No tiffin for Griffin as BNP is given a brush-off in Brussels

Published on Thursday 9 July 2009 22:00

THE British National Party's first two Euro-MPs have been asked to leave one of the main drinking haunts of European Parliament staff and MEPs in Brussels.

BNP leader Nick Griffin and Andrew Brons both won seats in last month's euro-elections, but so far they are finding it increasingly hard to win friends and influence people in Europe.

After one recent visit to the European Parliament's Brussels headquarters searching for political bedfellows, Mr Griffin, MEP for the North West region, repaired to nearby O'Farrell's Bar, where he sat at a table outside to be served. Soon afterwards he was asked to leave.

According to another drinker on the premises at the time: "He was sitting quietly outside, and then he was recognised and he was told he wasn't welcome."

The same bar is one of the regular watering holes of UK Independence Party leader (Ukip) and MEP Nigel Farage, who is trying to put as much political distance between his party and the BNP as possible.

The BNP politicians have also chalked up two other notable rebuffs. They were unable to muster enough allies to form an official political grouping in the European Parliament, which begins work next week.

The pair are still trying to form workable political alliances with other right-wing MEPs, but they seem unlikely to muster the necessary minimum of 25 MEPs from at least seven member states which would trigger substantial funding for staff, as well as improve prospects of influential committee seats and speaking time in the European Parliament chamber.

The third and latest snub for the democratically-elected BNP duo has come from the government, which has left Mr Griffin and Mr Brons off the invitation list for a cocktail reception in Strasbourg next Wednesday.

A government spokesman explained the decision was part of established policy towards elected extremists.