NB: This entry has been amended. Contrary to the report that appeared on Ekklesia, Rev. Robert West is not a member of Lincolnshire Community Council. In fact, he is a councillor in Lincolnshire’s South Holland District Council. The Robert West who sits on the boards of the Community Council and of Lincolnshire Enterprise is a different person. Thanks to Cllr Chris Burke for bringing this to my attention, and sincere apologies to that Robert West.
British Christian think-tank Ekklesia follows up on my blog entry about Reverend Robert West, the front-man for the far-right British National Party’s new Christian Council of Britain. Ekklesia noted my efforts (and those of MediaWatchWatch) a few of days ago; now it provides some more information (link and correction added):
A clergyman has confirmed that the British National Party (BNP) is helping in the establishment of a new church in Lincolnshire.
In an interview on Three Counties Radio tonight (Thursday) ‘Reverend’ Robert West…said that the BNP were ‘facilitating’ the establishment of the church going under the name of the Christian Council of Britain (CCOB).
West was speaking on “G Focus”, a gospel music programme. He complained that mainstream churches were no longer faithful to “holy scripture”, then added:
“…the BNP has encouraged and facilitated the formation of the Christian Council of Britain. They are working as facilitators. They are supporting what we do” West said.
He denied however that he himself was a member of the BNP. But, he said, the church “arose in connection with the Nick Griffin trial.”
That was the recent trial in Leeds in which BNP leader Griffin was cleared of charges of inciting racial hatred (although he faces a retrial over two counts). West went on to speak in favour of voluntary repatriation, and informed his listeners that “the mixing of races challenges the glory of God”
However, despite this closeness to the BNP, West himself is a member of the Conservative Party, and he serves as a councillor in Lincolnshire’s South Holland District Council.
Meanwhile, a November Indymedia UK report on one of the Leeds protests includes the following detail:
The most amusing character served up by the master race was a man in a dog collar claiming to be some kind of clergyman. He entertained the waiting journos with some of the most bizarre semi religious political ranting ever heard. Whether he was a real priest or some nutter who has bought his qualifications and outfit off the internet was unclear. He refused to say what denomination if any he was of even where he preached.
The text is accompanied with a photo of a man whom we can now identity as West:
UPDATE 1: A bit extra on West’s background, from a Peterborough Today article of last November:
A TEACHER who lost his job at Peterborough Regional College in a staff shake-up is bringing a claim for unfair dismissal against it.
Robert West taught law and history at the college for 10 years, but lost his job when the summer term ended, and the college made a raft of redundancies.
…Mr West, a liberal Christian [?!], believed he was pushed out because of his religious beliefs and as a result of the school’s equal opportunities policy, which, he claims, favours ethnic minority teachers.
…”I’d always encourage students to grapple with issues and genuinely think about and understand their meaning, and to apply their own educated values – and that went against what the college wanted.”
UPDATE 2: Since the above, West has finally joined the BNP, after having been suspended by the Conservative Party. See my entry here for more details.
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