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A senior BNP leader with a strong chance of winning a seat in the London Assembly next month has written that rape is a "myth" and that "some women are like gongs - they need to be struck regularly."
The Standard can reveal that Nick Eriksen, the BNP's London organiser and the second-highest candidate on its list for the Assembly, is the author of "Sir John Bull," a notorious far-Right blog which has regularly advocated hatred and abuse against women. The disclosure will be a serious blow to the BNP's hopes of London electoral success.
On 24 August 2005, Mr Eriksen wrote: "I've never understood why so many men have allowed themselves to be brainwashed by the feminazi myth machine into believing that rape is such a serious crime ... Rape is simply sex. Women enjoy sex, so rape cannot be such a terrible physical ordeal.
"To suggest that rape, when conducted without violence, is a serious crime is like suggesting that forcefeeding a woman chocolate cake is a heinous offence. A woman would be more inconvenienced by having her handbag snatched.
"The demonisation of rape is all part of the feminazi desire to obtain power and mastery over men. Men who go along with the rape myth are either morons or traitors."
On 5 November 2005, in an item entitled "Give her a slap!," Mr Eriksen approvingly quoted Noel Coward as saying: "Some women are like gongs - they need to be struck regularly." On 8 November, he claimed that "the vast majority of domestic [assaults] are initiated by the woman." Mr Eriksen also wrote on 24 November 2005 that mothers "should never go out to work" and described career women as "unnatural and vile... it is a strange kind of woman who would want to invest [her] energies into her job rather than into a man."
Eleven of the 25 Assembly members are elected on a London-wide basis using a form of proportional representation. The BNP is likely to win at least one of these seats, for which it needs around five per cent of the vote, and has strong hopes of winning a second, for which it needs around seven to eight per cent. If the BNP does win two seats, one of them will go to Mr Eriksen and one to London party leader Richard Barnbrook.
Gerry Gable, publisher of the antifascist magazine Searchlight, said: "It is horrifying, and an amazing indictment of the BNP, that someone with these views could be elected to the London Assembly. What is his attitude going to be to his women constituents?"
The author of the Sir John Bull blog, which stopped publication last autumn, is not identified on the website itself. But the Standard established that it is Mr Eriksen by posing as a BNP sympathiser and sending a message to the site's contact email address, johnbull@englandmail.com.
Within two days, Mr Eriksen replied, signing his name, giving Mr Barnbrook's contact number and saying: "As for your kind comments about the blog, I may well restart this after the elections - we shall see what happens! All the best, Nick."
Contacted by the Standard last night, Mr Eriksen admitted the blog postings were written by him, but said they were "deliberately provocative" in order to stimulate debate.
"I was trying to make the point that there are two kinds of rape," he said. "There is stranger rape and there is so-called rape by somebody the woman knows. I was raising an important issue in a provocative way to allow people to make up their own minds."
Mr Eriksen insisted that he "did not condone violence in any way," but was "trying to highlight the fact that violence against men is unacceptable." He said: "It's typical of the media to distort what the BNP say."
Mr Eriksen, a former Tory councillor and ex-civil servant at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport who lives in Richmond, says he will not resign. If he and Mr Barnbrook are elected, BNP leader Nick Griffin says the party will be invited on the BBC's Question Time.
Reader views (57)
I'd like Mr Eriksen to try being a woman for a day and then, let him decide if someone stealing his handbag is more upsetting than someone raping him.
- Claire, Portsmouth
'Rape is simply sex. Women enjoy sex, so rape
cannot be such a terrible physical ordeal.'
--Nick Eriksen
Does Nick Eriksen believe that women always enjoy sex?
Sometimes a woman may regard an unforced act of sexual
intercourse as a terrible ordeal for herself.
'To suggest that rape, when conducted without violence,
is a serious crime is like suggesting that forcefeeding
a woman chocolate cake is a heinous offence.'
--Nick Eriksen
While some rapes are less violent than others, all
rapes involve force, the threat of force, or some
unlawful measure of coercion. How exactly would
Nick Eriksen believe that a rape should be 'conducted
without violence'?
'A woman would be more inconvenienced by having
her handbag snatched.'
--Nick Eriksen
Is it necessary to do a survey where women would be
asked if they would prefer to have their handbags
snatched or to be raped 'without violence'?
Does Nick Eriksen believe that he understands women?
- Emma, UK
That is disgusting to say that rape is like forcefeeding a woman chocolate cake. This man is simply deranged and is just saying this because he cant get it (sex) when he wants it.
- Anon, wales
Talking from personal experience this man is vile and doesnt know what he is talking about he needs to experience it to understand the effect it has on peoples lives it ruins their soul and makes it difficult to ever trust another man again. Sex is meant to be special with two consenting people that love and care for each other, it is a time when you are most vulnerable and should not be exploited! What right does anybody have to violate someone like that. Women enjoy sex but not RAPE!!!!
AS for this scum!!! he may have been fired but i bet he isnt the only member of the BNP that shares these views to think that he is the only one would be very naive...........................................
- Anonymous, london uk
Ironic that Mr Eriksen's comments align so closely with those of the more extreme versions of Islam - women should stay home and care for their men, a good 'slap' is what's needed to keep them in line, and that rape isn't really rape as the women want sex/are asking for it.
But most interesting is that if one searches the origins of the name 'Eriksen', it comes from Norway/Denmark - last time I looked at a map, that was outside of the UK. This particular 'British' person doesn't want 'foreigners' like that in our country - send him back!
- English For As Many Generations As We Can Trace, London, UK
I think it is a disgrace that these extremist, ignorant morons have gained a seat, they have relentlessly preyed on peoples fears and insecurities in this increasingly worrying climate. The BNP talks of freedom and fairness for brits but I see no freedom in being ruled by fear and ignorance.
- Lilly, UK
NO TO FASCISM, NO TO BNP
- No To Fascism, No To Bnp, ENGLAND, HANTS
ALL rape is violent! Holding a woman down without striking her is still violence; threatening her into submission is also violence! How anybody can buy into this moronic claptrap is beyond me and totally horrifying. Also, forcefeeding IS a heinous crime! Everybody likes to eat, nobody wants to be forcefed!! This man is an idiot of the highest degree and it breaks my heart that people are listening to the bile he's spewing.
- Jennifer Dornan, Glasgow, Scotland
Having read this, and some of the comments in support of this man, I again feel terrified. I was violently raped by my husband on return from honeymoon 20 yrs ago, followed by several days of torture. I was told that if I told anyone, I would be raped to death. He did not need to be 'violent' in subsequent rapes - I begged him not to, but he carried on, even if I was sick - I knew what would happen if I struggled. I spoke to a policeman, and a 'friend' at work, who both said that I had to put up with it. At this time, rape in marriage was legal. I felt I had no where to turn for a long time, but finally escaped the relationship. However, I am forced to have contact with this man through his access to our child.
For the past 20 yrs, I have been suffering from depression and severe anxiety (and bipolar), due to the traumas of these experiences - though I have tried to work, I have not been a productive member of society (having read other BNP material, I would be a candidate for 'euthanasia').
I did not put up a fight because I knew it was the 'easy way' or 'the hard way' - I endured this to survive. This was not pleasurable.
Please do not let us return to a time when such rape is legal. Legislation against this is humanitarian, not 'PC'
I have now found therapy to help me recover, but it is a long road (6 - 7 yrs, is common). Please stand against such attitudes, and help society develop, not regress
- Survivor, Midlands, UK
"Rape is simply sex. Women enjoy sex, so rape cannot be such a terrible physical ordeal."
This man is sickening. Just because a woman does not fight does not mean she wants to be raped; just as you would freeze in terror at a car hurtling towards you on the street, so you might do so when you realise a man is not going to stop when you say "no". His argument does not have a leg to stand on.
Having a relationship with the victim does not give you the right to abuse her. His tirade is not the view of a professional trying to improve the state of the country, it is the ravings of a little boy who is mid-tantrum because he wants to be able to get things by force if they aren't handed to him on a plate. This man is a vile excuse for a human being; it makes me glad that the BNP haven't a cat's chance in hell of being elected.
- Rebecca, UK
"What he does ask is whether non-violent rape is really so utterly awful, that a man might go to jail for several years."
i don't see how there can be such a thing as "non-violent rape". the act of rape is in itself violent. as for 'just playing devil's advocate', of course he would say that, it doesn't mean it's true.
as for this romanticised idea of date rape (as implied in his blog and by a couple of the people who have commented) that all these "poor chaps" have sex with consenting women (consenting meaning they are not out of it on drugs or alcohol which may or may not have been provided by her date and they say 'yes' when asked if they want sex) who change their fickle little minds the next day, that is just insane and offensive.
- Rosalind, bristol
"The demonisation of rape is all part of the feminazi desire to obtain power and mastery over men"
These comments are disgusting, a new low. For Mr Eirksen's information, I believe the state's deeming an act a criminal offence punishable by life imprisonment would surely "demonise" the act in itself, "feminazis" aside.
- Kathryn, Northern Ireland
In response to Mike Smith, Nick Eriksen is quoted as saying
"Rape is simply sex. Women enjoy sex, so rape cannot be such a terrible physical ordeal."
and
""To suggest that rape, when conducted without violence, is a serious crime is like suggesting that forcefeeding a woman chocolate cake is a heinous offence."
I fail to see how these comments can be interpreted as anything other than suggesting that women enjoy being raped at least in some cases. To try and suggest otherwise suggests you are deliberately trying to normalise his frankly repulsive views. Rape is an act of violence and destruction and hence trying to categorise a particular circumstance as 'non-violent' is ridiculous. It kind of suggests that you need a quiet chat about how the female body and intercourse work...
- Sara, UK
And frankly if any of the voters even pay any attention less than disgust, I fear that the politics and the image of Britain will be tarnished by such representation. It's good to know that this view is not shared by people of sound mind!
- Bvnvbm, spain
In response to Mike Smith, and based on personal experience...
Rape is rape, and whether it is violent or not still involves the subjugation of one person's will by another. Taking something without consent is just that - whether the threat is direct or implied - and results in the 'injured' party's violation.
The feelings of shame and humiliation are no less acute. Sometimes they're even more so because you're left with the deep regret that perhaps things may have been different had you fought back.
- Biz, London
While Nick Eriksen doesnt seem the most enlightened character in the world, he doesnt say anywhere that women enjoy being raped, as so many of the comments accuse. What he does ask is whether non-violent rape is really so utterly awful, that a man might go to jail for several years. He wonders whether this kind of sentence is proportional to the crime (remember - NON violent) or has this crime been overstated by pressure from the feminist movement. Thoughts anyone?
- Mike Smith, London, UK
I actually don't know whether to laugh or scream. Either way, the fact that such a view has been aired, disgusts me. I mean there are all sort of not so nice words which I could use to describe a person like that which would be appropriate during watershed period but as the writer previous to me has said, he is just a waste of space.
And frankly if any of the voters even pay any attention less than disgust, I fear that the politics and the image of Britain will be tarnished by such representation. It's good to know that this view is not shared by people of sound mind!
- Tope, Madrid, Spain
Oh my god Britain has it's own Ann Coulter!
As with Ann, I wonder if this moron truly believes his own asinine rhetoric, or if it's just inflammatory BS he uses to get attention. Either way he's a waste of space.
- Chris, Los Angeles, USA
Would he be of the same opinion if his mother/wife/daughter were raped?
- Edward, Cardiff
Nick you obviously did not quite grasp the difference between right and wrong; abuse is not always physical, sex is not always pleasure, if you believe 'rape is only sex' then by those standards you must believe murder is only another cause of death, suggesting it is not a crime and the perpetrator should not be punished. It seems if BNP were ever to get into government we will have no problems with over crowded prisons since acts of violence are acceptable.
- Lynne, newcastle UK
And there you have it folks, a man so proud of his ignorance and stupidity he holds it up high for all the world to see.
If he believes rape feels good because it's sex and sex feels good, then I think someone needs to show him how "good" rape feels.
- Nuria, USA
I hope this man gets his anus stretched against his will. Men like sex so as he said, rape is just sex. I'm sure he will enjoy it.
- Krom, London
Mister,rape is rape, whether committed by a stranger or by a so called "friend". Does the act change in any way? It uses force and is against the will of the other person. Unless you are one of few men who believe that when a woman says "no",it is actually a "yes" in disguise? A crime is a crime,there are no two ways about it. We are talking about real life here. I am sure there are more topics to be 'deliberately provocative' about. This is a sensitive issue, utterly demeaning to the person who has gone through it, for the offender rapes the person's soul too. Wake up mister,we are not living in the medieval times.
- Sonia, New Delhi,India
I agree with Chhaya, someone needs to let him know the deal. Let him meet a selfish man stronger than himself and see how he likes it. Of course, I don't believe anyone deserves it, but I wish he would bloody get clued up before making ridiculous claims.
'So-called rape by someone she knows'? Yes, idiot, that's rape too. It's amazing how this guy is also against abortion - he would have women be forced into sex and then forced into pregnancy and he would not see that as a bad thing.
His blog and personal comments are full of the most ignorant, misogynistic, and downright evil comments and claims. It's not even the kind of cheeky, slightly off kind of thing you can sometimes ignore in light of the greater part of a person's character. It is the worst stuff I've ever heard, and it reminds me how far there is still to go.
Probably most news sources would shrug it off, just as they shrug off most of the horrific abuse against women in society. Let's not forget that comments by people like Eriksen hurt everyone, they give decent men a bad name if they're judged against scum like him.
I'd like to thank the Evening Standard for bringing this up.
- Fran, London, UK
The guy is an absolute raving idiot!
Rape is rape whether its violent or not.
The point is, this women are being violated, and this is a very traumatic experience, even if they don't come away from it bruised and battered.
The bruises can be more than skin deep.
I feel awful for any rape victims who have read this though...they must feel so let down.
If this man gets into power, I very well may just lose ALL faith in the human race.
- Alexandra Carter, Manchester. United Kingdom
I've never heard such idiocy. What pondlife. I'll never stay at home on election days again - voter apathy is too dangerous with the likes of this cretin skulking around the fringes of real political debate.
- M Mack, Ayrshire
And this guy is actually allowed to give his opinion...on anything?
He obviously belongs either in prison, where he might find out how funny rape is, or in the dark ages.
- Ant, Oxford/Canterbury
The usual barely repressed homosexual stuff from the BNP I see. Stop living in a loveless relationship and embrace your inner poof and you'll stop hating women for holding you down.
- Frodo, UK
This man is sick...
and if he is not sick then he is a monster... what does he know about being raped?
someone should do the honour to him... the proper way.
disgusting.
- Chhaya, Mumbai, India
Women enjoy sex with only the men that they choose to enjoy. Even in that case, forced sex would be unacceptable. Their bodies are not conditioned like men. They need to be roused to the mood and it has to come from the heart to the body. Sex as a mere physical desire is not so common except in the case of a few man chasers. Please don't feed wrong info.
- Vida Writer, Chennai, India
He clearly has a psycho-social disorder if he believes women are conspiring against men (ie, the 'feminazi') It's interesting how the combination of being deluded and loud and wrong is effectively a requirement for all right wing politicians now, these days.
- John Stratham, London
This guy is sick! How the hell can "rape" be a nice feeling. I wonder what he would say if some one held him down and raped him?
- Ady Hodgkinson, Isle of Wight, England
Distorted people like him and those who follow him is the reason why we never live in peace.
- Jon, London
Hopefully his mother is ashamed.
- Geordiejody, England
It appears that the BNP have sacked this goon. They should have sussed him out sooner though, even if he was on a wind-up. At least they have policed themselves over this matter and look capable of putting their house in order as soon as things go against the wall.
Still not sure what party to vote for though.
- Brendan Mcelvoy, Kew w/London
As he has now been "deselected" we are in for a treat with the next number two on their list. In fact their whole list is littered with people with criminal convictions for one thing or another, from domestic violence to beating people up because they don't like the colour of their skin.
Mr Barnbrook for example appears not to have had a criminal records check despite being their leader on Barking Council! Never mind his dodgy art/porn films and the fact he use a false address on his nomination papers.
How do voters sleep if they vote for them I do not know. Clearly more work to be done I guess.
- Gary, London, UK
I see that England has their share of moron politicians too.
- Matt Warner, Sacramento, United States
Even assuming lib/lab/con are full of thieves and crooks Colin, why on earth would the BNP not be? I mean even a cursory glance at the antics of their councillors shows up a litany of prosecutions over racist behaviour, assaults, corruption... and that's before they've even managed a single MP! I've got no love for the mainstream parties but putting that bunch of incompetent self-serving bigots at the wheel of a tricycle, let alone a city, would just be plain stupid.
- Rob, London
Now there's a shocker - and there I was thinking the BNP were such mild-mannered types!
But seriously - anyone voting for them has some serious issues going on and should seek help pronto. It will not be amusing if we wake up on May 2nd to find we have racist, misogynist thugs on the GLA. In fact it will be incredibly worrying.
- Athena Murphy, Hampstead, London
Why is this person even allowed to stand as a candidate? If anyone advocates murder, terror or violent crimes - and this is unambiguous, he should not be allowed publicity any more than we wouldn't allow a paedophile to air his views.
This has nothing to do with free speech - it is everything to do with provoking violence.
- Eric Ray, London, England
Colin Brown; I don't quite understand your statement. In what context could those remarks possibly be deemed as acceptable?
- Lindsay Russell-Samways, Ashford, Kent
What a troglodyte! However, I'm also stunned that the UK public are providing him backing to the extent he can afford to live in Richmond! I'm proud the UK has free speech, but this guy needs to be sectioned?
- Paul, London
Colin Brown, Newcastle:
"selective quotations...."
Eriksen's blog is absolutely full of misogyny, as well as the usual BNP xenophobic fodder.
- Steph Jones, London E15
For once I agree with Andrew Gilligan and for once he seems to have the right target in his sights. All Londoners must make sure they use up all their votes on May 1st because whoever becomes mayor, every voter must make sure that the vote against these pro-rape racist thugs and keep them off the GLA. Ken Livingstone, Brian Paddick and other candidates have made clear their opposition to the BNP. We haven't heard Boris utter a word.
- Rob, London, England
Colin, care to tell us how such despicable nonsense as Eriksen's rantings have been "selectively quoted" and what the unedited version could have possible contained to have made it acceptable?
- Jack Churchill, London
"You can tell when the LIB/LAB/CON.men are getting worried. Out come the selective quotations by their lackeys in the press."
I read the entire blog post, and the "selective quotations" seem entirely fair to me. If they've been taken out of context, perhaps you could explain exactly what the context was?
- Michael, London
And we were worried Boris might come out with a gaff!
- Jerry, London
Words cannot describe how I feel after having read this piece. Having been a victim of domestic violence and witnessed my father use my mother as a 'human punchbag', let alone hearing her being raped by him, I believe it is high time vile creatures like this are dealt with properly. Surely it is time that incitement to violence in any form should be made illegal. Please vote wisely don't give scum a voice!
- Lisa, London
I don't care if they are 'selective quotations'. If this idiot has written or endorsed this tripe then I don't want him anywhere near our political system. Anyone think he might be a failure with the opposite sex?
- We, Kent
First and foremost, I am not a BNP supporter. Now to me, it seems very controversial as if people are conspiring against certain right wing parties. I read the above to a sensationalist headline and I automatically thought to myself that this sounded absurd for someone to think that, let alone say that and believe in it. I continued reading and it became clear that Mr Eriksen had basically said that he had a blog and he was only trying to generate debate by playing devils advocate. Where is the crime in this? I am finding a large amount of home truths regarding what the media say in contrast to what exactly is going on. Just like this story has been published in a certain way to attract more debate and discussion (basically to keep certain journalists in their jobs). What is the difference from what Mr Eriksen was doing to what this paper and many other papers are doing? It is clear that journalists; who should be reporting the news, insert their own political views subliminally on certain topics and this is wrong. Whether this is down to individual journalists or the owners of the media I do not know. All I do know is that people will say anything and do anything to get a story, to generate debate within the public and I see no difference at all between him and you, only he has been honest and admitted to his intentions.
- Sean Ash, London, England
I'm not a BNP supporter but I agree with what he says - rape by a stranger is rare compared to "date rape" where a willing female participant can - and often do - change their minds the next day, and some poor chap ends up in court or jail. If his comments stimulate debate on such a PC issue then so much the better. Comments by a Communist like Gable are not relevant.
- James Williams, Swansea
You must be getting worried by the BNP, as this is the first time in any news report that I have even heard about any one other than the three main contenders and the green nominee. Are you worried that the people may be thinking for themselves this time.
- Simon Smithsonian, London, UK
What a moron, I can't believe people could back such an idiot with view like that.
How could London become safer with ideas like that being viewed!
- Louise Roogers, Tonbridge
What a nasty piece of work. As a survivor of rape I find it amazing that we have a system where people uttering this kind of filth somehow escape prosecution. If you can be jailed for incitement to racial hatred, maybe you should also be able jail people for incitement to commit rape.
Make your vote count! Make sure he doesn't get voted in!
- Michael Preston, Tufnell Park, London
I would like to know how Mr Eriksen would feel, if he were raped. On the basis that all guys enjoy sex, presumably he would be happy about being buggered senseless.
- Claire, London
You can tell when the LIB/LAB/CON.men are getting worried. Out come the selective quotations by their lackeys in the press.
The people of this country know who the thieves and crooks are in politics. And will Vote them out at the first opportunity
- Colin Brown, Newcastle. England.
There is only 1 kind of rape, that is an attack by a man who wishes to exert power and control of a woman in the most violent and heinous way possible.
I am in no way surprised that a senior member of the bnp party should advocate this treatment of women, what does surprise me is that any woman would be stupid enough to join their party knowing that her male counterparts consider her to be a punchbag.
- Val, dagenham essex
