Lewes Forum thread

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Police and the BNP

On 21 Mar 2009 at 7:30pm Rozzer wrote:

I see Pc Steve Bettley has been sacked from the Merseyside Police for allegedly being a member of the BNP. I've got no time at all for the BNP, but would Bettley have been sacked if he had been a member of the Labour party or the Tories? Does anyone know whether it is a disciplinary matter for a police officer to be a member of a political party or just the BNP.

On 22 Mar 2009 at 2:34am SHS wrote:

Discrimination & racism. Rife and acceptable in govt but not by the general public. Good point Rozzer. Another example is the discrimination against non-EEC workers and students who are asked to pay treble or quadruple university fees and visa fees of several hundred pounds. Then there's our national Christian faith that is often persecuted whereas other faiths seem to do no wrong. Is the BNP any more extreme than the Green Party? When does patriotism become racism and why? Why am I not sleeping now?

On 22 Mar 2009 at 2:43am SHS wrote:

On 22 Mar 2009 at 6:41am Squidward wrote:

Yes, pretty certain it's against the "rules" for a serving police officer to be a member of the BNP

On 22 Mar 2009 at 10:06am Bollocx Nazi Prats wrote:

Yes, a very good point.
A friend of mine works in government civil service, and she has to be very careful about being aseen to be affiliated with any political party. The trouble with the BNP is that there expressed manifesto policy is in direct conradiction with the police code of conduct. I doubt any other party has that conflict, but I have never read them all! It may be that you are not banned from the BNP, but banned from certain 'groups' for specific reasons, and the BNP falls into this category, though it happens to be a political group. I wonder if a policeman could join a direct action animal welfare group, for example. Isn't there an issue about the police being allowed to strike too?
I pressume the reason they sacked Mr Bettley, was that the allegations proved true, and outwith the point Rosser has raised, he has demonstarted that as someone whoe needs to be seen adhering to 'the law' ....he had made an exception to himself.

On 22 Mar 2009 at 10:54am Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:

The police are required to uphold the law and to treat everyone fairly in doing so. It's quite clear to me that anyone sufficiently sympathetic to the aims of the BNP to be a paid up member is likely to find it difficult to extend fair treatment to people from minority ethnic groups.
Of course, it's entirely possible that someone totally committed to fighting climate change might be so anti-car that they wouldn't treat motorists fairly, but I also think it unlikely that they'd join the police, or that they'd get through the selection process!

On 23 Mar 2009 at 7:36am I dont live in lewes anymore wrote:

I'm not pro BNP but there can be no doubt that in a democratic society you should be able to chose which political party you wish to support... if any.
I don't think the state is any position to preach about discrimination when it uses what it terms "Positive Discrimination" on a daily basis.
I think the growing membership of the BNP is a good benchmark of how well the main stream parties are doing through the eyes of the status quo.
Worrying isn't it?

On 23 Mar 2009 at 1:48pm sashimi wrote:

I'm with I don't live ... on this. It's quite legitimate to ban police and senior civil servants from taking an active part in ANY political party. But it's wrong to stop anyone joining and impossible to prevent them voting for a specific one. For as long as the BNP is a legal organisation, anyone should be free to join. Not my flavour, though.