Royal Legion accepts BNP gift
By politics.co.uk staff
The Royal British Legion has accepted a gift from the BNP despite publicising its opposition to the party.
The money was raised by BNP member Rachel Firth, who donated half of it to the party and the other half to the Legion.
It was accepted on the basis that it would not be advertised as a political action, but soon enough it was covered extensively on the BNP website.
The acceptance of the donations will prove highly embarrassing for the Legion, which at first rejected the money, and then took it.
It casts a strange light on the full-page advert the Legion took out in a national newspaper earlier this year accusing party leader Nick Griffin of ‘politicising’ the poppy.
A statement on the website said: “We do not accept donations made for political PR purposes, or donations made on behalf of the BNP or any other political party.
“In the Huddersfield case, a woman approached the Legion with the offer of raising funds for us while also raising funds for the BNP.
“After initially refusing to accept the donation, we were assured by her that this donation was being made independently of her support of the BNP and would not be used for partisan political activity.
“We accepted this explanation, which we still believe to be the case.”
The news comes as the newly-formed far-right English Defence League gears up for a demonstration outside of a new Mosque in Harrow this evening
