Equality group takes BNP to court over ethnic exclusion

Published on Monday 24 August 2009 20:03

THE Equality and Human Rights Commission has begun legal action against the British National Party over concerns about ethnic restrictions on its membership.

The commission issued county court proceedings against the party after voicing concerns in June about its constitution and membership criteria.

The BNP said it intended to clarify the word "white" on its website, but the commission said it believed the party will continue to discriminate against potential or actual members on racial grounds.

"The BNP's membership criteria appear to restrict membership to those within what the BNP regards as particular "ethnic groups" and those whose skin colour is white. This exclusion is contrary to the Race Relations Act."

John Wadham, a commission director, said: "The BNP has said that it is not willing to amend its membership criteria, which we believe are discriminatory and unlawful.

"The commission has a statutory duty to enforce compliance, so we have today issued county court proceedings against the BNP. However, the party still has an opportunity to resolve this quickly by giving the undertaking on its membership criteria that the commission requires."