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BNP member on religious hatred charge for blaming heroin trade on Muslims
A BRITISH National Party member denied in court today that he tried to stir up religious hatred by sending out leaflets across Yorkshire blaming Muslims for the heroin trade.
Anthony Bamber, 53, of Greenbank Street, Preston, Lancashire, is accused of distributing the pamphlets, which urged people to "heap condemnation" on Muslims, who must "apologise" for their actions.
A photograph of Rachel Whitear, 21, who was found dead at her flat in Exmouth, Devon, in May 2000, holding a syringe, accompanied the literature.
But Bamber, a former BNP candidate who stood at local elections in Preston in 2006, told Preston Magistrates' Court he is not guilty of incitement to commit religious hatred.
Colin Gibbs, prosecuting, said the leaflets were distributed across Yorkshire, Cumbria and Lancashire.
He said: "Mr Bamber was the writer and printer of these leaflets, which sent out his ideology that all Muslims should be held to account for the heroin trade.
"They were threatening and intended to stir up religious hatred. Many people who received them thought it was a criminal offence and contacted the police, which led to his arrest."
Three other men, all from East Lancashire, arrested as part of the investigation, were told by police last month they would not face charges over the matter.
Speaking outside court, Bamber confirmed he is still an active member of the BNP, and vowed to fight the charge.
"I will be strongly contesting this, all the way," he said. "I am not guilty of stirring up religious hatred and this was not a slur on Muslims. I stand by anything I have done but I will not accept I have tried to stir up hatred."
Supporters of the BNP, including party leader Nick Griffin, demonstrated outside the police station in Burnley last November following the dawn-raid arrests.
Bamber was told to return to the court on September 9, after which it is expected that the case will be committed to crown court.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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