Peterhead and Fraserburghpeople among those named

North-east ex-teacher on BNP list speaks out

By Gillian Bell and David Perry

Published:

A retired teacher was wakened in the middle of the night and threatened and called a “Nazi pig” after his name appeared on a list of British National Party members posted on the internet.

The man was one of almost 120 people from the north and north-east linked to the far right organisation by the leaked document.

Last night, the 63-year-old denied he was a member of the party and said he knew nothing about his name being included in its membership list until he was contacted by the media.

The man – who lives in Aberdeenshire but asked not to be identified – said he had attended a BNP event during the run-up to council elections, during which one of its candidates gave a speech.

He said: “I got an abusive phone call last night at about 2am, calling me a Nazi pig and saying ‘Your time will come’. I couldn’t understand it at the time.

“The meeting I went to was about crime. I just went along to find out more.

“At the end of it someone said anyone who wanted to find out more should leave their details, so I did.

“I started getting mail that was quite extreme, so I decided it wasn’t for me.

“I have never gone to any other meetings since.

“It must be a mailing list because I’m not a member.”

The man, who taught at a north-east school until he retired three years ago, still gets mail from the BNP – but insists that he throws it out.

Aberdeenshire man John Shackleton said he joined the BNP about 15 years ago and last night spoke of his shock after discovering his name was among those leaked.

“I’m not too chuffed about it,” said the 72-year-old who stays at Portlethen.

“I prefer to keep that sort of thing to myself. The first I heard about it was on the radio this morning and presumed it was something going on in the Midlands – I didn’t think it would truly cover the whole nation.”

Mr Shackleton, a retired engineer, moved to the north-east around five years ago and said he joined the BNP after becoming disillusioned by other political parties.

“I joined when I lived in Bradford,” he said. “I joined because I was so sick of the political correctness of the other parties – they just weren’t doing anything.”

Last night, Scottish politicians voiced alarm at the apparent support for the BNP in the north and north-east.

Its 12,000-strong membership list included a serving officer with Merseyside Police now under investigation.

The list, which was posted on a website, was later removed because it is the subject of a High Court order banning its publication.

It revealed that the BNP claims several former armed forces personnel in Scotland are members.

It also revealed the existence of an 18-strong branch of the party in Aberdeen, with another 20 members spread across Aberdeenshire, particularly in Peterhead, Fraserburgh and Inverurie.

And there were clusters of up to a dozen members around Inverness, Dundee, Falkirk and Stirling. But the bulk of the BNP’s 400 Scottish members are in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Lanarkshire.

Aberdeen North Labour MP Frank Doran was “deeply concerned” at the numbers. He said: “It is obviously worrying to see how many people in the north and north-east are members.

“People are entitled to express views and opinions but members of this party spread hate and I abhor it.”

Liberal Democrat Scottish affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael, MP for Orkney and Shetland, said: “We all know no community is immune from the sort of xenophobic racism that typifies BNP policies, but it is disappointing to know there are so many people prepared to join a party like the BNP.

“Its policies are offensive and repugnant. Few members ever make their views publicly known by standing for election and on those few occasions when they do they have always been resoundingly defeated.”

North-east Tory MSP Alex Johnston said: “I am extremely disappointed at the level of support the BNP has managed to achieve in the north and north-east. We need to be as tolerant of various political views as we can but parties like the BNP are extremely intolerant of the views of others. I believe they have no role whatsoever in the politics of Scotland.”

Dundee East SNP MP Stewart Hosie said it was wrong to exaggerate the BNP’s influence because “in my judgment it is very small”.

Police were last night investigating the publication of the list in breach of the court order after a complaint from BNP leader Nick Griffin. He said the party would take legal action against those behind the leak, and claimed: “There are small numbers of people organised by, motivated by and funded by the Labour Party who intimidate and threaten our members.

“Hundreds of our members have had calls today, threatening calls, and we have no doubt that it’s from the same telephone banks in the offices of unions like Unite who campaign against us.

“We’re sure that this is a left-wing trick by the unions and the Labour Party.”

The list includes home addresses of party members, with telephone numbers and e-mail addresses, notes on how active some are prepared to be and some details of their occupations.