DUS invites BNP in

subs — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:28:02 +0000

The Durham Union Society (DUS) has invited two members of the far right British National Party (BNP) to debate in opposition to a multicultural Britain this term.
Andrew Brons, MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, and Councillor Chris Beverley, Leeds City Council , will debate the issue on Friday 12th February with Edward Leigh, MP, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, and Kulveer Ranger, advisor to the Mayor of London.
Palatinate has learned that BNP Leader Nick Griffin was also invited to speak and had accepted the invitation before pulling out for “personal reasons”.
DUS Epiphany Term President Anna Birley defended the decision, saying “Andrew Brons MEP received over 120,000 votes and Cllr Chris Beverley is the only BNP member of the City Council of Leeds, a multicultural city”. She continued “The BNP’s anti-multiculturalist views are no secret and while many in Durham will not agree with them, inviting them gives our members the opportunity to openly debate the issue”.
However Durham Students Union (DSU) President Natalie Crisp was quick to distance herself from the event, “Obviously the Union Society is completely separate from the DSU so therefore we have no overall say in what they do”. She added “DSU currently does not have a ‘no platform’ policy but this is something which we are looking at in the run-up to the general election and we will consult with the wider student body”.
Vice-Chancellor Chris Higgins confirmed that the University had been approached by the DUS prior to making the invitation and had agreed to it. “I, personally, abhor the views of the BNP which I consider inappropriate, shallow and offensive. However, because the University is a strong advocate of freedom of speech, we did not oppose the right of DUS to invite BNP members as long as they spoke as part of an open debate in which their views would be challenged”.
The turnout for the debate is expected to be high, and as a precaution the University agreed to the debate only if the police were informed and approved of it.
The Vice-Chancellor has encouraged students to attend the debate and exercise their freedom of speech from the floor to “ensure views other than those of the BNP are heard and prevail”.
Miss Birley shares this hope, saying “[The BNP] thrive from publicity when their views on multiculturalism are not questioned. This debate is different as it’s a rare opportunity for our members to examine their opinions thoroughly. I have confidence in our members to scrutinise everything they hear during the debate”.
Mr Brons, one of the scheduled speakers at DUS, began his career in the National Socialist Movement, an organisation that was deliberately founded on Hitler’s birthday by Colin Jordan, the British Nazi Leader. The group was responsible for an arson campaign against Jewish property and synagogues in the 1960s.
Following this, Brons – who also worked as a secondary school teacher in Harrogate – became a prominent member of the National Front (NF). Notorious for its extreme racism and violence, Mr Brons served as the organisation’s Education Officer before eventually rising to the position of Chairman. In the NF’s manifesto Brons called inter alia for a global apartheid to prevent the “extinction” of whites everywhere, “The NF rejects the whole concept of multiracialism. We recognise inherent racial differences in Man. The races of Man are profoundly unequal in their characteristics, potential and abilities.”
This is not the first time the DUS has courted controversy for inviting extreme speakers. Following a 2007 Oxford Union Society debate with Nick Griffin and Holocaust denier David Irving, a 2008 DUS President Luke Wells invited Richard Barnbrook, BNP candidate for Mayor of London to speak. However, Wells caved to pressure and withdrew the invitation.
So far no complaints have been made, but Miss Birley invited anyone concerned to e-mail her at president@dus.org.uk.

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DUS invites BNP in