'BNP hijack is disgrace'

The far-right British National Party has been threatened with legal action by the Mayor of London over controversial campaign leaflets distributed in Barnet in recent weeks.

The leaflets, which contrast scenes from 1950s Britain with three women in Islamic veils alongside the demand: "Is this what you really want?" have been delivered to homes across the borough as part of the BNP's city-wide campaign for the mayoral election in May.

However, the BNP has incurred the wrath of Mayor of London Ken Livingstone for using the same title for its leaflets - The Londoner - as he does for his monthly newsletter.

Mr Livingstone said: "The Londoner has been published for eight years and is well-known across the capital. It is a disgrace the BNP has chosen to trade on our good name by calling its outrageous propaganda The Londoner."

Mr Livingstone's office wrote to the BNP on Friday to insist it stops using The Londoner trademark or face legal action.

The leaflets have also concerned Barnet residents because of inferences made by the images.

advertisementShakil Ahmed, a member of the congregation at the Hendon Mosque, believes relationships between different communities in Barnet are good, but he added: "We don't know what affect this will have.

"The worry is that hatred is going to be targeted at Muslim women dressing in this particular way. I don't think we've had many incidents in Barnet, but I've heard of things in Brent, where women in headscarves have been attacked."

Barnet councillor Brian Gordon, chairman of a committtee which recently produced a review of hate crime in the borough, said: "The difficulty with the BNP is that although it sails close to the lawful wind in its reference to ethnic minorities, it is careful to avoid saying anything overtly racist for which it could be prosecuted.

"Much of its literature has sinister overtones. It would be highly damaging to good community relations if the BNP were to make political inroads in Barnet and we should be very vigilant against them in the forthcoming mayoral and London Assembly campaign."

Nick Eriksen, London Organiser for the BNP, denied the suggestion that the flyer is racist. He said: "There's nothing in it criticising any minorities themselves. The juxtaposition of the two images is merely to highlight the scale of immigration and how it's changing the culture of our towns."

Hendon Times