The British National Party is surely rather more than a "vexatious group"

In response to a request from various race equality councils in the West Country on how to deal with the racialist campaign of the British National Party, the Commission for Racial Equality replies as follows: "The Race Equality Councils are not political organisations and in challenging the organisations who may have political status they should remember to do so in an appropriate way . . . May we refer to Core Standard 16 - Public Awareness and Education: Limits on Political Campaigning. All personnel must abide by the information on the limits of political campaigning. Even where the group falls into the category of vexatious, RECs should remember that they are not to respond politically if conducting campaigns. The RECs should try to work in partnership with the group even where there is cultural conflict."

Well, I'll be sugared. For a start, race equality councils are autonomous organisations funded only in part by the CRE. Though the requirement to abide by "core standards" is a condition of receiving CRE grants, I cannot believe that those who drafted them think of the BNP as merely "vexatious". Michael Howard's description would be more accurate: an organisation of "racist and fascist thugs". Wherever the BNP holds a meeting, it follows automatically that some Asian, Caribbean, African or asylum-seeker receives a kicking.

How can these councils, committed to the promotion of good relations between different races and cultures, possibly work "in partnership" with the BNP? And how can they, in heaven's name, fail to respond politically to its racist challenge?

In 1993, under its ex-chairman Sir Herman Ouseley, the CRE launched a fierce political campaign against racism in football. It was aggressively titled "Let's Kick Racism Out of Football".

It was a direct challenge to the BNP, which incites racial violence

and abuse on football terraces throughout the country. The CRE, then, did not limit itself to rules such as Core Standard 16.

I know that Labour is desperately trying to win back supporters who have defected to the BNP. And I know it fears that aggressive, anti-fascist campaigns might alienate them. But the CRE is not an arm of the Labour Party and must not be allowed to pussyfoot around the BNP. The racists should be seen off with uncompromising aggression, using every tactic in and out of the book. That is the only "appropriate way".

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