The BNP threatened to kill me

By Tom Flynn

Last week I received a death threat in the street outside Millbank Studios in Westminster from a leading member of a democratically elected political party. As I was leaving the BBC studio with my colleague, who had just appeared on the PM show, we found ourselves face to face with a number of angry political activists determined on confrontation. The threat was delivered despite the presence of a camera crew from one of the major TV networks and the individual made it clear that he knew who I was and how to find me. He told me that next time I set foot in Southend (I am Labour’s PPC for Southend West), I was ‘going to die’.

The threat was delivered in front of the deputy leader of his party, who made no comment other than to make threatening gestures at me and laugh. No-one present from his party seemed concerned by his conduct and several took photos of myself and my colleague who was also the subject of abusive and sexist comments from the assembled mob.

As you may have guessed, these were not the actions of a mainstream, respectable political party. Anyone who has been involved with the anti-fascist movement will recognise these as the tactics of the British National Party, who had days earlier seen two of their candidates elected to the European Parliament.

This confrontation was a result of our earlier involvement in a demonstration which successfully stopped Nick Griffin from hosting a press conference on College Green which has caused controversy in both the mainstream media and the blogosphere. There was much support for our actions but many commentators felt that it was wrong to deny freedom of speech to an elected politician. But my answer to that is as follows: I will engage the BNP in the normal spirit of political debate once they offer me the same courtesy.

I will never share a platform with the BNP when doing so risks more of the same death threats I have already received (it makes it easier to threaten you if they learn your name and party affiliation at a hustings meeting). I will never stop disrupting their gatherings as long as my colleagues continue to be assaulted while distributing anti-BNP literature, as happened in Croydon (twice) and Morden during the European election campaign. I will not let Nick Griffin appear in the mainstream media without protest until he ceases to peddle racist, homophobic and sexist lies which spread hate and division.

I won’t be intimidated by you or your thugs Mr Griffin. I am one of the huge majority of people in Britain who reject you and your fascist party. And we’re not going anywhere so you had better get used to it.