 Nick Griffin appeared at Leeds Magistrates Court on Thursday |
Two key figures in the British National Party have been granted bail after appearing in court charged with race hate offences. Party leader Nick Griffin, 45, and founding chairman John Tyndall, 70, were given unconditional bail by magistrates in Leeds on Thursday.
Both were arrested in December amid an investigation by West Yorkshire Police into the BBC film The Secret Agent.
They were ordered to appear again at Leeds Magistrates' Court on 19 May.
Charges heard
Mr Griffin, of Y Gribin, Llanerfyl, Powys, entered no plea in relation to four counts of using words or behaviour intended or likely to stir up racial hatred. Mr Tyndall, of Hove, East Sussex, faces two charges of the same offence.
Mark Collett, a 24-year-old BNP member from Rothley, Leicestershire, who is charged with eight race hate offences, also appeared in the dock.
Helen Allen, prosecuting, said Mr Tyndall's charges related to a speech he made at a social club in Burnley, which was later screened in the BBC documentary.
She added that the Crown Prosecution Service had charged the men after reviewing more than 200 hours of footage from the undercover report.
The three defendants were told by district judge David Kitson that they would be committed to crown court for trial at the 19 May hearing.
They could each face up to seven years in jail if they are found guilty of the offences.
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