BNP Leader faces bankruptcy over copyright theft

The British National Party has lost £11,800 and its leader is facing bankruptcy after two legal actions over the unauthorised use of copyrighted images on its website.

Mark Croucher, a freelance journalist, discovered over the Xmas period that the BNP were using an image on which he owned the copyright. The image, which had been taken in 2003 when Mr Croucher was UKIPs Director of Communications, featured UKIP Leader Nigel Farage and accompanied a libellous article.

The BNP were warned in January that they were using the image without copyright permission, and required a retrospective license to cover the period of unauthorised use. They were also warned that if it was not removed within 24 hours, the charge for continued use would be £75 per day, and that continued use would be tacit acceptance of this charge. They chose to ignore that warning.

On 20^th January, court proceedings were issued, and judgements against the BNP and Nick Griffin personally were obtained on the 16^th March after they failed to defend the action. As the image was still in use, further proceedings were issued, and another judgement was obtained after they again failed to defend the action. The image remains on their website, and the total charges incurred now total £11,800, the equivalent of 590 BNP members' annual subscriptions.

Mr Croucher said, "The BNP seem to think that they are above the law, and can take whatever they want without payment regardless of the damage caused to others.

"Their actions are as repugnant as their views. It is no surprise to discover that apart from stealing my work, they also refuse to pay for it when caught, despite 2 court orders.

"Griffin is hot on talking about the need for honesty in politics. He could demonstrate some of it by paying his bills. His failure to do so speaks volumes about the integrity of the BNP, and serves as a warning of what to expect for any who vote for them.

"I am not rich; far from it. The use of my work on the BNP website devalues everything I do by association: who'd commission a possible Nazi to work for them? I have debts to pay and bills to cover like everybody else and this flagrant theft of my work makes both harder at a difficult time financially."