Police are barred from joining BNP

From the Echo, first published Saturday 31st Jul 2004.

POLICE officers in Dorset have been banned from being members of the British National Party under a countrywide policy.

The Association of Chief Police Officers has also warned that non-compliance will result in dismissal if officers fail to toe the line.

But the chairman of Dorset Police Federation Clive Chamberlain says they could find themselves in an awkward position of having to represent someone as a result and the party should be made a proscribed organisation.

The Police Federation of England and Wales says it does not support the values and beliefs of the BNP and police codes of conduct states that police officers should not be actively involved in any party politics - although there is no definition of what "actively involved" means.

To eliminate any doubt on this issue, the Federation has suggested the govern-ment could make the BNP a proscribed organisation, which would then make membership illegal.

Mr Chamberlain said: "If the organisation is not illegal and there is nothing in the police code of conduct that prevents officers from being a member of the party, we could find ourselves in the invidious position of having to represent somebody."

Barry Bennett, BNP candidate for the MEP elections and Bournemouth Borough Council candidate for the 2003 elections, slated the policy as being "silly".

First published: July 31

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