The former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey has branded the British National Party leader Nick Griffin a "squalid racist" and called on Christians to "stand shoulder to shoulder" in rejecting the political party. Skip related content
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Lord Carey brands BNP leader 'a squalid racist'
Lord Carey said it was "chilling" to hear Mr Griffin claim to represent "Christian Britain" in his appearance on BBC1's Question Time on Thursday, and accused the BNP leader of trying to "hijack one of the world's great religions".
His comments came as a poll suggested that a number of controversial BNP policies on immigration, sex education and Islam have resonance with significant numbers of voters.
The survey in the News of the World found that almost two-thirds of voters feel the mainstream parties have no credible policies on immigration. But only 6 per cent said the BNP had the best policies on the issue and just 10% agreed with the far-right party that there should be a halt to all future immigration.
The ICM poll found that 54% of voters feel the show would have put people off the BNP, but 23 per cent said it would gain them more support.
Lord Carey said the decision to invite Mr Griffin on to the BBC's flagship political discussion programme was "a mistake". He said: "The BBC's director-general errs in arguing that in a democracy all views should be heard. The views of the BNP are not simply false, they are dangerous, indeed irredeemably evil."
Tributes have been paid to a schoolgirl who died after slipping in her high heels and falling under a train while waving goodbye to her friends.
