BRITAIN: The leader of the far-right British National Party said last night that his arrest on suspicion of inciting racial hatred was politically motivated. He accused the police, who detained and questioned him for much of yesterday, of obeying orders from politicians.
Mr Nick Griffin (45) was arrested by West Yorkshire Police as part of an investigation into the BBC programme Secret Agent. He was later freed on bail.
Police said that as part of the same investigation three Bradford men, aged 29, 33 and 23, had been charged with racially aggravated intentional harassment. The trio are due to appear before Leeds Magistrates' Court tomorrow.
The documentary featured covertly filmed footage showing BNP activists confessing to race-hate crimes, and father of four Mr Griffin, chairman of the BNP since 1999, condemning Islam as a "vicious, wicked faith".
A statement on the BNP website read: "In the wake of disaffection by the Islamic community in Britain over Blair's personal war in Iraq this action against three BNP members in the past 36 hours is nothing less than a crude attempt to buy back the Islamic vote back from the Lib-Dems in anticipation of the next general election."
The party statement attacked Home Secretary David Blunkett, saying the arrests were intended to disrupt the party's operations and to intimidate its members.
"Less than 10 days before Christmas, with the family home decorated in preparation for the festive season, four storm-troopers of the Blairite regime are now busy ransacking the home looking for material in relation to the alleged offence."
One of Mr Griffin's daughters suffered a "violent asthma attack", allegedly brought on by stress following the arrest, the statement said.
The BNP said it could not confirm that Mr Griffin's plan to contest Mr Blunkett's Sheffield Brightside constituency at the next general election played any part in the decision to arrest him.
About a dozen BNP members later arrived outside Halifax police station, in West Yorkshire, where Mr Griffin was believed to be held.
They held posters condemning the police action and addressed passers-by through a loudspeaker system.
Asked about Mr Griffin's appearance on the TV programme, Mr Paul Cromie, chairman of Bradford BNP, said: "It was a private meeting of members. He was not offensive at all. What he said was basically true."
On July 15th, when the BBC documentary was screened, Mr Griffin accused the programme-makers of selectively editing the speech he is seen delivering.
His arrest was the 12th in connection with the investigation into the documentary. - (PA)