Lucas hit the headlines in May 2006 when he revealed that he was sending his gallows and £100,000 execution systems to countries such as Zimbabwe.
He said he stopped making them in July 2006 after the export of hangman's equipment was made illegal by an EU directive.
But the death penalty campaigner still has a gallows complete with noose on show at his farm in Lakenheath, Suffolk, to demonstrate his belief in 'law and order'.
He is due to appear before Bury St Edmunds magistrates in Suffolk on November 10.Lucas hit the headlines in May 2006 when he revealed that he was sending his gallows... more
Thursday 22 October 2009: Unite Against Fascism (UAF) protested the BBC studios in White City in response to Far Right BNP leader Nick Griffin being invited on Question Time. Protestors made several attempts to breach the studio security, leading to many arrests and batons and pepper spray being used by police and riot officers.
A jury has cleared Tauriq Khalid of using racially abusive threatening behaviour towards BNP leader Nick Griffin.
Griffin claimed that Khalid had called him a "white b********". Whereas Khalid admitted that he had shouted abuse and shouted "Nick Griffin, you f****** w*****" and made a V-sign with his fingers.
Griffin called the result unfortunate and sounds like he's playing down the result. He said "I know it's the wrong decision - juries sometimes get it wrong - but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it."
Perhaps if he'd have gone for abusive & threatening behaviour rather than throwing in the race card, he may have got the result he wanted
http://bit.ly/9IgoVA jury has cleared Tauriq Khalid of using racially abusive threatening behaviour... more
The reputation of the British military is under attack. The BNP are cynically exploiting the reputation of Britain's military to promote their nasty brand of racism, segregation and intolerance.
It is a deliberate political strategy to exploit the good name of the British Armed Services and to manipulate public opinion.
It is time we said enough. The Military's image is not to be used for a political party's gain.The reputation of the British military is under attack. The BNP are cynically... more
According to reports mere hours after their dear leader Nick Griffin appeared on BBC's Question Time, staff at BNP HQ were sifting through 3,000 new members' registration forms, in what the party are heralding as a record recruitment night in its history. But then considering the tenuous grasp of history Griffin showed on Thursday night, this claim ought to be verified.
A massive eight million people tuned in to watch Nick Griffin sit on the Question Time panel after the BBC invited the Cambridge graduate on to reflect the fact his party had gained significant support in the European elections..
In response to this reported increase in the number of BNP rank and file, MPs have warned to expect a slight, and short term opinion poll "bubble" for the far-right party.
The BNP has complained to the BBC accusing the corporation of altering the format of the show and turning it into a lynch mob. Griffin is quoted as saying: "People wanted to see me and hear me talking about things such as the postal strike. One or two questions about what a wicked man I am, fair enough, but the whole programme – it was absurd."
What do you put the boost down to? Is it just about or media exposure, or do you think Griffin actually made any persuasive arguments on Thursday night?According to reports mere hours after their dear leader Nick Griffin appeared on BBC's... more
Didn't catch Question Time last night? Can't be arsed to watch it on iPlayer? No fear, Cassetteboy's edited it down to just one minute...Didn't catch Question Time last night? Can't be arsed to watch it on iPlayer? No... more
It was hotly anticipated and now it's over we can discuss what actually happened and what it all means.
Did Griffin surprise you?
Did the politicians behave as expected?
Did you think the format was altered to undermine Griffin and the BNP?It was hotly anticipated and now it's over we can discuss what actually happened and... more
How many people know that in 1998, BNP leader Nick Griffin was convicted of "inciting racial hatred for articles that denied the Holocaust" and given a nine-month suspended sentence?
Who's read the BNP's constitution in which the party states that they are "committed to stemming and reversing the tide of non-white immigration and to restoring, by legal changes, negotiation and consent, the overwhelmingly white make-up of the British population that existed in Britain prior to 1948."?
Who thinks "Billy Brit", the party's ginger-haired mascot of the BNP youth wing, is a little bit messed up?
With Nick Griffin's appearance on the BBC's Question Time in mind, it's worth reading these ten tidbits compiled by The Independent to get some more details on the party and the people behind all the controversy. To be fair, it does seem like the newspaper ran out of ideas towards the end of the list. Reasons 9 and 10 can basically be summed up as "a small minority of supporters of the party have turned out to be murderers or violent" - something which could be applied to any of Labour, The Tories and Lib Dem easily enough.How many people know that in 1998, BNP leader Nick Griffin was convicted of "inciting... more
Security at BBC Television Centre will be tight as British National Party leader Nick Griffin arrives to record Question Time tonight.
Anti-fascist activists will picket the building all day and step up their demonstration ahead of the filming of the programme in the early evening.
Mr Griffin and his supporters want to avoid a repeat of the ugly scenes that erupted outside Parliament in June when protesters pelted them with eggs and chased them down the street.
At one stage there were plans to hire a helicopter to transport the BNP leader to Television Centre in west London, party spokesman Simon Darby said.But they were scrapped after it emerged there was no helipad near the studio where Question Time is being filmed.
Mr Darby said the BNP would not rely on help from the Metropolitan Police to get Mr Griffin safely inside the building.
"We've got security in hand - we will sort our own security out," he said.
Mr Darby insisted there would be no counter-demonstration by the BNP outside Television Centre, saying: "We've got no reason to protest. We're in there and that's it."
Question Time is filmed several hours before it is broadcast as if it were live, although sometimes sections can be edited out for legal or taste reasons before being aired.
The panel will be quizzed by members of the audience, with chairman David Dimbleby allowed to add follow-up questions where appropriate.
Ric Bailey, the BBC's chief political adviser, said the panel and audience for tomorrow's show had been put together in the usual way.
"To all intents and purposes it's a normal programme," he said.
He declined to predict what would happen, saying: "Question Time is a spontaneous show, it's driven by the audience.
"The audience is very carefully selected, it's very difficult to predict how it will turn out."
The BBC has made emergency plans to move Question Time to another venue if the protests turn violent, according to the London Evening Standard.
Nobody from the corporation was available to comment on the report.
Question Time will be broadcast as usual from 10.35 to 11.35pm on BBC1.Security at BBC Television Centre will be tight as British National Party leader Nick... more
In the week that BNP leader Nick Griffin is due for an controversial appearance on the BBC's Question Time, and on the day that four top military brass have accused unspecified political extremists (read: the BNP) of hijacking military images, a list of thousands of names of BNP members, along with addresses and phone numbers, published on Wikileaks.
The list shows that the BNP has had 11,811 members since April this year and appears to have had a surge in female recruits, with 1 in party members being women.
Wikileaks said this morning: "The lists have been verified to be accurate in all cases examined by Wikileaks, however it should not be assumed that every person with a BNP membership number is a current member of the BNP."
Former Army generals had written a letter warning that political extremists had no right to share the Armed Forces' proud reputation.
The letter, signed by former heads of the Army, General Sir Mike Jackson and General Sir Richard Richard Dannatt, amongst others, said far right groups were "fundamentally at odds" with the values of the British military, following the British National Party's tactic of using images of Winston Churchill and wartime insignia during recent European election campaigns.
Mr Hain, a long-standing campaigner against Apartheid, has written to BBC director general Mark Thompson warning he could face legal action if he allows Mr Griffin to take part in the flagship political show.
The Welsh Secretary argued that the BNP was currently "an unlawful body" after the party told a court last week it would amend its whites-only membership rules to meet discrimination legislation. The Equality and Human Rights Commission had issued county court proceedings over concerns the membership criteria were restrictive to those within certain ethnic groups.
In a letter to Mr Hain, Mr Thompson responded: "According to the advice we have received, the British National Party is not prevented from continuing to operate on a day-to-day basis and its elected representatives continue to sit on councils and in the European Parliament. It remains the BBC's obligation to scrutinise and hold to account all elected representatives and to do so with due impartiality."Former Army generals had written a letter warning that political extremists had no... more
The British National Party has been forced to change its membership rules to allow people of different races and religions to join.
BNP forced to welcome non-white members .The far-right party agreed to change its constitution after the Equality and Human Rights Commission issued County Court proceedings over concerns its membership criteria were restrictive to those within certain ethnic groups.
Robin Allen QC, counsel for the Commission, said party leader Nick Griffin had agreed to present party members with a revised constitution at its general meeting next month.
He added that the party had agreed not to accept any new members until the new constitution was in placeThe British National Party has been forced to change its membership rules to allow... more
Exquisite irony. The BNP are a minor political party in Britain, notorious for their overtly race-based policies. For example they propose as part of their manifesto offering non-indigenous British people "financial incentives," to return to their family's country of origin. Most recently leader Nick Griffin proposed that the EU should start sinking ships containing illegal immigrants at sea. The wry response from the BBC interviewer was, "Yes, I don't think the EU are in the business of murdering people at sea," to which Mr Griffin suggested they should be thrown a life boat and pointed back to Libya! You get the idea, these are not very enlightened people. To the embarrassment of most British people they actually won a couple of seats in the latest European elections, largely because not a lot of people voted.
They've now been ordered to change their constitution to allow non- white, non- indigenous members into the party, because as it turns out discrimination on the grounds of race isn't legal. Three things are great about this, firstly the BNP will have to go against the principles on which their party is based, secondly I love the idea that anyone non-white would want to join the BNP, but it would be awesome if they did. Imagine how pissed off party members would be if the very people they want to deport start turning up in large numbers at their conferences! Thirdly, the whole legal battle is bankrupting the party, and the less money, power and influence these idiots have the better.Exquisite irony. The BNP are a minor political party in Britain, notorious for their... more
Warning: This video contains language some may find offensive. It is not published to offend, nor to support the opinions of the EDL or other racist groups, but to expose the truth behind this growing UK far right group.
Saturday 10 October 2009: The English Defence League (EDL) appeared on the streets of the UK again, this time in Manchester.
Unite Against Fascism (UAF) called a counter protest to what they consider a fascist group with links to the British National Party (BNP) among others.
But, as has been caught on film in their past protests, when EDL supporters chant, "Take your Allah and shove him up your arse", that single line is an offence to every single Muslim on the planet, not just those considered extremists.
Also on Saturday, as with other EDL manifestations, their supporters were caught yet again on film and photograph doing Nazi "seig heil" salutes and chanting racist rermarks like "If you all hate Pakis clap your hands".
Away from the main group EDL supporters clashed with UAF protestors and police. 48 people were arrested. The policing bill for the day was £200,000, employing some 500 officers and plenty of police dogs to keep the two protests apart, which led to several serious bite injuries on protestors of both sides and journalists.
News reports claimed more anti-fascist supporters were on the street than the numbers of EDL, some 1400 anti-fascists and 700 EDL supporters, but from this video it was a close call, with up to 1000 EDL members descending on Piccadilly Gardens by 5pm. Other EDL groups continued to roam the streets where several more clashes with local youths and riot police occurred.
The concern here is the massive increase in EDL supporters since the clashes in Birmingham. From the T-shirts it showed the EDL were willing to travel vast distances to protest - from places like Southampton, Bristol, Arsenal in London and Scotland - and showed the rapid increase in EDL divisions.
Another concern, shown clearly in the interview in this video - young white citizens, due to disillusionment with all other political parties, including the BNP - and the current economic and social ills - they are joining the ranks of the EDL, despite openly admitting there are racist elements in the group.
A BBC interview with two "anonymous" members of the BNP, in which disparaging remarks were made about footballer Ashley Cole, has led to complaints about the corporation's handling of the far-right group.
Peter Hain, the Welsh secretary, criticised the BBC's introduction to the two BNP men who were interviewed. Mark Collett, 28, BNP publicity director, and Joseph Barber, 24, who runs the BNP record label, Great White Records were introduced simply as "Mark and Joey", leading Hain to comment, "If the content of the interview was distasteful enough … even more worrying is the revelation that these members, still introduced simply as Joey and Mark on the BBC website, are in fact key members of the BNP's hierarchy.
"One, Mark Collett, is the BNP's director of publicity. Would the BBC allow any other party's spin doctor to appear anonymously?"A BBC interview with two "anonymous" members of the BNP, in which disparaging remarks... more
Saturday 5 September 2009: Far Right group the English Defence League (EDL) returned to Birmingham a month after violent clashes with anti-fascists and locals in August.
The EDL, who claim they are not a racist organisation or linked to the BNP or other fascist groups, attempted to march through Birmingham city centre, but clashes with anti-fascists quickly halted this.
A Birmingham BNP councilor was hit with eggs from the anti-fascist crowd.
Riot police were brought in to contain a large section of the EDL in a pub. But the rear fire exited was not covered, EDL members broke out and hurled bottles at a growing crowd of counter protestors.
The initial clashes caused police to commandeer two buses and remove the EDL and Casuals United from the city centre. 90 arrests were made and the EDL found themselves bused to the neighbouring town of Coventry.
Warning: This film has caught EDL protestors making racist chants and Sieg Heiling which some may find offensive.
Saturday 15 August 2009: The British National Party (BNP) held its annual Red, White and Blue festival at the usual farm in Denby, Derbyshire. Unite Against Fascism (UAF) massed up to 1,500 protestors and marched on the fascists.
The police operation to protect the BNP and maintain public order cost the UK taxpayer £500,000. This included testing out the latest surveillance technology, the Air Robot, which can be seen at the beginning of this footage.
19 people were arrested after protestors attempted to break through police lines to confront the far-right festival-goers.
