Charity Box

One of the more insidious trends in the charity sector is the cut-throat operations carried out in their name. Charities will of course be under enormous pressure as people tighten their belts (though it is often the less affluent who give more proportionally).

We've all been stopped by chuggers in the High Street. One of the strangest aspects of this form of raising funds is their unwillingness to accept one-off monetary donations; they only want you to sign up for monthly direct debits despite your pleas of 'well, I already give half of my income to that talking donkey off the TV'.

This makes sense as the charity can make financial projections based on what it knows will be coming in. However, it does seem to be irritating beyond the 'end justifies the means' aspect.

Does there not come a time when charities should ensure that money is obtained ethically. In this regard I'm thinking of Christmas cards (ha! not yet September and the X Factor creeps into the blog - wait until the banning stories!) which give a minuscule percentage to charity whilst making a healthy profit. Why not just give it straight to the organization?

I was thinking about this when hearing of the disappointing news that the Royal British Legion has backtracked and decided to accept a donation from a BNP member, Rachel Firth who was sleeping in a cardboard box in Yorkshire to highlight the plight of homeless ex-soldiers. A good cause one would say. Of course, only half of the proceeds of this stunt will go to the RBL; the other half goes to the BNP.

The RBL defended the volte face by saying that it had originally thought the donation was being made on a political basis — and the money could therefore not be accepted but had now concluded that this was a personal gift.

Not surprisingly, this personal fundraising effort has found its way to the BNP site where the Fascist acolytes queue up to give us the real story behind it all:

• Well if BNP members money such as mine isn't welcome then I guess they can pass the hat around some gangbangers or jihadists & see how far they get on that!
  I think they realise a BNP member is more likely to be a BL supporter than not & so are the people that they help.

• What a lovely gracious person Rachel is, a credit to her country and the BNP.
  Unlike the Royal (?) British(?) Legion who, via the press, gave her a slap in the face then held their politically soiled hand out for the money.

• Well done Rachel keep up the good work, shame the RBL dont have the strength of conviction the BNP do, like Steve Gray said I Bet they dont get much money from the enrichers,

• Well done Ms firth we need people like you to highlight are housing shortage and the fact immigration is still allowed no end when we cant even home the population now,

• As the for the Royal British Legion, I would be tempted to tell its officials where to stick their magnanimity.

• What Rachel has done is a formula that cannot fail. Creative peaceful protests and civil disobedience work. It's time for all of us to sleep in cardboard boxes or do something else which will raise public opinion for the BNP cause.

• When i donate money to the poppy appeal this year i will write on the £10 note BNP in marker pen, but not on the queens side , lets see them refuse that .

• I reckon Rachel really should'nt bother giving it to them but instead should give it all to the party, as it seems we are clearly closer to the grass roots ex service personnel and more serve their interests than the Royal British Legion

• For the first time in my life I will deliberately not be buying poppies this year, I am disappointed with the RBL and, unless they totallly change their attitude, they have lost my support completely. Sorry, that is just how I feel, all charity is now corrupt. I give nothing to any of them now.

• I noticed last year in Worcester a lot of the news agents , and petrol forecourt shops didn't have collection tins on the counter, these outlets were usually run by asians

• The Royal British Legion had better learn not to bite the hand that feeds it as they have a decreasing number of patriots who care about their own and who are willing to collect money for their cause as this country is overrun by aliens.

I therefore believe that the RBL has made a mistake here. Whilst it is proper for it to remain non-political and independent, it needs to distance itself from clear attempts - like the poppy wreaths with BNP stickers - to use it to garner respectability for this party full of Nazi admirers. It is part of the BNP's attempt to gainsay the Fascist tag. Taking money like this gives publicity to these purveyors of hate. The Mersey BNP also has this story on their site and I still recoil with horror at the thought of Nick Griffin defacing the war memorial in Liverpool with his presence. Without being too hyperbolic it was tantamount to seeing Adolf himself parading through the Arc de Triomphe.

The RBL might also wish to ponder the point that many homeless people come from ethnic minorities (whether ex-armed forces or not) or are failed asylum seekers. The BNP repeat the lie that there is a housing shortage due to immigration when official figures prove this to be a distortion.

Legion of Dishonour

Well done to the Royal British Legion for publicising its request to Nicholas Griffin of the Odious BNP' not to wear poppies during electioneering. Quite aside from the fact that it is inappropriate for such emblems to be used outside November - think of one blogger who tales pleasure out of putting Happy Xmas (War is over) on pub jukeboxes in July - it is another sign that the extreme right is happy to hijack symbols and campaigns.

In The Guardian, the open letter states,

• The Royal British Legion has accused Nick Griffin, the BNP leader, of trying to ­politicise "one of the nation's most treasured and beloved symbols" after he repeatedly wore a poppy badge during the European parliament election campaign.

I corresponded with the RBL over the constant wearing of medals by local Napoleon, Peter Molloy. The Legion are of the view that such activities are not desirable and that the wearing of medals should be done on 'suitable occasion' and not detract from their dignity. Obviously, it is not illegal to wear them but the public should be aware of the attitude of a body which has represented veterans for many years.

Anyone know whether Griffin's poppy was made in Warsaw or not?

Lest We Forget: No Place For BNP in Poppy Day Remembrance

As we approach November 11th, the BNP is again trying to exploit the annual British Legion Poppy Day. As Griffin points out on his party's site,

• British National Party supporters must make an extra effort to assist the national Poppy Day appeal as poppy-sellers to help avert the worker-shortage crisis for that charity, BNP leader Nick Griffin has said.

This is a repeat of last year when the BNP tried to hijack the Remembrance Day for their own odious political ends. Whilst many people still feel a little uneasy in wearing the poppy these days - In the 80s, I used to have a complimentary white one, hastily made with tippex and guaranteed to produce head-clearing effects in warm rooms - what with Iraq and the debate over Haig, I do feel that it should be maintained. Death is death whatever the battlefield.

In 2003 - as reported by the Wakefield Express - wreaths were used as placards for the BNP:

• Incensed bystanders at Sunday's service at the Rishworth Street memorial watched as a BNP representative marched up to lay a wreath under the guise of East Ardsley Conservative Club.
  Horrified dignitaries quickly realised what the wreath stood for and it was immediately removed.

• And a wreath bearing the BNP logo was also placed at a memorial in Horbury with a note which read 'You fought bravely to keep this country for your own. Rest in Peace. Now it's our turn'.
  Both wreaths caused distress to war veterans and members of the public.

Earlier this year, ex-BNP councillor, Tony Bamber put out a leaflet - later deemed insufficiently inflammatory for prosecution - demanding Muslims apologise for the heroin trade and making the bizarre claim that before the 'Islamic invasion, it was almost impossible to find heroin here' . In addition to this vile hate-mongering, he saw fit to call his band 'Preston Pals' in a blatant attempt to link to a famous WWI volunteer force. Lancaster Unity add,

• Bamber, in keeping with the BNP's long-established tradition of jumping on any available bandwagon, formed a fictitious group a couple of years back, which he called the 'Preston Pals', a reference to the company of volunteers from Preston who were eventually formed into 'D' company, 7th Battalion, the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, to fight in World War I.

The British Legion, hopefully, will not forget what was said at the time:

• The Royal British Legion (RBL) has roundly condemned this misappropriation of the name by the BNP, with its spokesman Patrick Leavey saying; '[The Preston Pals] sacrifice should not be besmirched by people engaged in political campaigning for such an ugly cause. We condemn this leaflet, its contents, and those who are disseminating it'.

In 2007, the Sunday Mail in Scotland was appalled at the hijack attempt,

• Jim Panton, chief executive of Poppyscotland, said: "I had no idea the BNP have tried to get involved in the Poppy Appeal.

  "It's outrageous for any organisation or group to try to hijack the poppy for their own benefit or gain.

  "It is a misuse and misrepresentation of the sentiment of the appeal and we would take a strong line against that.

  "We are apolitical and have not asked any party to back us."

No doubt people will tell me that these people are individuals and have the freedom to do as they please, and that help is help. The Royal British Legion does not seem to share this view:

• Neil Griffiths, of the Royal British Legion Scotland, said: "We abhor any association with the BNP. I worked most ofmy military career with Gurkhas and feel angry by any level of racism when I encounter it.

  "The BNP seem to have forgotten that the Indian Army in the Second World War had two million members.

  "It was the biggest volunteer army in military history and it played a huge role in the war."

And there we have it. Whilst other political parties attend cenotaphs and lay wreaths, overtly provocative ones like those from the BNP are not wanted. A party that would not let Indians join has no place on a day when sacrifices are remembered; a party that has produced a so-called White History resource cannot stand next to someone remembering slaughtered skin of all colours.

It barely needs stating of the sacrifice made in one particular conflict against the very credo the BNP is connected to but tries to distance itself from. This is another attempt to gain legitimacy and the RBL should be firm, notwithstanding the ageing membership and dearth of volunteers. Poppies are still prevalent in pubs, shops and offices and I for one will be wearing one.