by Kate Holman
British National Party MEPs Nick Griffin and Andrew Brons sparked outrage within hours of arriving at the European Parliament in Strasbourg this week, as other parliamentarians faced the dilemma of how to react to the two extremists.
Griffin launched his career in European politics by calling Glenys Kinnock, Britain’s new Europe minister, a “political prostitute”, after he and Brons were refused invitations to a Government reception for new British MEPs on Wednesday. “I would choke on canapés and cocktails with Glenys Kinnock”, he announced on his website, claiming both the minister and her husband Neil Kinnock had “their noses in the trough”.
When the BNP MEPS took their seats at the back of the main chamber, close to the group of British Tories, Democratic Unionist Party member Diane Dodds reportedly refused to sit next to them.
“Today is a sad day for Britain”, said Labour group leader Glenis Willmott, condemning Griffin’s attack as “deplorable”.
She continued: “Sixty years ago we fought against the fascists together. Today, two UK fascists are taking their seats in this Parliament for the first time. We will not let matters rest. We will continue to monitor and expose the BNP, to make sure they lose their seats in the next elections.”
Fellow Labour MEP Claude Moraes expressed concern about the amount of media attention the BNP was getting.
He said: “We need to develop a policy to cope with how they are being represented and how we can shut them out.”
On Monday, delegations from the Hope Not Hate campaign and the GMB were in Strasbourg to present a “Not in my Name” petition, condemning the BNP’s election, signed by 88,021 people in Britain
The new European Parliament started its business by electing the chairs of committees and delegations. Labour’s Brian Simpson secured the leadership of the transport committee, while Michael Cashman was elected to head the South Africa delegation.
Linda McAvan, Claude Moraes and Arlene McCarthy all won vice-chair positions.
