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BNP leader faces retrial

London: The leader of the British National party Nick Griffin and one of his lieutenants are to face a retrial on racial hatred charges at Leeds crown court, northern England, in May. A new jury will consider five counts which left the original hearing earlier this month deadlocked after nine hours of debate on undercover footage of private BNP meetings held two years ago. Mr. Griffin (46), a Cambridge graduate from Llanerfyl, Powys, will again deny using words or behaviour intended or likely to stir up hatred during a speech to party activists in West Yorkshire. The gathering was one of a series in pubs designed to boost BNP morale in the run-up to the 2003 local council and European Parliament elections. They were secretly filmed by BBC reporter Jason Quinn and broadcast last summer in the programme Secret Agent. The jury cleared Mr. Griffin of two other race hate charges, which the BNP leader described after the trial as a victory for free speech. —

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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