'Human rights are easily crushed"

It seems to be open season on the BNP. Following Billy Bragg's call in the Guardian for them to be 'duffed up in the streets', Jeremy Hardy suggested in his BBC radio show that their voters should be 'shot in the back of the head'. Somehow I don't see a Kilroy moment.

Now the Government is considering banning BNP membership in the Civil Service - they are already banned in the Prison Service and police.

But Yasmin Alibhai Brown is prepared to stand up for their rights. (She is talking about BNP members, isn't she ?)
"Human rights are fragile and easily crushed unless we are prepared to ensure them for the people we hate and demand their implementation from people we support and admire." she says. A refrain I've heard for the last thirty years, mostly in relation to murderous Irish Republicanism (who aimed their mainland bombs and bullets at exclusively English targets). Will Liberty, Mike Mansfield and Gareth Peirce leap in to defend BNP members as they have done for republicans and Islamic fundamentalists ? I wouldn't bet the farm.

All public services are bound by law to promote racial equality. There seems no reason why the Civil Service ban shouldn't also apply to the NHS, local councils, teachers, classroom assistants, the Armed Forces, binmen and lollipop ladies - in fact to all those whose wages are paid by the 42% of GNP which Gordon Brown controls.

The Government must be worried by the BNPs last two council election wins. In both Keighley and Barking they got over 50% of the vote.

I blame people who move to Burton Bradstock when they should be 'duffing' in Barking.