BNP moles infiltrate left parties

Louise Noustratpour (originally from Morning Star)

MANCHESTER peace and anti-racism campaigners branded the recent infiltration of the left in the city by the racist BNP as a "desperate idiotic stunt" yesterday.

The Manchester branches of the Respect coalition, Unite Against Fascism and the Socialist Workers Party discovered that two of their activists - students Joe Finnon and Diane Stoker - are really far-right moles.

They warned people who had campaigned alongside these infiltrators to be vigilant about security, as the racist party has a long record of violence and thuggery.

However, campaigners said that they are not worried about any vital or confidential information being leaked by Mr Finnon and Ms Stoker "because our activities are public knowledge."

The groups noted that the infiltration was a desperate ploy by a defeated fascist group which has lost out to the left in the north-west.

Respect national secretary John Rees said that he regretted the incident, but pointed out that, ironically, the infiltrators did "more to help than stop us from fighting fascism."

He added: "We got more work out of them than anything else. They even actively helped us organise the protest against Le Pen."

The BNP issued a triumphalist statement on its website, crowing about its two members' "achievements."

But, as Mr Rees put it: "It was hardly News of the World. A good cure for insomnia though."

UAF joint secretary Weyman Bennett highlighted that the anti-fascism campaign in the north-west had been the key reason for BNP leader Nick Griffin's defeat as a European candidate in the June 10 elections.

He said: "The BNP thought that June 10 would be their day, but it was far from that as the fascists failed miserably. Now they are licking their wounds by infiltrating and attacking our campaign."

"Such idiotic stunts will not stop us from continuing our effective campaign against racism and fascism," Mr Bennett urged.

"Every person in this country needs to be vigilant about the BNP because these fascists attack ordinary black people on the street, never mind anti-racist campaigners.

"We need to campaign wholeheartedly to root out racism and the BNP if we want to sleep soundly at night," he added.