Poppycock

The debut of Nick Griffin MEP on the BBC’s Question time debate had generated an angry response from his opponents, who wanted him boycotted and protested loudly outside the TV studio. the BBC responded that it was not up to a broadcaster to decide which political parties were allowed to participate and this set the scene for an unprecidentedly lively programme.

As the show opened the participants looked tense and nervous as the ever urbane David Dimbleby introduced the panel and the first question, about the BNP’s use of Sir Winston Churchill, set the tone. Despite repeatedly being asked to define what he meant by the term ‘indiginous British’ he was unable to reply. His position seemed confused on many issues but he maintained he was never a Nazi and claimed, with some truth, that he was the person most hated by fascists in Britain.

Indeed his party has had several splits be followers deciding that he was too liberal for their tastes, including the English National Party who consider the word ‘British’ to be too multicultural.

The key moment came when he was asked for his views on the holocaust, which he said he had changed his views on, but couldn’t explain what they were or are because of fears of prosecution. Jack Straw, the UK’s Justice Minister said that was nonsense and that he would personally guarantee Griffin would have nothing to fear from the law if he answered the question.

Griffin replied by saying that he could be prosecuted in France, whereupon the chivalrous Straw offered to help him out if he needed it. Despite this he refused to be drawn on his views on the holocaust beyond commenting that he had changed his opinion after hearing some German radio intercepts. Previously Griffin declared the holocaust a ‘myth’ like the flat earth theory.

The French law is clear; “those who have disputed the existence of one or more crimes against humanity such as they are defined by Article 6 of the statute of the international tribunal military annexed in the agreement of London of August 8, 1945 and which were a carried out either by the members of an organization declared criminal pursuant to Article 9 of the aforementioned statute, or by a person found guilty such crimes by a French or international jurisdiction shall be punished by one month to one years imprisonment or a fine.”

It is logical to assume that his concerns imply that he still does deny the holocaust. This is important because Griffin was claiming that he had brought the BNP away from fascist sympathisers, illustrated by his repeated comments that race and the use of the word indigenous “isn’t about colour’.

The great unanswered question is this: Is Nick Griffin someone who has genuinely moved his party from neo-fascism, or is he trying to present a moderate face for a neo-fascist party? One way he could help people decide is to answer a simple question with a yes or no: Did six million Jews die in the holocaust?

Until he gives a straightforward answer to this, then he must surely be judged to be beyond what is acceptable to society in general.