BNP says remembrance wreath was not meant to offend Sikh community

The wreath the mail mentions was placed by Birmingham BNP before any others including the Sikh one. Birmingham BNP have been laying a wreath in Birmingham on remembrance day for the past four years. It was the first year a Sikh one was amongst them. The mail also fails to mention that the wreath was dedicated to British AND commonwealth forces. Finally the Sikh community has stood shoulder to shoulder with Birmingham BNP when protesting about a mosque being implemented in Billsley by stealth. ic1male


Article from the evening mail


A SENIOR BNP official has sprung to the defence of his party after a BNP wreath was laid among Sikh tributes at a Birmingham Remembrance ceremony.

Richard Lumby, sub regional organiser for the West Midlands, said the laurel was not deliberately placed alongside those laid by the city’s Sikh temples and was never designed to insult anybody.

Mr Lumby said the tribute delivered by the party, which restricts membership to white-only British citizens, was moved inside the Hall of Memory during the Remembrance Day service in Centenary Square by unsuspecting soldiers involved in the ceremony.

“We certainly did not mean to insult anyone,” he said. “We would not go out of our way to do that.

“They (the Sikh community) have every right to be there as they fought alongside our soldiers and we were not looking cause them insult.”

Mr Lumby added the party always laid wreathes at the service in Birmingham and it played an active part in proceedings.

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2009/11/13/bnp-says-remembrance-wreath-was-not-meant-to-offend-sikh-community-97319-25159818/