Angry note over BNP's music sales

The far-right party is selling a range of folk albums on its website, but many of the musicians featured claim they are powerless to stop their work financing the party.

Billy Bragg, drummers Dave Rowntree from Blur and Nick Mason from Pink Floyd have teamed up with the Musicians' Union and Featured Artists' Coalition, saying they object to the BNP's "politics and morals".

In a letter published in the Times newspaper, the group said: "In the lead up to the European elections, it has come to our attention that the BNP is selling compilation CDs through its website in order to raise funds for campaigning. Many of the musicians featured on these. . . have no legal right to object to their music being used in this way. We would, on behalf of our joint membership of over 31,000 members, like to have our opposition to the BNP's politics and morals formally noted."

The BNP's commercial partner, Excalibur, sells a range of compilation CDs with titles such as Proud Heritage, Rule Britannia and The White Cliffs of Dover.

An album called West Wind, written by party leader Nick Griffin and featuring songs including Nothing Bloody Works and Colour, is also among those being sold.

One of the artists featured on a CD of Irish folk music, Paddy Gordon from Ulster band Brier, said he was furious to find that some of his music was on the site.

He told The Times: "My initial reaction was shock, now I am very angry." Mr Gordon said the songs, included on A Feast of Irish Folk, were love songs with no political links.

A BNP spokesman said the party had no plans to remove any of the music. He told The Times: "They've already made their money haven't they? Once that music's gone through a distributor. They're politicising themselves to a high degree by doing this and we wouldn't really be concerned by that. It's up to us what we sell - we're not changing.

"There's no suggestion through this that artists support the BNP or otherwise. They're barking up the wrong tree to be honest."