A 78-year-old Sikh, soon to be the first non-white member of the BNP, explained yesterday why he supports the far-right party.
Rajinder Singh spoke a day after the BNP voted to change its constitution to allow black and Asian people to join.
The party made the decision at an extraordinary general meeting in Essex on Sunday after it was told by a court to amend its constitution to comply with race relations laws – or face legal action.
BNP leader Nick Griffin said on Sunday he expected to welcome Mr Singh soon as the BNP’s first non-white member. Yesterday, Mr Singh said he would gladly join the party, although being a member would not change his support of its policies.
“If they say ‘join’, I can’t chicken out now,” he said.
“I will support them to the hilt, for their policies. I’m just pleased for them, not pleased for myself, because it doesn’t change anything in me.
“It doesn’t change my attitude to them, my loyalty to them. That doesn’t change whether I am a member or not. I am still loyal to them.”
Speaking at his home in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, Mr Singh praised Mr Griffin for “taking on the whole storm of lefties” who, he said, wanted to encourage multiculturalism.
Mr Singh, who was born in West Punjab, India, said he left the country in 1967 after seeing years of violence caused by the partition of the country, which also saw the death of his father. He said the BNP was the only party he felt would take on the spread of Islamic fundamentalism, and “save” Britain – preventing repetition of what he had seen in India.
He said: “Britain is changing, it’s not the Britain I came to when I came in. The British people are worried, and the BNP is the expression of their worry.
“They want to save this country and, when they save it for themselves, it will be good for me too.”
He said he felt the BNP was “put in the corner” but added: “Opening up the doors to Asians will make them legal, make them diluted. It’s all positive, positive, positive.”
The retired schoolteacher, who provided a reference for Mr Griffin at his trial in 2006, said he adhered to the idea of “when in Rome, do as the Romans do” and had adopted the “British way of life”.
He added: “Some Sikhs say ‘You are not a Sikh’, but I have core Sikh values.”
Responding to suggestions that he may be being used by the party, Mr Singh said: “I don’t say that he used me. My point of view is that I helped them out. From my side, I am being helpful and that’s a positive thing.
“From his side, there’s a little bit of joy that I am making the face of the party acceptable.”