Two arrested over leaked BNP list

Two people were arrested following the leaking of a list of BNP members, police confirmed today.

The arrests in Brinsley, Nottinghamshire, were part of an investigation into the leaking of a list on an internet blog last month, which contained the names of thousands of BNP supporters.

The list included the names of current and former servicemen, a police officer, teachers and doctors.

A spokeswoman for Dyfed-Powys Police said: "We can confirm that last night Nottinghamshire Police arrested two people as part of a joint investigation with Dyfed Powys Police and the Information Commissioner's Office in conjunction with alleged criminal offences under the Data Protection Act.

"The arrests followed an investigation into a complaint received about the unauthorised release of the BNP party membership list."

BNP members first blamed former party staff for the leak but later took the line that it was a plot hatched by Labour supporters.

Leader Nick Griffin pledged to take court action against those behind the leak but he welcomed the wave of publicity that has been generated.

Mr Griffin made a point of claiming that the list proved his members came from a cross-section of society.

Lionel Buck, 64, a former chairman of the Conservative Party in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, said he joined the BNP because he did not think the rights of the country's "indigenous population" were represented in mainstream politics.