Litigation Against The British National Party
Following the election of 2 MEPs from the British National Party (BNP), a potential issue of public funding was raised by the commission as the BNP constitution states that recruitment is only open to members who are "indigenous Caucasian and defined ethnic groups emanating from that Race" The Commission's legal director John Wadham has stated that
"The legal advice we have received indicates that the British National party's constitution and membership criteria, employment practices and provision of services to constituents and the public may breach discrimination laws which all political parties are legally obliged to uphold"
This relates to the Race Relations Act 1976, which outlaws the refusal or deliberate omission to offer employment on the basis of non-membership of an organisation. However the Race Relations Act sections 25 and 26 allow for exclusively ethnic organisations with a membership of fifty or more. The commission sent a letter to the BNP giving them until 20 July to provide written undertakings that there will not be discrimination in its recruitment procedures. The BNP responded to the letter by stating that it "intends to clarify the word 'white' on its website". However, because the commission believes the BNP will continue to discriminate against potential or actual members on racial grounds, on 24 August 2009 the commission announced that they had issued county court proceedings against the BNP. In a statement the commission reduced the grounds on which it was taking action against the BNP, stating
"The Commission believes the BNP's constitution and membership criteria are discriminatory and, further, that the continued publication of them on the BNP website is unlawful. It has therefore issued county court proceedings against party leader Nick Griffin and two other officials. The Commission has decided not to take action on two further grounds set out in its letter before action in the light of the BNP's commitment to comply with the law."
Read more about this topic: Equality And Human Rights Commission
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