The British National Party (BNP), for years the pre-eminent force in British far-right politics but now an irrelevant rump, is at the centre of an entertaining row as a group of former members and activists claim they are mounting a campaign to wrest control from current leader Adam Walker.
The campaign, described by its organiser Simon Tomlin as a “hostile takeover”, claims it can revive the party’s political fortunes but has also launched a barrage of complaints of corruption and criminality at Walker and his associate Clive Jefferson.
‘Exposing corruption’
Tomlin is a former BNP activist who served as the Midlands Elections Officer during the party’s peak years. He was closely involved in the BNP’s internal operations but later became a vocal critic of its leadership, particularly targeting Nick Griffin and Adam Walker.
In recent years, he has used his YouTube channel, Daily Agenda, to campaign for the party’s revival and to expose alleged corruption within its current leadership
In a recent broadcast, Tomlin accused Walker and Jefferson of reducing the BNP to an empty shell that functions primarily to collect bequests from deceased supporters. He claimed that the BNP has fewer than 30 active members and no meaningful political activity, such as elections, meetings, or public engagement.
Walker, who formally assumed leadership of the BNP in 2015 following Nick Griffin’s resignation, has long been a controversial figure.
‘Will-chasing organisation’
A former soldier and technology teacher from County Durham, Walker was permanently banned from teaching in 2013 after verbally abusing three schoolboys, chasing them in his car, and slashing their bicycle tyres with a knife. He received a suspended sentence and a driving ban for the incident.
The General Teaching Council also found that he had accessed extremist material and made intolerant comments online while employed at a secondary school.
Rapid rise
His rise within the BNP was rapid. After serving as deputy chairman, Walker became acting leader in 2014 and was later confirmed as chairman.
But under his stewardship, Tomlin claims , the party has become a paper entity, a hollow shell, devoid of political activity and reduced to what Tomlin describes as a “will-chasing organisation”.
Central to the allegations is the claim that substantial sums – reportedly up to £2.5 million – have been left to the BNP in wills, intended to fund political campaigns and activity.
However, Tomlin alleges these funds have instead been used to purchase properties across Cumbria, possibly registered under private names rather than the party itself.
Rejoin en masse
Tomlin is encouraging former members to rejoin en masse, to create a “steamroller effect” that would enable them to demand internal documentation and, if necessary, pursue civil litigation over the party’s assets.
“There’s no legal basis for refusing memberships,” Tomlin argues, threatening that any attempt by Walker to block returning members would be challenged in court.
The group also plans to contest any leadership ballots they deem fraudulent, accusing Walker of using “phantom memberships” and “imaginary lifetime members” to manipulate internal votes and elections.
Tomlin alleges that no transparent election has ever ratified Walker’s position and that he deliberately drove away dissenting voices to consolidate control over the party’s finances.
Also in Tomlin’s sights is former BNP leader Nick Griffin, whom he accuses of financial incompetence and strategic failure, though Adam Walker is described as “an even bigger criminal”.
Despite his combative tone, Tomlin insists he and his supporters (such as they may be) remain loyal to the BNP’s founding principles and its historical mission, and invokes the legacy of John Tyndall, the party’s founder and one of the post-war period’s leading nazis.
Financial misconduct
Tomlin’s intention is to expel Walker and Jefferson permanently and pursue any evidence of financial misconduct through both civil and criminal courts.
So, a party which once secured nearly a million votes in the 2009 European elections may now face a reckoning over its leadership, its political purpose, and most of all, its rather opaque finances.
Or it could just be a case of a paper tiger vs a paper entity.
We will watch with interest and see.
