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BBC tighten security for BNP leader Nick Griffin's arrival
22 Oct 2009
Security at BBC Television Centre will be tight as British National Party leader Nick Griffin arrives to record Question Time tonight.
Anti-fascist activists will picket the building all day and step up their demonstration ahead of the filming of the programme in the early evening.
Mr Griffin and his supporters want to avoid a repeat of the ugly scenes that erupted outside Parliament in June when protesters pelted them with eggs and chased them down the street.
At one stage there were plans to hire a helicopter to transport the BNP leader to Television Centre in west London, party spokesman Simon Darby said.
But they were scrapped after it emerged there was no helipad near the studio where Question Time is being filmed.
Mr Darby said the BNP would not rely on help from the Metropolitan Police to get Mr Griffin safely inside the building.
"We've got security in hand - we will sort our own security out," he said.
Mr Darby insisted there would be no counter-demonstration by the BNP outside Television Centre, saying: "We've got no reason to protest. We're in there and that's it."
Scotland Yard said it was working with the BBC on arrangements for the arrival and entry of Mr Griffin and the other four panellists on the show.
It said there was a "proportionate policing plan" for panellists' arrival and noted that security within Television Centre was a matter for the corporation.
Question Time is filmed several hours before it is broadcast as if it were live, although sometimes sections can be edited out for legal or taste reasons before being aired.
The panel will be quizzed by members of the audience, with chairman David Dimbleby allowed to add follow-up questions where appropriate.
Ric Bailey, the BBC's chief political adviser, said the panel and audience for tomorrow's show had been put together in the usual way.
"To all intents and purposes it's a normal programme," he said.
He declined to predict what would happen, saying: "Question Time is a spontaneous show, it's driven by the audience.
"The audience is very carefully selected, it's very difficult to predict how it will turn out."
The BBC has made emergency plans to move Question Time to another venue if the protests turn violent, according to the London Evening Standard.
Nobody from the corporation was available to comment on the report.
Question Time will be broadcast as usual from 10.35 to 11.35pm on BBC1.
Reader views (1)
Peter Hain is the best recruitment officer the BNP could hope for. The man is brain dead if he thinks his intervention could have done harm to the BNP. On the contrary, he has multiplied the amount of publicity GIVEN to BNP. Congratulations Peter Hain MP
- Marpalyn, Swindon UK, 22/10/2009 11:18
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