar, politically naive or just listens to some very bad advice. Whatever the reason he is definitely not serious when he says that the party has cleaned up it’s image.”

Wales on Sunday previously reported how police investigated Mr Phillips in 2009 after he allegedly threatened to kill Bristol man Mark Watson, but charges were never brought.

BNP deputy Simon Darby said of Cllr Edwards resignation: “It’s a minor thing and it won’t affect the huge effort we are going to put into winning seats on the Welsh Assembly.”

STEPPING OUT: Former Heckmondwike councillor David Exley, pictured leaving Batley Town Hall as the first BNP councillor in Kirklees in 2003.

FORMER Heckmondwike BNP councillor David Exley has quit the party, saying leader Nick Griffin is taking the party in the ‘wrong direction’.

Mr Exley, who was the first BNP councillor to be elected onto Kirklees in 2003, lost his seat in the 2008 elections but stood again as the party’s candidate in Cleckheaton in the Kirklees poll and for Batley and Spen in the general election earlier this year.

But the one time leader of the group in Kirklees said he was worried the BNP was not representing the views of the electorate. “We can’t go on as we are under the present leadership,” said Mr Exley.

“Nick is taking the party in the wrong direction.

“The BNP is not representing the views of the people and I don’t want to be a part of that.

“At the moment, Nick is fighting lots of legal cases and it is costing the party hundreds of thousands of pounds.

“We should not be doing that. We should be concentrating on the issues affecting people.”

Mr Exley, who is chairman of Heckmondwike’s chamber of trade, said he thought Mr Griffin’s leadership had dwindled since he was elected into the European Parliament.

“We can’t have a man who is doing everything – party administration, political leader and a member of the European parliament,” he added.

“He should have delegated the roles and resigned as party leader.

“We are 12 months down the line from him being elected and we are suffering the consequences.”

Mr Exley said he would never ruling out standing an independent or under the banner of a different party.

The British National Party has been told by football fans to stay way from local grounds after members canvassed support outside the Oval at the weekend.

They issued leaflets seeking support to bring Troops back from Afghanistan.

Graham Moore from the Castlereagh Glentoran Supporters’ Club said the BNP was not something fans want to be associated with.

The BBC contacted the BNP office for a response, but no one replied.

Mr Moore said he noticed BNP literature on car windscreens on his way into the football ground.

“I noticed the BNP presence and I have to say I was a little puzzled.

“In the run up to elections we sometimes get mainstream parties outside the ground but this was very unusual, ” Mr Moore said.

“I wasn’t interested in what they were doing so I didn’t go any closer to see what exactly they were doing.

“They were outside the ground so there is nothing the club can do but it’s not something the supporters want to have to see.”

East Belfast DUP MLA Robin Newton described the presence of the BNP at the football game as uninvited and unwelcome.

Mr Newton said a number of constituents contacted him to “express their disgust” at the presence of the BNP outside their local club.

“They go to the Oval to support the Glens and enjoy a game of football; they don’t want to be faced with BNP messages of hate,” Mr Newton said.

“Glentoran Football Club has a generational tradition of appealing to a broad range of supporters and players, irrespective of race or religion.

“I presume this BNP presence is some sort of campaign to raise their nauseous profile, and I appeal for everyone to stand as one to reject their message,” he added.

“I understand they are now seeking to link their actions to some form of support for our troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“How ironic, given the fact that our brave young soldiers are currently fighting those who espouse exactly the same sort of bile and hate as preached by the BNP.

“The BNP should pack up their messages of hate and disappear. They have been rejected time and time again, they represent no-one, and we don’t want them in our midst.”