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Coalition launched to boot out BNP councillors

01 August 2002

In October the Coalition Against Racism launched its "Unite to Stop the BNP" campaign to defeat the three recently elected British National Party (BNP) councillors in Burnley, Lancashire. The campaign aims to bring together broad opposition, both locally and nationally, "against the BNP and their politics of race hate". In September one of the councillors, Carol Hughes, refused to support Burnley Football Club's initiative to ban racist supporters from their ground. Hughes abstained from the council's motion of support, while the BNP's two other councillors failed to attend the meeting.
The fascist party recently attempted to sponsor its own football team, the Tipton Boilers, who have been instructed by the Football Association to remove the BNP's logo from their shirts. West Midlands BNP spokesman, Simon Darby, said "It is a free country and we can sponsor who we want".
At Nottingham crown court at the beginning of September members of a racist gang, who invaded a football match and attacked an Asian team and their supporters, were jailed. Twenty-five white men, armed with iron bars, clubs and bottles, scaled a fence to assault Guru Nanak Gurdwara FC in a Leicestershire league match. The ringleader, Jason Martin, was jailed for 4 years and 9 months while another six members of the gang were sentenced to between three years and 18 months.
The "Show Racism the Red Card" campaign has launched an educational resource pack on racism in football. The pack includes a series of historical fact sheets and a teacher's secondary schools pack. The campaign has also produced a video and CD ROM to accompany the fact sheets. It has information in seven languages and can be bought for £2 from Show Racism the Red Card, PO Box 141, Whitley Bay, Tyne & Wear, NE26 3RG, UK. The Coalition Against Racism camapign can be contacted at PO Box 263, Oldham OL8 1PZ, UK.
Coalition Against Racism press release 14.10.02; Birmingham Post 12.7.02; Daily Star 3.9.02; Daily Mirror 13.9.02