BNP sets sights on Scots children

Published on Sunday 5 May 2002 01:00

THE British National Party is targeting Scottish children in a bid to spread its breed of racial hatred north of the Border.

The far-right party, which won three seats in last week’s English local elections, has created a "for kidz" section on its new Scottish website.

The website tries to lure young Scots with the promise of "a growing number of fun activities for the under 10s with a patriotic flavour".

Seemingly innocent pictures of Celtic animals and knots for children to colour in, when clicked on reveal a larger version of the picture with the headline "www.bnp.org.uk - a future for white children!".

The site also targets children under 12 with word searches featuring Scottish football teams, islands and monarchs.

The rest of the site includes a campaign to oppose a centre for asylum seekers in Edinburgh.

Anti-racism campaigners last night condemned the "vile" website, while psychologists warned parents to keep a close eye on what their children viewed on the internet.

Details of the latest move to exploit racist sentiment came after last week’s Scotland on Sunday/Scottish Opinion poll which revealed that racist views are widely held north of the Border.

The BNP has also said it is considering standing candidates in next year’s Holyrood elections. In the wake of the party’s strong showing in England, leader Nick Griffin is turning his attention to Scotland in an attempt to capitalise on concerns over asylum seekers. Griffin said the Scottish electoral system meant his party had a good chance of gaining a seat. "People will not think ‘I won’t vote BNP because they don’t stand a chance of being elected’. You can cast a second vote for the BNP knowing it will not be wasted."

Derek Smith, a Scottish spokesman for the BNP, confirmed that the sections for children have a serious purpose as far as the party is concerned. "We are trying to take politics in a fun way to the kids. We try to involve the whole family. It is not just something for mum or dad to get involved in. But it’s not that we are trying to indoctrinate the kids."

Rowena Arshad, director of Scotland’s Centre for Education and Racial Equality, condemned the website. She said: "It is vile. They are trying to cultivate impressionable young people who are not sufficiently sussed to know that this is a very immoral and unjust message to be receiving."

Robina Qureshi, the director of the anti-racist campaign group Positive Action in Housing, said: "The BNP are using new technologies like the internet now instead of just beating people up in the street because they want some kind of cloak of respectability.

"Their central message and purpose is to create race tension and the powers that be should not allow them to have their say in any sense. The fact they are now seeking to target children is part of this attempt to make their views mainstream."

Maggie Chetty, director of the West of Scotland Racial Equality Council, accused the BNP of directly targeting children. She said: " We need to be aware that the BNP is very subtle, sophisticated and clever in the way it is seeking to persuade people to adopt its views."

She added: "The government must ask the Crown Office to look at how existing laws banning newspapers from inciting racial hatred can be used and applied against things like this on the internet."

Cynthia McVey, one of Scotland’s most prominent psychologists, said parents must keep a close eye on how "vulnerable" children access the web.

She warned that children who access the "fun" section would also explore other, more offensive aspect of the BNP’s far-right message on the site.

She said: "These are very vulnerable children. Children get very excited about being part of a group and feeling important .

"This is the ideal age to get them familiar and comfortable with something so parents should make sure they are in the room when children are surfing the net and ensure they are not surfing indiscriminately."

A Scotland on Sunday/Scottish Opinion poll last week revealed that almost half of all Scots would back moves to return immigrants to their country of origin. The survey also revealed that only 46% of Scots believe immigrants make a positive contribution to society.

A majority of Scots - 58% - also believed it is too easy for immigrants to enter the UK while only four out of 10 do not think there are too many immigrants in Scotland.

Last night campaigners praised Scotland on Sunday for highlighting rather than ignoring such a sensitive issue.

Geoff Palmer, a Jamaican-born Edinburgh University professor and member of Lothians Race Equality Council, said the findings proved that Scotland suffers from the same ills as the rest of Britain, despite suggestions that it is a more tolerant country.

The Scottish National Party, which has long campaigned against racism in Scotland, responded to the poll by calling for cross-party unity to fight the rise of racist views in Scotland.

Party leader John Swinney said the level of support for repatriation of immigrants was "disturbingly high" and called for a new consensus to fight the spread of racist views.

Swinney has written to First Minister Jack McConnell, Scottish Conservative leader David McLetchie and Lib-Dem leader Jim Wallace urging a cross-party approach.