Mark Collett Planning to Murder Nick Griffin?

BNP official Mark Collett questioned over alleged
threat to kill Nick Griffin

Police arrest publicity director accused by BNP
leadership of plotting 'palace coup'

Adam Gabbatt and Matthew Taylor
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 4 April 2010 13.52 BST

Nick Griffin and Mark Collett after winning a
court case in 2006. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images


The BNP has been thrown into turmoil weeks ahead
of the general election after a senior party
member was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill Nick Griffin.

Key party officials have been summoned to a
meeting tomorrow to discuss "urgent
organisational matters" after Griffin and
colleagues made statements to police resulting in
the BNP's publicity director, Mark Collett, being detained on Thursday.

Collett, 29, had been due to contest Labour MP
David Blunkett's Sheffield Brightside seat in the
election but has been stripped of his position
within the party which accused him of conspiring
to launch a "palace coup" against Griffin.

The BNP alerted members to the crisis on
Wednesday. In a message to party organisers, the
party said its internal security team had been
investigating "alleged financial irregularities"
relating to leaflets and publications, the
"leaking on to the internet of sensitive party
information" and "feeding lies to certain
anti-BNP blog sites" for several months.

"As a result of this investigation, a very
serious matter has been uncovered," the memo
said. "Earlier this week, the police were made
aware of very serious allegations potentially
affecting the personal safety of party chairman
Nick Griffin MEP and senior
management/fundraising consultant James Dowson.
Formal statements have now been made to the
police, including by Mr Griffin."

The message said it had been necessary to act
immediately "to ensure the safety of those at risk".

The timing of the row is a further blow to the
BNP as it looks to build on success in last
year's European elections by winning its first
seat in the House of Commons. Last month the
party's membership policy was ruled to be
discriminatory, despite the BNP having removed a
whites-only clause in February.

The BNP said it was unable to provide further
details of the alleged threat to Griffin - who is
standing against Labour's Margaret Hodge in
Barking and Dagenham - and Dowson for fear of
prejudicing legal proceedings.

The memo continued: "Since political, as opposed
to allegedly criminal, conspiracies are not
illegal, we are able to say that Mark Collett was
conspiring with a small clique of other party
officials to launch a 'palace coup' against our
twice democratically elected party leader, Nick
Griffin, and that in order to create the
artificial climate of disillusionment necessary
for this to stand any chance of success, lies and
unfounded rumours have been spread, and were
planned to be spread much further."

Officers asked Collett to attend a Humberside
police station last week. A spokeswoman said: "A
29-year-old man was arrested on Thursday on
suspicion of making threats to kill. He was
interviewed by detectives at Humberside police
and he has been released on bail pending further
inquiries. The investigation was initiated as a
result of a complaint by the member of the BNP."

BNP regional organisers and key officials have
been asked to attend an "urgent briefing meeting"
tomorrow to discuss the events of the last few
days and the party's future plans.

A spokesman for the anti-fascist organisation
Searchlight said rows over finance, particularly
Griffin's European expenses, had led to the
conflict. Griffin and Andrew Brons were elected
to European parliament in June 2009 but have been
criticised in recent weeks for failing to publish
details of their spending.

"Nick Griffin is constantly claiming he is the
leader of a moderate, non-violent organisation,"
the Searchlight spokesman said. "It is difficult
to see how he can square that assertion with his
statement to the police that his own head of
publicity has been plotting to kill him."

The Guardian attempted to contact senior figures
within the British National party, but none were available for comment.


Link:
Guardian Article