Demonstrators clash with British police outside the offices of BBC in west London on Thursday. (AP image)
London:
Anti-fascist protesters broke into the BBC's west London headquarters on Thursday, ahead of a white-supremacist party leader's appearance on a leading political debate show.
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the BBC Television Center in an increasingly rowdy rally against British National Party chief Nick Griffin, who is due to appear on the broadcaster's Question Time program. At one point about 25 people breached a police cordon and ran into the center's lobby.
A BBC footage showed some being pulled across the floor by their arms and legs by security.
The BBC later said that Griffin had managed to make it into the building, where he was scheduled to be a panelist on Question Time - a first for the far-right party.
Many politicians have condemned the invitation to Griffin, but the BBC says that as a publicly funded broadcaster it must cover all political parties that have a national presence. Justice Secretary Jack Straw, a senior member of the governing Labour Party Cabinet, is due to appear alongside Griffin.
The whites-only BNP opposes immigration and claims to fight for "indigenous" Britons. Griffin has a conviction for racial hatred and has denied the Holocaust in the past.
The party has tried to shed its thuggish image and enter the political mainstream. Earlier this year it won two European Union parliament seats, gaining 6 percent of British votes in European polls. It has no seats in the British Parliament.
The invitation to appear in front of several million TV viewers has divided Britain, but delighted the BNP, which is counting down the seconds until the broadcast on its website.
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the BBC Television Center in an increasingly rowdy rally against British National Party chief Nick Griffin, who is due to appear on the broadcaster's Question Time program. At one point about 25 people breached a police cordon and ran into the center's lobby.
A BBC footage showed some being pulled across the floor by their arms and legs by security.
The BBC later said that Griffin had managed to make it into the building, where he was scheduled to be a panelist on Question Time - a first for the far-right party.
Many politicians have condemned the invitation to Griffin, but the BBC says that as a publicly funded broadcaster it must cover all political parties that have a national presence. Justice Secretary Jack Straw, a senior member of the governing Labour Party Cabinet, is due to appear alongside Griffin.
The whites-only BNP opposes immigration and claims to fight for "indigenous" Britons. Griffin has a conviction for racial hatred and has denied the Holocaust in the past.
The party has tried to shed its thuggish image and enter the political mainstream. Earlier this year it won two European Union parliament seats, gaining 6 percent of British votes in European polls. It has no seats in the British Parliament.
The invitation to appear in front of several million TV viewers has divided Britain, but delighted the BNP, which is counting down the seconds until the broadcast on its website.
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