City Hall urged to take on BNP member

Tuesday, 5 May 2009 5:34 PM

By politics.co.uk staff

A BNP official paid City Hall wages should face disciplinary action for failing to live up to equality requirements, according to some Labour MPs.

Simon Darby, deputy leader of the party and aide to London Assembly member Richard Barnbrook inferred recently that Ugandans still fight with spears.

The comments came in a series of attacks on Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu, who Mr Darby branded "anti-British" after he criticised BNP leader Nick Griffin.

"If I had travelled to Africa and insulted the indigenous people in the same arrogant, conceited and insensitive way that John Sentamu had I would have deserved to be attacked," he said.

"If I went to Uganda and told them that they were all genetic mongrels and that anyone could be Ugandan I'd still be picking spears out of myself now."

All City Hall employees are required to promote "equality of opportunity" under their employment contracts.

Jon Cruddas, prominent Labour backbencher, told the Evening Standard: "The GLA [Greater London Assembly] has got to act.

"The BNP are dragging the whole system into the gutter. If Darby's vicious cocktail of thinly-veiled racism and threats aren't in breach of the GLA code of conduct then clearly the code isn't worth the paper it's written on."

Anti-fascist activists are gearing up for the upcoming local and European elections, where the BNP are expected to make some gains.

Tags:
• domestic policy
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• equality
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• race relations