Question Time turns "Nazi"!!

October 21, 200916 yr

Nick Griffin advises BNP supporters to get ready for the 'big time'

Many fear that the BNP leader's appearance on Question Time will boost his party's support. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National party, has told his supporters to prepare for a move into the political "big time" after he appears in front of as many as four million viewers tomorrow nighton the BBC's Question Time.

The far-right leader told his party that his appearance was "history in the making", adding: "Never before have we had the chance to present our patriotic, commonsense solutions to Britain's nightmare situation to the public at large in such a prominent fashion."

As anti-fascist protesters joined the cabinet minister Peter Hain in calling for Griffin to be dropped from the programme to stop his party enjoying huge publicity, the MEP returned to London from European parliament meetings in Strasbourg to prepare for the programme.

There are fears that the broadcast could boost support for the BNP, as happened with France's far right in the 1980s.

In a message to members , Griffin promised to "take on the corrupt, treacherous swine destroying our beautiful island nation" and claimed the show would be "a stage-managed farce" with organised hostility from the audience and panellists intended to suggest that BNP views have minority status.

"I will, no doubt, be interrupted, shouted down, slandered, put on the spot, and subject to a scrutiny that would be a thousand times more intense than anything directed at other panellists," he said. "It will, in other words, be political bloodsport."

Yesterday he told the Guardian he was ill-prepared. "I have no idea what is going on in Britain in the last three days, which isn't a good place to be when you are going on Question Time," he said.

But he indicated he was prepared to create outrage. If asked about his description of British military chiefs as akin to Nazi war criminals for their role invading Iraq and Afghanistan, he said he might add Rupert Murdoch to the list. "One person who should be in the dock alongside Tony Blair is Rupert Murdoch, who, with the Sun and the Times, was the principal cheerleader for the case that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. He was the chief propagandist. Murdoch is to Blair what Julius Streicher was to Adolf Hitler."

Streicher, a Nazi propagandist, was found guilty of crimes against humanity at the Nuremburg trials and executed.

Griffin said he expected the first two questions on the programme to focus on planned changes to the BNP's constitution, which bars non-whites from membership, "which could be awkward", and on whether he should have been allowed to appear on Question Time. "After that, I would hope we would move away from the BNP," he said. "This should not be a trial of Nick Griffin. We should have an hour on that on another programme, another time. I would love that."

Griffin said he had his usual concerns for his safety when he travels to BBC Television Centre. "I may not be able to get through the mob," he said. "I fully respect their right to demonstrate, but they should be hurling abuse, not rocks."

October 21, 200916 yr

The question is why has the BNP been getting publicity these past couple of years and particularly the last year? The publicity of the BNP is bad bad bad. But arguably, it's the Tories, Lib Dems and particularly Labour's fault for not addressing white working class concerns. It's all very well Labour and Conservative and Lib Dems for saying "ohhhh these fascist, racist pigs have no moral right etc etc" but it's up to THEM to address to the people who were voting BNP.

October 22, 200916 yr

"Maybe if I eat CHOCOLATE ice cream instead of vanilla, I'll lose weight!"

Fascism is just a different flavor of the same thing.

October 22, 200916 yr

Author

Nick Griffin's Question Time appearance sparks anti BNP protests outside BBC

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 3:53 PM on 22nd October 2009

Anti-fascist protesters angry at BNP leader Nick Griffin's appearance on tonight's BBC Question Time show were protesting outside the corporation's headquarters today.

A huge security operation involving hundreds of police officers is in place outside the offices in White City in London in case the demonstrators become violent.

Filming of the show is not due to start until 6.30pm, ahead of its transmission at 10.35pm, but campaigners have been waiting outside for hours.

Sixteen coaches filled with protesters led by the Unite Against Fascist group pulled up at the headquarters this morning.

By 3pm, they were angrily lined up facing a blockade of stern police officers in front of the building.

Tension: Anti-fascist protesters facing up to police outside BBC Television Centre in London this afternoon ahead of Question Time this evening

Public row: Protestors are furious that BNP leader Nick Griffin will be on the show

The BBC is believed to have emergency plans ready to move the show to a secret location if there is any trouble.

Unite Against Fascism hopes the demonstration will be several thousand people strong by the end of the day.

More...

It spent the morning handing round pamphlets declaring: 'No plugs for Nazi Nick... Keep QT Nazi-free' before taking their positions.

Members of the far-left group Antifa, which has previously clashed with police at demonstrations against the BNP, are also believed to be at today's demonstation.

Mr Griffin riled public anger over his involvement in the flagship show further this morning by thanking the BBC for giving his far-right party unprecedented publicity.

Public anger: A protestor makes his feelings known outside BBC Television Centre in London today ahead of Nick Griffin's appearance on Question Time

Clash fears: Protestors starting to gather outside the BBC this afternoon

Up to 300 police officers are on duty outside the offices with the BBC thought to have brought in around 60 extra security staff.

At one stage, the BNP had considered flying in Mr Griffin using a helicopter to avoid any trouble but this was shelved because there is no helipad nearby.

Mr Griffin will appear alongside Justice Secretary Jack Straw, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne, Conservative shadow cabinet member Sayeeda Warsi, a Muslim, and author Bonnie Greer.

The programme is filmed several hours beforehand and broadcast as if it was live, although sections can be edited out for legal or taste reasons before transmission.

Amid warnings Mr Griffin's involvement could trigger racist attacks, the BBC insisted he would not be allowed to make inflammatory comments.

A spokesman said the show would be run in compliance with the law, implying that any overt racist remarks will be cut.

Outside Television centre, Weyman Bennett, joint national secretary of Unite Against Fascism, said: 'I don't believe the BNP are going to be taken apart in the debate.

'What they are going to get is a massive hustings for their fascist and racist politics and the price for that will be an increase in the number of racist attacks.'

Enlarge Protest: Leaflets being handed out by Unite Against Fascim outside BBC TV centre in London today ahead of tonight's Question Time show

Enlarge Campaign: Posters at an anti-BNP rally show a distorted picture of Nick Griffin with the caption 'We'll smash all forms of democracy'

Elane Heffernan, 47, handed out leaflets declaring 'No Plugs for Nazi Nick' and claimed the BBC had blocked anti-fascists from the studio audience.

'We all applied for tickets but didn't get one. A friend of mine was told she had a ticket but then they rang up and was told she didn't,' she said.

'The anti-racist majority are peaceful people. Whether it turns will be down to whether the police attack protesters.'

Steven Ellis, 26, a librarian, said: 'I am down here because the BNP should not be treated like a normal party.

'They don't respect the rights of others and the BBC should not be inviting them on Question Time.

'A lot of BBC staff agree with us. A lot of people will arrive later to show their opposition to what the BBC are doing.'

Labour MP Andy Slaughter helped the protesters. He said: 'The BBC know they have made a mistake and as usual they have made the wrong judgment call...

'Despite the massive amounts of money they are paid and the tiers of management they don't seem to be able to make the decisions most people would make.

'I think it is just irresponsible. Cutting through the dinner party conversation about freedom of speech, the practical impact it is going to have on Muslim, black and Asian communities is reason enough not to give the BNP a platform.'

Controversial figure: BNP Party Leader Nick Griffin will be on tonight's panel

Around 400 people including pop stars, writers and trade unionists joined a rally against the show last night.

Jerry Dammers, from the group The Specials' said the BBC was naive to give the leader a platform.

Mr Dammers said: 'I think the BBC are definitely wrong in allowing them on because it's cosmetic, the BNP are hiding their true identity as Nazis and fascists and the BBC are allowing themselves to be used for that purpose.

'The BBC are just naive, they are being used and they don't fully understand how they are being used because they don't understand their own power and their own respectability which is being transferred onto the BNP.'

Former children's laureate Michael Rosen, who presents a BBC programme, added: 'We've got a right not to hear that stuff.

'I'm Jewish, black people, Asian people or anybody, we have a right not to hear that stuff, and the BBC knows that and that's why I'm not allowed to put out racist stuff on my programme.'

October 22, 200916 yr

Nick Griffin's Question Time appearance sparks anti BNP protests outside BBC

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:53 PM on 22nd October 2009

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Anti-fascist protesters angry at BNP leader Nick Griffin's appearance on tonight's BBC Question Time show were protesting outside the corporation's headquarters today.
A huge security operation involving hundreds of police officers is in place outside the offices in White City in London in case the demonstrators become violent.
Filming of the show is not due to start until 6.30pm, ahead of its transmission at 10.35pm, but campaigners have been waiting outside for hours.
Sixteen coaches filled with protesters led by the Unite Against Fascist group pulled up at the headquarters this morning.
By 3pm, they were angrily lined up facing a blockade of stern police officers in front of the building.

Tension: Anti-fascist protesters facing up to police outside BBC Television Centre in London this afternoon ahead of Question Time this evening

Public row: Protestors are furious that BNP leader Nick Griffin will be on the show

The BBC is believed to have emergency plans ready to move the show to a secret location if there is any trouble.
Unite Against Fascism hopes the demonstration will be several thousand people strong by the end of the day.

More...

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DOMINIC CARMAN: A deeply disturbing encounter with the BNP's Nick Griffin - and the wife who thinks he's an oddball
'Thank you for being so stupid': BNP leader Nick Griffin hails BBC for boost to his party

It spent the morning handing round pamphlets declaring: 'No plugs for Nazi Nick... Keep QT Nazi-free' before taking their positions.

Members of the far-left group Antifa, which has previously clashed with police at demonstrations against the BNP, are also believed to be at today's demonstation.
Mr Griffin riled public anger over his involvement in the flagship show further this morning by thanking the BBC for giving his far-right party unprecedented publicity.

Public anger: A protestor makes his feelings known outside BBC Television Centre in London today ahead of Nick Griffin's appearance on Question Time

Clash fears: Protestors starting to gather outside the BBC this afternoon

Up to 300 police officers are on duty outside the offices with the BBC thought to have brought in around 60 extra security staff.

At one stage, the BNP had considered flying in Mr Griffin using a helicopter to avoid any trouble but this was shelved because there is no helipad nearby.
Mr Griffin will appear alongside Justice Secretary Jack Straw, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne, Conservative shadow cabinet member Sayeeda Warsi, a Muslim, and author Bonnie Greer.

The programme is filmed several hours beforehand and broadcast as if it was live, although sections can be edited out for legal or taste reasons before transmission.
Amid warnings Mr Griffin's involvement could trigger racist attacks, the BBC insisted he would not be allowed to make inflammatory comments.
A spokesman said the show would be run in compliance with the law, implying that any overt racist remarks will be cut.

Outside Television centre, Weyman Bennett, joint national secretary of Unite Against Fascism, said: 'I don't believe the BNP are going to be taken apart in the debate.
'What they are going to get is a massive hustings for their fascist and racist politics and the price for that will be an increase in the number of racist attacks.'
Enlarge Protest: Leaflets being handed out by Unite Against Fascim outside BBC TV centre in London today ahead of tonight's Question Time show

Enlarge Campaign: Posters at an anti-BNP rally show a distorted picture of Nick Griffin with the caption 'We'll smash all forms of democracy'

Elane Heffernan, 47, handed out leaflets declaring 'No Plugs for Nazi Nick' and claimed the BBC had blocked anti-fascists from the studio audience.

'We all applied for tickets but didn't get one. A friend of mine was told she had a ticket but then they rang up and was told she didn't,' she said.

'The anti-racist majority are peaceful people. Whether it turns will be down to whether the police attack protesters.'
Steven Ellis, 26, a librarian, said: 'I am down here because the BNP should not be treated like a normal party.
'They don't respect the rights of others and the BBC should not be inviting them on Question Time.
'A lot of BBC staff agree with us. A lot of people will arrive later to show their opposition to what the BBC are doing.'

Labour MP Andy Slaughter helped the protesters. He said: 'The BBC know they have made a mistake and as usual they have made the wrong judgment call...
'Despite the massive amounts of money they are paid and the tiers of management they don't seem to be able to make the decisions most people would make.
'I think it is just irresponsible. Cutting through the dinner party conversation about freedom of speech, the practical impact it is going to have on Muslim, black and Asian communities is reason enough not to give the BNP a platform.'
Controversial figure: BNP Party Leader Nick Griffin will be on tonight's panel

Around 400 people including pop stars, writers and trade unionists joined a rally against the show last night.
Jerry Dammers, from the group The Specials' said the BBC was naive to give the leader a platform.

Mr Dammers said: 'I think the BBC are definitely wrong in allowing them on because it's cosmetic, the BNP are hiding their true identity as Nazis and fascists and the BBC are allowing themselves to be used for that purpose.
'The BBC are just naive, they are being used and they don't fully understand how they are being used because they don't understand their own power and their own respectability which is being transferred onto the BNP.'
Former children's laureate Michael Rosen, who presents a BBC programme, added: 'We've got a right not to hear that stuff.

'I'm Jewish, black people, Asian people or anybody, we have a right not to hear that stuff, and the BBC knows that and that's why I'm not allowed to put out racist stuff on my programme.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1222159/Nick-Griffins-Question-Time-appearance-sparks-anti-BNP-protests-outside-BBC.html#ixzz0Ug7NUjLS

Sorry but as much as I hate the BNP I can't be doing with pompous, head up their arses pricks protesting outside the BBC.

October 22, 200916 yr

Ha! The Daily Mail reporting on fascism?!

Give me a break :dozey:

October 22, 200916 yr

This should be VERY interesting tonight!

October 22, 200916 yr

To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if next year the BNPs get a couple MPs, with the swing voters whom are:

1 - Fed up with labour

2 - Don't want to vote Tory.

October 22, 200916 yr

This is gonna be verry interesting. :P

October 22, 200916 yr

Are the BNP more popular than UKIP? :thinking:

October 23, 200916 yr

I love how you guys already killed all the Libertarians there in England. You get to choose between Fascists or Socialists. :laugh3:

October 23, 200916 yr

I love how you guys already killed all the Libertarians there in England. You get to choose between Fascists or Socialists. :laugh3:

I have never heard of a libertarian from England, honestly :p

October 23, 200916 yr

Oh come now, you've never heard of John Locke?? ;)

October 23, 200916 yr

Author

BNP's Nick Griffin milks his moment in spotlight on Question Time

By Jason Groves

Last updated at 10:50 AM on 23rd October 2009

BNP leader under fire in controversial debut on BBC show
Mr Griffin repeatedly refused to give views on Holocaust
Claimed Winston Churchill would have joined BNP
Declared gay men kissing in public was 'creepy'
Was laughed at after branding Ku Klux Klan 'non violent'

The BBC today faced a furious backlash after being accused of turning flagship Question Time into 'the Nick Griffin Show.'

Despite giving a shaky and erratic performance, the BNP leader dominated a programme dedicated almost exclusively to his far-right policies.

Fellow panellist playwright Bonnie Greer has already expressed her fears that his appearance - however poor - could only give his party greater prominence.

Higher Education Minister David Lammy wrote on his Twitter blog that he had spoken to her after the programme.

'She, like me, worried it turned into a Nick Griffin show. says he was trembling as he sat next to her,' he said.

Her comments emerged as the BBC revealed Question Time had pulled in 7.8million viewers, three times the usual figure.

Heckled: Nick Griffin's controversial appearance on Question Time, where he was mocked and jeered

The panel (l to r): Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne, Conservative shadow cabinet member Sayeeda Warsi, Justice Secretary Jack Straw, Dimbleby, Griffin and Bonnie Greer

The Corporation had initially been under fire for allowing Mr Griffin such a high-profile platform.

But critics today opened a new line of attack with MP Diane Abbott accusing the BBC of turning Mr Griffin into a victim as he was so strongly attacked by panellists and the audience.

Miss Abbott, the country's best-known black politician, claimed the format had been deliberately engineered to humiliate the BNP leader.

'It’s all very well in the morning to say "oh well, he got smashed" but in the long run people who are attracted to the BNP will come away saying "he was a victim",' she said.

'When you put the BNP into the mainstream like that they drag people onto their agenda. Everyone is talking about Nick Griffin.'

'The programme has given him unnecessary exposure, unnecessary credibility, and giving more credibility to a fascist party in the middle of a recession is a very dangerous thing'

Members of the audience booed, jeered and mocked the British National Party leader during a programme dominated by his far-right politics.

The BBC was also accused of giving the politician priceless air time and 'publicity-seeking' naivety.

Senior Labour figures warned of racist attacks in the coming days, leaving the BBC with 'blood on its hands'.

Mr Griffin gave a shaky performance, which BNP spokesman John Walker today put down to changing the Question Time format.

'This wasn't really Question Time, was it? They changed the whole format of the programme into a complete, 100 per cent attack on Nick.,' he told Radio 4's Today.

Fury: A young Jewish man (left) and a black member of the audience were two of the most vocal opponents of Mr Griffin

He said it was 'unbelievable' that issues which could have been discussed were not, including the postal strike, Tony Blair's mooted appointment as president of the European Union and the deaths of British troops in Afghanistan.

Mr Walker went on: 'Anyone who was opposed to the BNP would probably feel very smug and pleased with themselves this morning.

'But I don't think it makes much different to the people in white working class areas that have been betrayed by the mainstream politicians.

'If anything, a lot of their concerns were confirmed last night about the mainstream.'

Mr Griffin ran the gauntlet of 1,000 angry protesters who had laid siege to the Question Time studio at Television Centre in West London.

The 50-year-old, who has a criminal conviction for inciting racial hatred, was loudly booed as he went before the cameras under tight security.

Facing angry heckling, and at times looking shaken, Mr Griffin:

Repeatedly refused to give his views on the Holocaust, drawing attacks from Jewish members of the audience.
Was branded 'disgusting' by one black member of the audience.
Was forced to deny he had said that black men 'walk like monkeys'.
Was jeered by a lesbian member of the audience who told him: 'The feeling of revulsion is mutual'.
One Asian member of the audience called for a whip round to pay for him to go and live at the South Pole where he could enjoy a 'colourless landscape'.

The BBC was forced on to the back foot over the decision to invite Mr Griffin on to the show.

David Dimbleby, who chaired the session, tried to calm audience unrest by insisting that the programme 'won't be the Nick Griffin show'.

But he refused a request to take an audience vote on the rights and wrongs of the decision.

Baroness Warsi, the Tory panel member, said: 'If you look at the audience and reaction outside, people are outraged by his views and he has been exposed for what he is.'

Justice Secretary Jack Straw said the evening capped a 'catastrophic week for the BNP'.

They were joined on the panel by Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne and black poet Bonnie Greer.

Unrest: Anti-BNP crowds protested against the appearance of Griffin during the show at BBC HQ

Three officers were injured during the fracas as the BBC prepared to film Question Time

Mr Huhne said Winston Churchill would be 'rolling' in his grave if he could hear Mr Griffin speak today.

Earlier Mr Griffin's appearance provoked angry scenes outside Television Centre. Three police office officers were injured and six protesters arrested.

At one stage, around 25 people stormed inside the West London building as they attempted to find the Question Time studios.

Flares were let off and women dragged kicking and screaming back outside by security guards.

More...

Mr Griffin, meanwhile, was smuggled in via a side entrance by up to 40 dark-suited security guards.

Inside, he attacked Mr Straw saying his own father was in the RAF in the Second World War, while Mr Straw's was arrested for refusing to fight.

A black man in the audience was cheered when he confronted Mr Griffin.

His voice shaking with emotion, the man said: 'For just one minute could you not think of the benefits my parents brought to this country and other parents from an Asian, Indian or Pakistani background have brought?

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'No, all you're thinking of doing is trying to poison politics and poison the minds of people in this country. The vast majority of this audience find what you stand for to be completely disgusting'.

Asked whether he denied that millions of Jews and other minorities had been killed by the Nazis, Mr Griffin would only reply: 'I do not have a conviction for Holocaust denial.'

Of his previous comments, he said: 'I can't explain why I used to say those things.'

He acknowledged the BNP had been a 'racist and anti-semitic organisation' but claimed it had changed under his leadership. 'I am not a Nazi and never have been,' he said.

He was wearing the poppy he rarely removes. He says he wears it in protest at the poor treatment of soldiers injured in Afghanistan.

On the BBC, he said: 'I don't regard the BBC as Auntie, I regard the BBC as part of a thoroughly unpleasant ultra-Leftist establishment which, as we've seen here tonight doesn't want the English to be recognised as an existing people.'

'All the BBC have done is follow the rules they've set some years ago. We've crossed the threshold. It would have been wrong to keep us off any longer so I think the BBC has just done what they had to do.

'I'm sure it's been a large audience and possibly of interest to some people, so what's the problem?'

Tory peer Baroness Warsi (left) branded Mr Griffin 'thoroughly deceptive' while Justice Minister Jack Straw said the BNP had no 'moral compass'

Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne (left) attacked Mr Griffin for linking his party with Churchill. Bonnie Greer said his version of history was 'a joke'

On homosexuality, he said: 'A lot of people find the sight of two grown men kissing in public very creepy. I understand that homosexuals don't understand that, but that is how a lot of us feel. A lot of Christians feel that way. Militant homosexuals do not have the right to try and preach to schoolchildren. That is perverse.'

Audience member David Kernohan, 26, of Kings Lynn, Norfolk, said: 'He came across very badly. By the end, the audience were essentially ridiculing him and shouting things at him.

'He was obviously very nervous. I don't think he would be pleased with the performance. He made a fool of himself and will have turned moderate people off the party.

'He's shot himself in the foot. It was excellent - a good day for democracy.'

Enlarge

The BBC had received more than a 1,000 complaints ahead of the broadcast. Senior Labour politicians predicted black and Asian people would face a violent backlash in the coming days and critics said the corporation had been naive and driven by a desire to boost ratings.

Higher Education Minister David Lammy, one of Britain's first black ministers, said ordinary people from ethnic minority backgrounds would face violence as a result.

He added: 'This is a seminal moment for the country. I am very worried about the days that will follow. Many people across the country, black and white, will be appalled that Nick Griffin has been given a platform on the BBC's flagship current affairs programme for his terrible racist views.

'Many others, a long way from Broadcasting House, will be left very scared.'

However Mr Lammy acknowledged that the mainstream parties had to accept some of the blame for the rise of the BNP.

Former Home Secretary David Blunkett criticised the BBC for 'publicity seeking'.

'To spend the first ten minutes of the Six O'Clock News covering their own decision and the consequences of putting the leader of the BNP on Question Time, was a total distortion of news priority and a deliberate promotion of their own publicity-seeking decision,' he said.

BBC director general Mark Thompson yesterday defended the decision to offer an invitation to Mr Griffin. Mr Thompson said the Government should change the law if it did not want the party to appear on news and current affairs programme.

He said: 'Censorship cannot be outsourced to the BBC.'

Mark Byford, the deputy director general, said: 'It was appropriate to invite Nick Griffin onto the Question Time panel this evening in the context of the BBC meeting its obligation of due impartiality.'

HOW QUESTION TIME TURNED INTO THE NICK GRIFFIN SHOW

As protesters besieged the BBC's studios, Nick Griffin faced questions from both the audience and his fellow panellists.

The programme failed to address a wide sweep of issues and instead focussed almost exclusively on race and immigration.

Grilling: Nick Griffin with panellist Bonnie Greer

THE HOLOCAUST

Fellow panellist, playwright Bonnie Greer, was left open-mouthed as Mr Griffin said he had no answers for a young member of the audience who asked about his views on the Hitler's extermination of six million Jews.

'I cannot explain why I used to say those things,' he said.

'I cannot tell you any more than I can tell you why I changed my mind. I can't tell you the extent I changed my mind.'

The BNP leader claimed this was because he would face legal action if he expressed his opinions.

But Mr Straw said as Justice Minister he could 'promise' Mr Griffin that he would not be prosecuted if he wanted to explain his views. The invitation was not accepted.

At one point, Mr Griffin was even reprimanded by presenter David Dimbleby for smiling as he avoided answering a question about the holocaust.

'Why are you smiling? It's not a particularly amusing issue,' Mr Dimbleby said.

HIJACKING CHURCHILL

The BNP's appropriation of Winston Churchill for its publicity campaign was attacked by all side.

Mr Straw also agreed that it was 'certainly not fair' that the BNP had hijacked Winston Churchill as its own.

But Mr Griffin was jeered as he said 'no other party would have him' and added that Churchill was 'extremely critical of (the) dangers of fundamentalist Islam'.

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne accused Mr Griffin of 'peddling hatred and fear' and added that 'Churchill would be rolling in his grave'.

It was 'outrageous and against the traditions of this country', Mr Huhne said.

He was cheered as he quoted Mr Griffin as saying Hitler went 'a bit too far'.

But Mr Griffin denied saying such a thing - despite the panel agreeing it was on video - saying: 'I am the most loathed man in Britain in the eyes of British Nazis.'

RACE AND IMMIGRATION

Jack Straw was cheered as he said 'race politics has no place in our society'.

'The fact that the BNP defines itself on race which distinguishes it from every other political party I can think of,' Mr Straw said.

Later, Mr Griffin was criticised when he referred to 'indigenous people' and said: 'We are the Aborigines here.'

Asked if he meant white people by Mr Straw, Mr Griffin was ridiculed by the audience as he said: 'Skin colour's irrelevant, Jack.'

Referring to how the BNP must now change its membership policy to admit people of all races, Mr Griffin laughed again.

Ms Greer was also cheered by the audience as she said: 'You can laugh but if I was a BNP member I'd be scared.'

She also told Mr Griffin he needed to read more books and said the history on the BNP website was 'a joke, it's wacky'.

IT'S ALL LIES...

After one audience member labelled Mr Griffin 'completely disgusting', he claimed he was frequently misquoted by the media and he would agree that he was a 'monster' if everything written about him was true.

'Those things are outrageous lies,' he said.

Talk is cheap: Jack Straw, David Dimbleby, Nick Griffin and Bonnie Greer during Question Time

Asked which of the quotes in media reports were lies, he said: 'The vast majority of them, far too many to go in to.'

Mr Dimbleby repeatedly asked Mr Griffin which of his quotes on race, mixed marriages and Islam were wrong and suggested that the BNP leader could not deny saying them.

But Mr Griffin did deny saying black people walked like monkeys.

Tory peer Baroness Warsi said Mr Griffin was 'obviously a confused man' and a 'thoroughly, thoroughly deceptive man who comes on here and tries to sell whatever message that he wants'.

He was 'evasive' in his answers, she said.

GRIFFIN Vs STRAW

Some of the most fiery exchanges of the night were between Mr Griffin and Mr Straw.

'This guy is the Dr Strangelove of British politics,' Mr Straw said.

The Justice Secretary said it had been a 'catastrophic week' for the BNP as the party had, 'for the first time, been properly scrutinised'.

All of the other parties had a "recognisable moral compass", he said.

'Nazism didn't and neither does the constitution of the BNP.'

However, the Justice Secretary appeared shocked when Mr Griffin taunted him about his father, a pacifist who was jailed during the Second World War.

The BNP leader was booed as he denounced Walter Straw for 'refusing to fight Hitler.'

October 23, 200916 yr

it was the Poppy day yesterday?

October 23, 200916 yr

Author

BNP leader Nick Griffin in fresh storm after claiming London has been 'ethnically cleansed' as he defends Question Time debut

By Liz Hazelton

Last updated at 4:39 PM on 23rd October 2009

BBC faces backlash in wake of BNP leader's appearance

Show pulls in record 7.8 viewers - three times usual number

MP attacks Corporation for turning Griffin into 'a victim'

BNP leader claims he faced a 'lynch mob' on show

'Ethnically cleansed' London is 'no longer British', he rants

BNP leader claims he faced a 'lynch mob' on Question Time
He says London audience did not represent British views
Comments are immediately shot down by Boris Johnson
Show pulls in record 7.8 viewers - three times usual number
MP attacks BBC for turning Griffin into 'a victim'

Nick Griffin today broke cover to claim London had been 'ethnically cleansed' in a provocative interview just hours after he appeared on Question Time.

As the row over his stormy debut grew, the BNP leader said he was the victim of an unfairly biased audience drawn from the multi-cultural capital.

'That wasn't Question Time. It was a lynch mob,' he added after summoning reporters to a press conference in Thurrock, Essex.

His comments were immediately shot down by London mayor Boris Johnson and predecessor Ken Livingstone.

Surprise supporter? An Asian man gives a thumbs up to the camera as Nick Griffin talks with a market trader in Grays town centre, Essex, today after his appearance on Question Time

Mr Griffin, 50, had refused to return to London - the location for last night's Question Time - declaring it was 'no longer part of Britain.'

'There is not much support for me there because the place is dominated by ethnic minorities,' he said.

'There is an ethnic minority that supports me: the English. But there's not many of them left.

'London is no longer a city my grandparents would recognise. It is changed beyond all recognition.

'Many of the ancestral Londoners have left over the last 20 years because they can no longer call it home.'

More...

He went on to claim that the Question Time audience, which had laughed and jeered at him throughout the show, were not representative of the country as a whole.

'That audience was taken from a city that is no longer British ... That was not my country any more,' he said.

'Why not come down and do it in Thurrock, do it in Stoke, do it in Burnley?

'Do it somewhere where there are still significant numbers of English and British people, and they haven't been ethnically cleansed from their own country.'

Grilling: Mr Griffin (centre left) conducted interviews in Essex as he claimed London had been 'ethnically cleansed'

Mr Griffin's comments were immediately attacked by London mayor Boris Johnson.

'Nick Griffin is right to say London is not his city,' he said.

'London is a welcoming, tolerant, cosmopolitan capital which thrives on its diversity.

'The secret of its long-term success is its ability to attract the best from wherever they are and allow them to be themselves - unleashing their imagination, creativity and enterprise.

'The BNP has no place here and I again urge Londoners to reject their narrow, extremist and offensive views at every possibility.'

His predecessor Ken Livingstone questioned why the BNP leader was uncomfortable with multicultural London.

'We accept that difference and diversity. We don't feel threatened by it - I don't know why Nick Griffin feels threatened by it,' he told Sky News.

Dismissive: Boris Johnson said there was no place in London for the BNP

Mr Griffin also used his a series of interviews to complain about the BBC and the format of the show.

'We know from the floods of emails and numerous telephone calls we have had that the programme was not shown in its normal format,' he said.

'They deliberately changed the whole format of Question Time in order to deal with me.'

Mr Griffin spent the day touring Essex and performed with markedly more confidence than during a shaky debut on Question Time.

But despite his bumbling delivery on last night's show, the BNP claimed the event had sparked the 'single biggest recruitment night' in the party's history.

The party said 3,000 people registered to sign up as members once a current recruitment freeze - introduced in response to legal action over the party's discriminatory membership rules - has been lifted.

A message on the BNP's website said: 'This figure represents the single largest block of new membership expressions of interest ever, and will, once formally signed up, have boosted party membership by nearly 30 per cent.'

Meanwhile, the fallout from Mr Griffin's Question Time debut continued as politicians queued up to castigate the BBC for giving him such a high-profile platform.

The programme was a ratings hit with 7.8million viewers, three times the usual number and 50 per cent of the audience share.

Mark Byford, the BBC's Deputy Director-General, said: 'This very large audience clearly demonstrates the public's interest in seeing elected politicians being scrutinised by the public themselves.

The BBC is firm in its belief that it was appropriate for Mr Griffin to appear as a member of the panel and the BBC fulfilled its duty to uphold due impartiality by inviting him on the programme.'

But despite favourable viewing figures, the broadcaster faces an unprecedented backlash.

Diane Abbott MP accused bosses of turning Mr Griffin, 50, into a victim as he was so strongly savaged by panellists and the audience.

Miss Abbott, the country's best-known black politician, claimed the format had been deliberately engineered to humiliate the BNP leader

'It’s all very well in the morning to say "oh well, he got smashed" but in the long run people who are attracted to the BNP will come away saying "he was a victim",' she said.

Under attack: Mr Griffin claimed the Question Time audience was biased

The BBC has so far received 357 complaints about last night's Question Time, of which 243 callers actually alleged bias against Mr Griffin.

By far the most savage account on the politician came from fellow panellist playwright Bonnie Greer.

The black academic revealed how Mr Griffin had been 'trembling like a leaf' throughout his appearance.

She described sitting next to him as 'probably the weirdest and most creepy experience of my life'

'I spent the entire night with my back turned to him,' she said.

'At one point, I had to restrain myself from slapping him. But it was worth it because he was totally trounced.'

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'I spent the entire night with my back turned to him. At one point, I had to restrain myself from slapping him. But it was worth it because he was totally trounced.

'I had thought we'd face a formidable orator, somebody who knew his facts and had his ducks in a row but the guy was a mess!

"From the moment the audience began shooting questions, it was a case of the Emperor's new clothes.

'He was completely exposed as an evasive liar who couldn't even stand up his own quotes and looked like a buffoon.'

Mr Griffin, who has a criminal conviction for inciting racial hatred, ran the gauntlet of 1,000 angry protesters who had laid siege to the Question Time studio at Television Centre in West London.

Three police office officers were injured and six protesters arrested.

At one stage, around 25 people stormed inside the West London building as they attempted to find the Question Time studios.

Tory peer Baroness Warsi (left) branded Mr Griffin 'thoroughly deceptive' while Justice Minister Jack Straw said the BNP had no 'moral compass'

Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne (left) attacked Mr Griffin for linking his party with Churchill. Bonnie Greer said his version of history was 'a joke'

Flares were let off and women dragged kicking and screaming back outside by security guards.

Mr Griffin, meanwhile, was smuggled in via a side entrance by up to 40 dark-suited security guards.

Once inside, he was booed, jeered and mocked by the Question Time audience in a programme almost exclusively dedicated to his politics.

Facing angry heckling, and at times looking shaken, Mr Griffin:

Repeatedly refused to give his views on the Holocaust, drawing attacks from Jewish members of the audience.
Was branded 'disgusting' by one black member of the audience.
Was forced to deny he had said that black men 'walk like monkeys'.
Was jeered by a lesbian member of the audience who told him: 'The feeling of revulsion is mutual'.
One Asian member of the audience called for a whip round to pay for him to go and live at the South Pole where he could enjoy a 'colourless landscape'

David Dimbleby, who chaired the session, tried to calm audience unrest by insisting that the programme 'won't be the Nick Griffin show'.

But he refused a request to take an audience vote on the rights and wrongs of the decision.

Baroness Warsi, the Tory panel member, said: 'If you look at the audience and reaction outside, people are outraged by his views and he has been exposed for what he is.'

Justice Secretary Jack Straw said the evening capped a 'catastrophic week for the BNP'.

Chris Huhne, the Lib Dem panellist, said Winston Churchill would be 'rolling' in his grave if he could hear Mr Griffin speak today.