The Old Hack

Today it emerged that an extensive list of BNP members' names, addresses and other details has been published on the internet.  The BNP (British National Party) is a registered official political party in the United Kingdom.  There are many people, the Old Hack included, who wish this were not so.

For anyone unsure of who the BNP are and what they stand for, they are basically a group of extremist fanatics who not only wish to see curbs on immigration (other than white immigration) but also call for the repatriation of non-white British residents.

The publication of any confidential information on a publicly accessible website is unlawful, and I understand that some of the information published referred to the children of members, who by definition must be innocent of their parents' dysfunctionality.  This is most unfortunate.

The list, however, also included the names of police officers, teachers, doctors and others in positions of trust and authority in British society.  These people can no longer claim to be legitimate upholders of British values. Rightly or wrongly, they are unmasked as bigots, racists and undesirables.

Many of them are also parents, and however much we may disagree with their views  I strongly suspect that like the rest of us, they love and care for their children.  Had the list of names and details appearing publicly been a list of convicted paedophiles or child killers, they would no doubt have applauded the publication.

There will, of course, be an investigation into how this list came to be published.  At the same time, there should be a very public enquiry into the membership of the BNP of anyone appearing in that list who is in a position of public trust in the role of police officer, teacher, doctor, nurse etc.  If found to be members or supporters of this vile organisation, they should be instantly dismissed from their jobs.  What is more we should be assured that this is the case.  

The thought of a member of the BNP acting as my children or grandchildren's doctor, nurse or teacher fills me with disgust.  The thought of an overtly racist police officer being charged with patrolling their streets and keeping them "safe"  fills me with horror.

I cannot, in spite of myself, applaud the unauthorised publication of confidential material, but now that this is in the public domain it needs to be acted on, swiftly and decisively.  Justice cannot be fully done until those in public places are able to fulfil their role in a just and fair manner.  Membership of the British National Party precludes this.  There is a choice.  It is black and white.  Serve the British public as a whole, or do not pretend to serve them at all.