BNP rally in Stoke-on-Trent to attract 400 party members

A BRITISH National Party rally in the Potteries could be the biggest the organisation has ever held.

Organisers are expecting hundreds of members from across the UK to travel to Stoke-on-Trent later this month. Local councillors are planning to spend the morning targeting 10 areas as volunteers hand out up to 50,000 leaflets.

In the afternoon the party's Truth Truck – a lorry doubling up as a mobile stage – will be parked in a central location for speeches by a number of party figures.

They will include national leader Nick Griffin, deputy party chairman Simon Darby and local councillors Alby Walker and Michael Coleman.

Mr Walker, leader of the party's city council group, said: "People are getting a bus up from the London areas. It is going to be the biggest type of this activity that the BNP has held anywhere."

The event will be filmed by organisers to appear on the party's website, while BBC crews are also expected to film preparations for a future programme.

Local party leaders have held three meetings with Staffordshire Police to discuss how the September 20 rally should proceed.

Mr Walker said organisers had listened to police requirements and arranged an event which would be peaceful.

The focal point will be a protest over the recent sentencing of Normacot resident Habib Khan, who received an eight-year prison term for the manslaughter of his neighbour, BNP activist Keith Brown.

Mr Walker said leaflets condemning the court case would be distributed on 10 estates. He said: "They outline the injustice that was done to Keith Brown when the system let him down, the disparity in the treatment of Keith Brown and Habib Khan by local police and the discrepancy in how, if it had been the other way around, Keith Brown would be facing a 25-year sentence, whereas Habib Khan will be out in two years."

After the rally closes, members will move on to a social event at a nearby venue.

Mr Walker said a lot of details were currently being kept under wraps to avoid potential confrontation with protesters.

Up to 400 BNP supporters are expected to come from as far afield as Newcastle Upon Tyne and London.

Fifteen local marshals will be in operation and Mr Griffin is expected to bring his own security team.

Mr Walker added: "The people who have indicated they will come are family-type people and are BNP members, and our intention is to fully co-operate with police for a peaceful political process."

Staffordshire Police Superintendent Bernie O'Reilly confirmed the force had outlined the legal obligations of the rally to organisers and would continue to meet with them in the run-up to the event.

A spokesman for Stoke-on-Trent City Council said: "We are working together with the police to plan what is required for the event."