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Give him enough rope for goodness sake ... come on, can't anyone see that by creating such a fuss we're playing into (Dr) Nick's hands and giving him respect far above what is due? He must be loving the free PR - much cheaper than his tasteless "spitfire" campaign. Let this small man have his moment without all this fuss and then let the rest of us normal voters get on with our lives while he follows Mosley into comic obscurity.

- Darren, Manchester

i do not think the bnp
should be allowed on question
because they are not normal policital party
nick griffin would setup a one party state
we fought the last war agains people like him

- Stephen Jeanes, eastleigh

It's remarkable how complacent some people can be. In 1928 the Nazis had only 2.6% of the vote. Germany was a modern, industrialised country with a much healthier political participation rate than in Britain today. Hitler exploited the complacency of the mainstream parties - many leading SPD politicians went to the concentration camps still believing in the magical force of a constitution trampled under fascist jackboots.

I sincerely hope we never live to see a repeat of that horror, and that the Voltarians can go on feeling smug and superior about their untarnished fundamentalist principles. But it won't be thanks to them, but due to the proud tradition of Cable Street, of Lewisham 77, of Rock Against Racism, LMHR, the ANL and UAF. No pasaran.

- Andy, London

All those that accuse the BNP of being fascist and/or wanting to take away everyones freedoms can only encourage the the question, where is the proof? Where is any such policy to be found in the British National Party's manifesto? Answer, it won't be found because it isn't there and neither are any sentiments supported by the BNP. The BNP is against a totalitarian state. It is easily arguable that the the state we live in today, (created by Labour) is totalitarian and fascistic in too many ways. Check out the BNP's website, look at the manifesto and see for yourselves whether there is anything totalitarian in our manifesto.

- Cllr Lawrence Rustem,, Dagenham

I don't remember Voltaire saying "I disapprove of what you say, but I will allow my licence fee to be used for your opportunity to say it."

- Nolan, Londonist

BBC the bastion of ethical values. Tell me its a bad joke, please. The bastion of Islington values to imposed on everyone else is what you mean. I reject totally The BNP and all their works but the promoters of Islinton who have been talkng to themseleves these past few years are responsible for the growth in their support these past few years. THe BBC seems at last to have woken up to this.

- Freesherry, Tunbridge Wells,UK

I just hope Jack Straw, Chris Huhne and Bonnie Greer are up to the job of showing Griffin up. If they are, then there is arguably a case for saying they are right to agree to appear. But my instinct is that overt racists shouldn't be given a platform by the BBC. I think you should add to the list of Question Time undesirables some non-white racists too, by the way, in the interest of balance.

- Ophelia, London, UK

I tried last Friday to argue passionately on BBC Radio 2 with UKIP's Godfrey Bloom.
Its hard to take you seriously when you resort to anecdotal clap trap to make a point.

- Derek, Hartlepool

Let him speak, he has already in public exposure let slip what he stands for. Silence him and people will think he may have something to offer.

- Edwin Underhill, beaconsfield buckinghamshire

Unfortunately we will have to put up with their likes and expose them for the frauds they are perpetrating on the British electorate with their myths and downright mistruths. Lets see Griffin beaten into submission in debate.

- Dhan Raj, Basildon

"Democracy, is it? To open the most respected TV programme in the land to those who would deny millions of us our democratic rights?"
Pluralism means taking account of the plurality of views, and allowing them free expression however odious those views may be. The BNP are an odious bunch of course, and their outlook that of a sad, sick and deluded tiny minority. But tolerating them airing their views is very different to tolerating what those views express. Our ability to be democratic is tested not by what we agree with, but what we disagree with.

- Adrian, London, UK

Well...

We may as well BAN the BNP and any of it's member's and supporters from Society. Oh, and if anyone is going to question the Governments move's, then they too should be arrested and accused of being fascists and nazi's?

Sorry, I disagree with this article. Very Strongly.

- Starace, UK

They are a legal party, although not one I could ever support. Should we bend the law to exclude those whom we dislike? That isn't even BNP policy. It's those who would exclude their enemies from the protection of the law who are the fascists.

- Tv, Hounslow, UK

Why should we strip anti-democrats of their democratic right to free speech? We descend to their level and rob ourselves of moral consistency. What - only let those speak who we agree with? Really? What do we have to fear from their arguments? Everyone should be free to say what they think: it is up to Question Time producers to ensure balance on the panel, so that arguments on all sideas are responded toin an intelligent and informed way. And are we robbing tv viewers of the opportunity to hear a range of views? Do you think people are so stupid as to believe somethign just because one man says it? Let us make up our own minds, thank you.

- Yvonne, London

I disagree with the article.
Although I detest the BNP, they are a legal party and should be allowed to participate in debates where their philosophy can be exposed.
The great French philosopher, Voltaire, summed it up brilliantly "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it". That is the essence of free speech and democracy.

- Keith, London

Free speech, the law and the need for a real and honest debate about immigration make this programme a necessity. I'm not about to vote BNP, but people's support of them shows how desperate the country is for a real debate about the subject. Talking about immigration does not make you a racist, refusing to allow people to talk about it will create them.

- Mark, London

Some licence-fee payers support the BNP. As a result the BBC is bound to give the BNP a voice in its programmes. No private broadcaster is obliged to do the same. How about privatising the BBC?

- Michael James, Cheltenham, UK

Geoffry,London is spot on.
No one I know,supports or even mentions the BNP.
However,its'rise to realative prominence is due to the self serving,globalising policies that the political and business elite have persued for the last decade or more.
The government and its'partners in crime,will ruthlessly push the population(of all colours and creeds)to breaking point.
Hence the exclusion zone around Parliament Square and a lot of the other legislation,designed to make protest impossible.
It should be renamed,''No-Parliament''Square.

- Jimfred, London UK

When our grandparents' generation were fighting Fascism did anyone complain about Hitler's right to free speech? The BNP may be a legal political party, but don't forget that Hitler's party was elected to power before declaring its dictatorship. Why should the BNP be allowed the right to free speech when they want to use it take away my rights and the rights of millions of others?

- Nolan, Londonist

I hope that there is not trouble during the programme either through supporters or opponents onf this horrid person

- Vincent Copeland, southend uk

well said Yasmin. the BNP are a nazi party and have no place in a democratic society. I hope to see you outside the Wood Lane television centre on 22nd (anytime but especialy from 5pm) The BBC giving airtime to the would-be new Hitler and vetting the auidence to prevent anyone from Unite Agaisnt Fascism getting in. Shame on them. Hitler also got hismelf democractically elected by a minority a while before he shut down parliament and sent the liberals off to the concentration camps. The mass nurder of millions of Jews and others followed not long after. What do people think Griffin means by the term "ethnic foreigner" applied to all Black and Asian people? Where do you imagine this will end if Griffin is afforded space on the BBC to lie about what he stands for? This legitimises Griffin and the BNP--who afterall are the party that the London nail bomber belonged to when he planted the bombs that killed three and injured many others and he siad he planted them to furhter the aims of the BNP. is this legitimate? should such a party be treated as part of the mainstream and invited to take part in the flagship political discussion programme on the BBC?

- Elane Heffernan, newham

Oh, yes. Let's give a platform on one of the most respected current affairs programmes on TV to a holocaust denying fascist. Because the assumption is what? that he'll be stupid enough to go on tv and start blurting out racist language like that dancing buffoon? He was smart enough to get elected. If Griffin is allowed on tv, expect words and phrases such as "floods of immigrants", "soft touch", "protecting indigenous identity" etc. Then predictably Straw will bend over backwards to tell us all how Labour are tough on immigration and quote some number on how many asylum seekers he's sent back to whatever horrid regime they were fleeing in the first place (probably to their deaths, or incarceration or somesuch fate).

If you want to find out what the bnp stand for, there are plenty of examples - just look at the collection of convictions for race hate crimes their top ranking members have. We don't need to have them on tv. We don't need to be debating them, we need to be stopping them. By any means necessary.

- Des, London, UK

The BNP have a right to their views, and the right to express those views, no matter how odious they are. However they have no right to a publicly funded platform for those views, and I feel a slice of my license fee is being used to promote racist criminal proaganda being beamed onto my TV. For me, this is the final straw with the BBC who apparently are now happy representing gutter programming at it's worst. As far as I'm concerned, if I want to watch unmitigated nazi drivel, I'll pay sky less money for it on the history channel, or log onto you tube for clips of moronic behaviour. Since the BBC are a public body, with a positive duty to promote equality (I mean amongst the races, sexes etc not poilitcal parties and not between facists -unless you count this as a mental disability- and rational people),and allowing the BNP onto BBC radio and question time undermines this requirement of law. Can't someone take them to court to stop the programme on the grounds of a breach of the positive duties in the disability, race and gender equality legislation? Are the Unions - the NUJ, BECTU etc not going to act to protect their members who are being asked to produce a programme promoting facism and ineqaulity? At the very least, this white supermicist tosh should not be broadcast outside England, since the BNP have no elected representatives in the other devolved nations, and as a Scot I do not believe they are a legitimate political party.
Shame on the BBC, and shame on Jack Straw!

- D, Glasgow

Free speech is a basic right in our democracy. It's funny how all these supposedly liberal and open-minded people oppose free speech.

- Steve Green, London

I don't like the BNP & what they stand for but they have every right to join the Question Time panel. The public should have the right to listen to them & form their own opinions. It will be interesting to see if their opponents in the audience will allow Nick Griffin the right of free speech.

- G Watson, London

I agree with Manny - they were elected are a legal party and as such have the right to take part in debate whether we like it or not. Its called democracy.

- Wendy, London UK

This government allowed cheap labour to flood the country to aid business. At the same time, it disingenuously disallowed any public comment or debate during the last decade's high immigration levels,(of all colours). Social cohesion was dented, with too many cultures arriving in large numbers in too short a space of time. Below minimum wages were a disincentive for migrants already here and other Brits, to work. Government was far too complacent and culpable in building up a benefits culture. Encouraging even. Now the reckoning. They create policy papers, when jobs are fewer, of getting benefit claimers back to work. Resources and space is becoming scarcer, so the inevitable happens. The cry goes up for last in, first out, to the newly arrived non self-supporting. The government itself has turned on its policies and adopts the language of the xenophobe; 'British jobs for British people' and belatedly wants to be seen managing over-illegal immigration. People are not on the whole, anti immigrant, anti immigration, or racist. However, present government's 100% mis-management on every front has driven people to making stupid, and desperate choices. Pandering to the BNP is one of them.

All those who devalued and used the word, racism, indiscriminately at every turn, to shut people up, when there was valid concerns and topics to debate, (they were quite an industry) have culpability and responsibility for the extra numbers lurching to the right. Excessive PC killed - itself

- Geoffrey, London

I disagree. The BNP should take part in this debate and have their message of hatred and division exposed for what it is.

- Carl, London

The BNP are a vile party, and nothing more than a racist pressure group, and in my opinion shouldn't be allowed to be a legitimate political party because of their racist and bigoted ideology. Even though I was against Nick Griffin appearing on Question Time, I actually think it's about time we get to fully hear what he has to say, because he's not as clever as he thinks he is and will only make a fool of himself on Question Time. Not only are the BNP a a danger to people of colour in this country, they are also a danger to the indingous people of this country because it's a party for irrantional and violent people. Nick Griffin is just a Saddam Hussein or Presdient Mugabe wannabe dictator with white skin who would ruin this country, just like Adolf Hitler ruined Germany because he also wasn't in the long run as clever as he though he was.

- Ben S, London

Didn't we fight two world wars so that democracy and freedom could prevail.

I'm not a BNP supporter and would never vote for them but if some people do that is their choice. Who are we to say that they made the wrong choice?

Let them debate and hopefully the BNP will be seen for what they are: racists.

- Ian Gilbertson, Newcastle

Can anyone explain why a political party with the Euro MP's should be excluded from the political process? They were duly elected and as such have every tight to be included in BBC broadcasts.

- Manny Goldstein, London, England

I don`t like the BNP and wouldn`t vote for them, but surely they should be allowed to demonstrate their prejudice and wrong thinking in open debate.

Is it not approaching fascism to deny and supress those with whom we do not agree with? Well done to the BBC and let people make up their own minds.

- Nickspurs, London

It should be good TV at least Yasmin ! I bet you will be watching !

- Jason Stone, Stratford, Newham

The issue is not revulsion with the BNP. It should be an axiom that reasonable people should be appalled by any organistion that promotes prejudice as acceptable

The issue is why so many people are indeed supporting an extremist party, as they have tended to do in history when the impact of economic recession is at its worst and mainstream politicians have or is perceived to have failed them ?

It is at times such as these that the mainstream should stand up and confront the extremists in as public a manner as possible. In this day and age where the media dominates, a programme such as Question Time is the perfect forum to do this and the BBC should be commended rather than criticised

- John Bloomfield, Twickenham

The BNP are not a normal political party and they should not be treated like one.

- Nolan, Londonist

I think it is this article that has got it all wrong. I am not a BNP supporter by any means, but they are, like it or not, a legitimate political party. To discriminate against them on the basis of their beliefs is to deny the feeedom of speech that should be the cornerstone of every democracy, not to mention illegal under our current laws. Where shall we go next, ban the Greens because some people, myself included, think much of their agenda is a tad deluded?
The author is also assuming that the majority of the public are gullible fools who will believe every word that tumbles out opf Nick griffin's mouth.
Personally I want to hear what he has to say, along with what everyone else has to say. That way I can make a reasoned decision about who will truly represent my values and beliefs come the next election.
If you never hear a counter-argument, how can you possibly be sure your own argument is correct?

- Matt, Brighton. England

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