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Published Date: 27 May 2009
By Elizabeth Barrett
THE family of Sir Winston Churchill have described as "offensive and disgusting" the BNP's use of his image in a party election broadcast.
Pictures of Britain's wartime leader feature alongside Second World War footage in the British National Party's broadcast. In it BNP chairman Nick Griffin adopts part of Churchill's "blood, toil, tears and sweat" speech to promote his own manifesto.

Nicholas Soames, Churchill's grandson and the Conservative MP for Mid-Sussex, said he had tried to get the Electoral Commission to ban the BNP's use of his grandfather's image.

Mr Soames said: "My views are that they (the BNP] have behaved in a disgusting manner. They should not take my grandfather's name in vain.

"He (Churchill] would have been appalled by their views and the way they claim to represent the wartime generation. It's nonsense. Were it possible to take action, we would. We find it offensive and disgusting."

Deputy chairman of the BNP, Simon Darby, defended the broadcast, and said: "There is a substantial amount of Churchillian rhetoric in the broadcast. It is very relevant to what is happening today."





The full article contains 189 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 26 May 2009 7:42 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: Far Right in the UK
 
1

Gregor Addison,

Glasgow 27/05/2009 01:01:16
The BNP pamphlet I got through the door had a spitfire on it. UKIP's pamphlet had a picture of Churchill. I find it odd that appeals to Britishness always seem to be connected to the war. As though nothing has happened in the intervening 65 years. As though Korea never happened, or Suez, or the Swinging Sixties, or the unionised seventies, or the Thatcherite eighties, and so on. It's all basically to hark back to some little Englandism. I can't really see that it's got much to offer people who have not, for a long time, felt themselves to be included in British identity. In fact, it's this kind of rubbish that puts people of Britishness.

I'll be voting SNP. I want Scotland to have a strong voice because next week the right wing nationalist parties in England are going to have more of a say and they are, to my mind, less palatable than the SNP. I'll be voting for a party who I believe can bring more decision-making powers to Scotland, at a time when power seems certain to pass (albeit at a later election) to David Cameron's Tories. The alternative is a vote for Labour; a vote for ring side seats at the wake; a Scottish vote to stop them coming third behind the Lib Dems.
2

Gregor Addison,

Glasgow 27/05/2009 01:04:24
Oh, I forgot to mention that my girlfriend is German; so appeals to the Second World War seem a little bit peculiar to me. Is English identity, or even British identity, so under siege that they have to hark back to a time when we were truly under siege? I don't believe it is. It's clear, however, that this is what the BNP and UKIP would like us to believe.
3

W Smith,

Middle East 27/05/2009 04:17:59
#1 and 2
You've missed the point completely.

General Montgomery had Indian troops under his command in North Africa when fighting Rommel, and of course the Gurkhas fought the nazis also.

The armies that took on Hitler were multi-racial.

Churchhill's family have got every right to complain about the BNP considering they called the bombing of Dresden by the RAF a war crime.

BTW
How come so many SNP supporters will only support football clubs with Irish connnections?? (eg MacAskill, Connery, Farmer, Hunter, etc)

So who are the SNP to lectures us on identity when they seem to be confused about their own??
4

,

27/05/2009 06:26:11
Comment Removed By Administrator
Reason:
5

fiferjohn,

27/05/2009 07:31:56
best of british
it was gordon brown who ripped it off the bnp .
he has no ideas of his own,.gordon with his british at all costs plays into the bnp hands every time he open his mouth
6

Peter C,

UK 27/05/2009 07:58:42
perhaps Mr Soames could comment on our troops being insulted on the streets of Luton and how Churchill would feel about that, the BNP are the only party showing signs of hope for our childrens future and they will be getting our vote, what difference is Mr Soames offering from cotton wool West Sussex other than playing I am related to Churchill and the PC card which keeps him in office ??
7

Neil McCart,

Cheltenham 27/05/2009 08:26:53
If the BNP wishes to harp back to the past it should at least provide some historical accuracy and balance to its advertisements. The BNP should publicly acknowledge that people of all colours and creeds fought and died for Britain during the Second World War (and the First World War and Boer Wars for that matter). During the Second World War in particular people from the Caribbean, the Indian sub-continent, all parts of Africa and from South East Asia lost their lives fighting for Britain. The BNP should point out that some Battle of Britain pilots who flew the Spitfires they have depicted were young West Indian men, who volunteered to come over here to fight in a European war which was none of their making. Perhaps the BNP with its narrow, bigoted, and odious racist attitudes likes to ignore such facts.
8

Number 6,

Germany 27/05/2009 08:35:14
RAT TA TAT TAT TAT. OH 2 world wars and one world cup, na na nana na nana na na.

W SMITH. Why do so many Labour supporters only support teams with Irish connections ?
9

Munguin,

27/05/2009 09:13:05
Was Churchill not an imperialist of the first water? Did he not say that he would never have handed India back and did he not try to maintain the dying British Empire when in his second term as PM by for example dispatching troops to Kenya to quell the Mau Mau Rebellion and also during the Malayan Emergency? I hardly think that someone who would deny non white races their chance of self determination but would rather continue to oppress them under the yolk of a racist Empire can be held up in any way as a paragon of equality and diversity.
10

Auld Reeky,

27/05/2009 09:27:04
Churchill at that time was the same as Gordon Brown is now, an "unelected Prime Minister" as was his predecessor Neville Chamberlain, but we still were taken into war without a vote or referendum, etc. etc. and as at the end of the war the electorate punished them by allowing in the opposition parties, the big difference is this time they are NOT worth voting for either, time for a BIG CLEAR OUT, as for Soames he is just an overblown windbag and friend of Prince Charles, who should also be cleared out in the Revolution.
11

mr broon,

Edinburgh 27/05/2009 09:31:10
How about a photograph of the BNP leader sporting a silly moustache like the mad Little Corporal?
12

Yeah1,

27/05/2009 09:42:11
#12

"Churchill at that time was the same as Gordon Brown is now, an "unelected Prime Minister" as was his predecessor Neville Chamberlain, but we still were taken into war without a vote or referendum, etc. etc."

Are you suggesting there should have been a vote or referendum on whether Britain should have entered the Second World War? What an utterly ridiculous idea. The 2nd WW is a completely different situation from the invasion of Iraq - Britain was in imminent peril of invasion in 1939.
13

Number 6,

Germany 27/05/2009 09:45:49
Yeah1 ,
While your here.

WHO DID YOU VOTE FOR AT THE LAST GENERAL ELECTION ?
14

Fred Leeson,

edinburgh 27/05/2009 09:50:06
Nicholas Soames is obviously having a laugh. He threatened to sell Churchill's wartime diaries abroad unless the lottery fund coughed up £12million. These were the diaries that Churchill left for the nation and refused to sell himself even in his later years when he was in poor health and could have used the money.
The £12million fee deprived over a 1,000 lottery good causes from getting funding. So much for defending his grandfathers memory.

http://www.churchill-society-london.org.uk/secrtry.html
15

danbob,

27/05/2009 10:23:59
16# Quite right Fred. It's just a merry go round of hypocrisy.
16

Jim Blair,

Edinburgh 27/05/2009 10:49:46
The free Polish regiments fought with the British because their country, Poland, had been attacked. The Indians fought with the British because they feared invasion by the Japanese. As brave as they are, Sikhs and Gurkhas fight because military service is seen as a means of escaping poverty by these people. None of these nationals fought specifically to defend Britain, nor would have. The British people, on the other hand, entered a war that they didn't have to, ignoring Hitler's persistent overtures of peace, in order to defend the freedom of a foreign nation and people. To ascribe the credit for the victory over the Nazis to minor participants, forced only by circumstance to fight, and to ignore the massive sacrifice made by the people of Britain is somewhat disgusting, but oh so typical of the liberal establishment. I'll be considering my voting options very carefully.
17

Gregor Addison,

Glasgow 27/05/2009 10:53:12
#3, W Smith

You not only missed my point, you by-passed it completely and went on to make one of your own that has little connection to the points I made. What I was saying is that a 'nationalist' conception of Britain that is based on World War 2 imagery is anachronistic and misses the intervening 65 years of our history.

No wonder that fewer people in Scotland feel British when asked, if this is what we are to take as the defining image of our shared identity. Me? I'll be voting SNP. I no more like the form of Scottish Nationalism that harks back to 1314 but as far as I can see the SNP is a party more well-disposed to modern Scotland than many others at the moment. So I'll be voting to bring decision-making processes closer to the Scottish electorate.

As far as I'm concerned, the BNP and UKIP have as much right to use images of Churchill and Spitfires as Nicholas Soames has to complain. However, I suspect their narrow conception of Britishness will be seen by many in Scotland as petty English nationalism. This coming election will probably leave Scotland's European representation pretty much as it is. In England, however, there is a possibility that UKIP will do well in regard to MEPs. There is also a possibility that the BNP will do well in the local elections in England.

If Cameron wins the General Election that will probably be held this year, we will have an England that is more "English nationalist" in its expression of "Britishness" than it has been for some time. Maybe a mature debate can be had and a more mature view of Englishness (and, perhaps, Britishness) than is suggested by the BNP and UKIP.
18

Herman The German,

27/05/2009 11:46:37
The Spitfire in the BNP poster (Romeo Foxtrot Delta)
was actually flown by the celebrated 303 Squadron of the RAF – made up exclusively of Polish airmen rescued from France shortly before Nazi occupation.

The BNP have a policy to send Polish people back to Poland – yet they are fronting their latest campaign using this plane.
19

Gregor Addison,

Glasgow 27/05/2009 11:55:21
#20, Herman the German,

Good point! I worked with a couple of people over the years whose fathers were Polish airmen. Anyway, there's more to Britain than these events of 65 years ago. My girlfriend's German and we're quite happy. After all, she was born in the 70s and even her parents were born after the war. UKIP and the BNP want to grow up.

I'd like to know who exactly the BNP want to forcibly repatriate and how the decisions will be taken. Will we have to vouch for our ancestry by submitting to questionnaires? Or will they just go by surnames? The whole policy is offensive and obscene.
20

Neil McCart,

Cheltenham 27/05/2009 12:06:16
Gregor Addison has, as far as the BNP's propaganda is concerned, hit the nail on the head. Who exactly would the BNP forcibly deport? Who exactly do they consider unsuitable to be "British"? They issue very vague, but offensive generalised statements which are designed to prey on disillusioned people and whip up fear and hatred towards groups of people they select as so-called "enemies". Surely people should see them for what they are, nasty racial bigots who can contribute nothing positive to society as a whole.
21

JCA REID,

Annan 27/05/2009 12:16:24
& why not use Churchill's image!!!???
He was a bigot & racist!
He called Ghandi, ".....no more than a jumed-up fakir in a loin cloth!"
His view of "other races" were not as extreme as the Nazis, but racist nonetheless. If you weren't English you were fodder for the 'Empire'.
22

Iain Mac,

27/05/2009 12:59:48
The BNP are on record as criticising Churchill for his war against 'fellow whites'. One or two wee Google searches will bring up many quotes from leading BNP 'heterosexuals'.

AS to W Smith in the MIddle East (!!!) - he gives a good account of different races working together. Though on other postings he seems to say that different cultures can't be accomodated in one nation. Strange?

Yeah, i'm going for SNP. I'm also a Jambo. I think the BNP are fascists yet Dresden was a warcrime. Anyone doubting that should check out the left-wing philosopher AC Grayling's excellent 'Among the Dead Cities'.
23

Iain Mac,

27/05/2009 13:02:36
#22 - agree, are the BNP against anything that aint 'British'??!! Will they close down Ikea? Stop us eating pasta, curry or nachos?!! Will they force Tescos to close all it's huge stores as the 'traditional British' way of life didn't include US-style out of town malls that close down HIgh ST shops.

Or maybe they're just a bunch of bigots who can't see the bigger picture?
24

danbob,

27/05/2009 13:03:33
23# You talk utter fu**ing s*it, and the tragedy of it all is this. You dont even have the education enough to realise it.
India grew into what it is today because of the empire. The Indians knew it. The japaneese had their eyes on the Indian prize because of it's vast rubber resorces. There would have been no Ghandi if it wasn't for Churchill.
25

Iain Mac,

27/05/2009 13:05:22
#18 - a nutter defending Hitler? Bnp true colours here?

What exactly were 'HItler's overtures of peace'???!!! Bombing Gernika? Invading France? Wiping out those he didn't like by the million?
26

Iain Mac,

27/05/2009 13:07:06
#26 the small nations that make up 'India' were great before the English invaded. Go and check out some of their culture.

As to your culture... Danboaby, if you're so 'British' ( meaning 'Welsh' speaker) can post here in Welsh? Or how about Scots GAelic?
27

danbob,

27/05/2009 13:14:01
How do you compare great to the largest democracy in the world that India is today. Or one of the fastest growing economys. The foundations were laid in the 30s. India was racked with internal strife and class. But dont let reality get in the way of your wikipedia based knowledge.
28

Nevsky;,

Moscow 27/05/2009 13:47:03
Nothing like showing the natives British democracy on the point of a bayonet!

You simpistic point is rather like those who state that 'aye Hitler killed a few jews but look at those Autobahns!
29

elections1,

uk 27/05/2009 14:46:54
n 1995, Mr Soames, as a member of the Churchill family, was party to the sale of the Chartwell Papers, his grandfather’s archive to the nation for £12.5 million. This was paid out of national lottery money, showing that the Churchill family is not averse to making money out of the Churchill legacy when it suits them. The BNP merely invoked Churchill’s image, because, given his opinion on the EU and immigration, there is no doubt that he would have been unwelcome in the modern Tory Party.
30

elections1,

uk 27/05/2009 14:52:03
the bnp do not propose forced repatriation,they support voluntary repatriation,aided by the lure of cash,the figure of £10k was mentioned.....by bernie grant,yes,the british/jamaican mp stated £10k would be an acceptable figure to tempt his kin folk out of the uk.
just in case you were wondering 'what price british citizenship'

roll on 80 million turks with eu passports
31

Yeti,

27/05/2009 15:45:00
I would have thought an image of Oswald Mosley is more appropriate for the repugnant BNP
32

Auld Reeky,

27/05/2009 16:09:59
Well I would rather have 100000 Gurkhas living here than 100000 Muslims (with Al Queda thoughts) !!! so sorry I would think the BNP would perhaps be a worthwhile vote considering Turkey entering the EU
33

The Deil,

27/05/2009 16:14:05
It's hard to decide which is the more odious, the BNP/UKIP or Soames!
34

Miss H,

27/05/2009 17:18:17
The Electoral Commission really has to get a lot tougher about what is acceptable and what is unaceptable in election literature and broadcasting.

The BNP has clearly crossed a line here and they should not get away with it.
35

Miss H,

27/05/2009 17:20:47
16 I advise you to vote BNP as you are clearly a fascist like they are.

36

Miss H,

27/05/2009 17:25:09
24 There would have been no Ghandi if it wasn't for Churchill?

What are you saying there? Something Mr Ghandi Sr should know about?

Surely that would be impossible - was Ghandi not older than Churchill?

Are we talking time travel here? One of those wormholes we keep hearing about.
37

Peter C,

UK 27/05/2009 18:41:56
Miss H comment 34 are you a Communist?
38

redcliffe62,

28/05/2009 07:13:42
the question i think about when dresden, nagasaki and hiroshima are mentioned is how many british lives were saved by these actions, and how much you equate a foreign life in war.
if 50,000 died in dresden and it saved 5,000 british, is that acceptable.
if 300,000 died in nagasaki and it saved 20,000 british is that acceptable? what if it saved 50,000? 100,000, 200,000? where is the point that the numbers are acceptable as we look back at history with hindsight.
were they war crimes? probably.
were they designed to bring the war to an end quicker and save lives HERE? yes.
when we watch the news, it seems if 1000's die in bangladesh in a flooding it is less newsworthy than say 50 people being killed in baghdad by a bomb, or maybe as few as 5 dying in baltimore if they have good video of a mad shooter on a rampage.
if we want to equate a life here with a life everywhere, in war or peacetime, we need to be consistent in our concern.

39

redcliffe62,

28/05/2009 07:20:05
to the guy who commented about the turks, whether they are in the eu or not there are milions already throughout western europe. i know that as they always get 12 points in the eurovision song contest from france, germany, switzerland, holland and belgium. check the last 4 years and the voting patterns!
if they get into the eu and move to london en masse as predicted i guess the numbers might grow exponentially.
that is the big elephant in the corner.
not that cameroon, pr clegg and cyclops will touch this subject, which needs to be discussed, for fear of giving support to other less palatable parties. not that they are palatable either but that is we hope only temporary.
40

Jock's Away,

Africa 28/05/2009 07:47:46
Soames whinging about the use of the Churchill image is misplaced. He was as nationalist as they come, and was a supporter of eugenics, as was Roosavelt, G B Shaw and others. Including incidently A Hitler who used the Eugenics Philosphy in Mein Kanpf.
Before we get the holcaust rant, the Same type of thinking is behind Genetics enginerring today, and Israel has the Dor Yeshorim genetic sreening program. And a prposed new law of alledgence before the Knesset. The differences in all of these are the intent/agendas. of those pursuing them.
The move things change the more they stay the same.
#16 a realist and accurate view of history.
41

Peter C,

UK 28/05/2009 11:28:33
The problem seems to be that the English have nothing to identify with and are becoming restless, the SNP is an option for the Scottish and it seems ok for them to voice racist views against the English!, just recently the English youth have started to identify with the Army thanks to the Muslim demo in Luton, well whats next no politician can slate them for support of the Army and the Police have been made powerless thanks to the recent problems in London, I think we are heading for a summer of riots and that cannot be blammed on BNP, football or skin heads this time, its all down to the Liberal PC stepping on the English youth and making them second class, Luton was the spark and lying cheating PC MPs added the fuel, any views?
42

radge dug,

28/05/2009 14:56:16
The BNP leaflet i got seemed to promot the Village People and not Churchill. Could the high 'gay' membership of the BNP be because of the amount of them who've spent time locked up in prison?

Anyway, i'm a Scot and not a Brit.
43

Iain Mac,

28/05/2009 20:00:24
Scots not Brits.
44

Peter C,

UK 28/05/2009 21:01:46
Behold the English National Party and Christian Council of England

 

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