BNP constitution 'discriminates'

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A new constitution allowing people of any ethnic origin to join the party obliged prospective members to support its principles, which meant the door was, in reality, only "pretty narrowly open" for "non-indigenous Britons", London's Central County Court heard.

But the BNP, which voted to amend its constitution last month after the Equality and Human Rights Commission took legal action over the far-right party's whites-only membership policy, denied the allegations and said it had a "waiting list" of black and Asian people and would welcome more applications from ethnic minorities.

The party will have to wait to find out if its decision to scrap the previous policy went far enough to meet race relations laws.

After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Paul Collins said he would issue his judgment on the matter on Friday.

During a day of legal submissions, the court heard prospective members had to sign up to principles including a duty to oppose the promotion of any form of "integration or assimilation" that impacted on the "indigenous British" and a requirement to support the "maintenance and existence of the unity and integrity of the indigenous British".

Robin Allen, QC, representing the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: "That is something which we would submit is indirectly discriminatory.

"They will put persons who do not fall into the indigenous British category at a disadvantage."