Croydon Council looks to take action over BNP member's sick boast

Croydon Council is looking to see whether it can take a BNP member to court after she boasted about mounting a hate campaign against a family of immigrants living in the flat above her.

Charlotte Lewis, who earlier this year stood as a candidate in the Waddon by-election, told a meeting of British National Party members she played loud music late into the night - which may have contributed to the Afghan family moving out. The comments were made at a meeting in east London to celebrate the party's showing in the recent European elections.

Addressing party members at a pub in Dagenham, she said: "I don't think they could take any more of my penchant for playing heavy metal at 1am."

When the Advertiser asked the 36-year-old, who lives in Bensham Lane, Thornton Heath, to explain the comments, Ms Lewis said she had "embellished" the story for the sake of her audience. But she added: "I'm of the opinion that none of them should be in this country anyway. It would be in the best interests of this country if they moved back to Afghanistan. If British people were to move in upstairs I would keep the noise down."

Asked if she had made any efforts to get to know her neighbours, Ms Lewis added: "That would be hypocritical, and I'm not hypocritical. What on earth would we speak about, even if they could speak English? They're immigrants in my country and I'm a member of the BNP."

Croydon North MP Malcolm Wicks - a patron of the West Croydon Refugee Centre - said he was appalled at her remarks. He said: "If she admits that she made the comments, it's a really extraordinary thing. It's clearly anti-social behaviour and the idea that someone could be considered for elected public service after admitting this kind of anti-social behaviour is bizarre. It shows the good sense of the people of Waddon for not voting for her."

Councillor Alison Butler, who represents the Bensham Manor ward where Ms Lewis lives, was equally disgusted by her bragging. She said: "I'm going to see if there's any action we (Croydon Council) can take. I'm just horrified at her despicable remarks, I just wish we'd heard about it sooner."

Gavin Barwell, the council's cabinet member for safety and cohesion, has asked officers to investigate what steps they can take against her under anti-social behaviour laws. He said: "I share Councillor Butler's concerns and will be looking into it. I view it very seriously, and I'm taking advice from officers about whether there is any legal action we can take."

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