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Live blog: BNP on Question Time

Welcome to our live blog of the BBC’s Question Time, which tonight features British National Party leader Nick Griffin on its panel.

Whichever side of the debate you fall on, no-one can deny that this has developed into a huge story. The BBC has defended its decision to invite Griffin on, Gordon Brown has predicted that it will backfire and security has been ramped up ahead of the show.

Question Time is broadcast at 10:35pm BST, so follow our live blog below during the build-up and the show itself. We really want to hear your views on the show – so send in your comments now!

Should the BNP be able to use military imagery?

This is a busy week for the British National Party (BNP).

Today it was warned to stop using military imagery in its campaign material. A group of former military leaders accused the BNP, which has used photographs of spitfire fighter planes and Winston Churchill, of hijacking Britain’s history for their own “dubious ends.”

The distinguished generals said this tarnished the reputation of the armed forces and called on them to “cease and desist.”

Meanwhile, the BNP’s membership list has been leaked again. The names and addresses of thousands of members was posted on Wikileaks, a website that allows information to be published anonymously. BNP leader Nick Griffin said the list was a “malicious forgery.”

Most controversially of all, Griffin is scheduled to appear on BBC’s Question Time this Thursday evening. The decision to give the BNP a seat on the panel has angered some people, who feel they should not be given a platform to air their extreme views on issues such as immigration.

However, despite calls from Welsh Secretary Peter Hain to have Griffin dropped on the grounds that the party “is not lawfully constituted”, Director General Mark Thompson defended the BBC position of due impartiality. He said: “If there were to be any election –- local or national –- tomorrow, the BNP would still be able to field candidates.”

Do you think the BNP should be stopped from using military imagery to promote its policies? Is there a danger the armed forces will be tainted by this association with the far-right? Do you agree with the BBC’s decision to invite Nick Griffin to appear on Question Time?

March highlights BNP controversy

I went to the anti-fascist protest against the far-right British National Party’s annual summer “festival” on Saturday fearing trouble.

Tensions between anti-fascist and far-right groups were running high after street fights in Birmingham the previous weekend between football-linked groups protesting against Islamic fundamentalism and young Asian men.

But the atmosphere as hundreds of demonstrators from across Britain descended on the village Codnor in Derbyshire seemed more one of cheerful determination to celebrate and protect multi-cultural Britain than a belligerent mob set on fist-fighting in fields.

The police had clearly prepared for the worst, enacting public order legislation to stop protesters getting too close to the controvertial campers in nearby fields and putting 500 officers on the ground to enforce it.

The media too had turned out in force, with dozens of photographers and TV cameras buzzing around the crowd which waspenned into the tiny Derbyshire village square before the official march started.

It seemed to me that the assembled variety of ages, races and religions perfectly reflected what is great about modern life in British cities.

But many of the uniformly white local residents stood watching from the other side of the main street were unimpressed by the annual invasion.