British National Party leader Nick Griffin speaking to a local journalist in Damascus about their shared enemy, the elite British establishment
MEP says he is on fact-finding mission to Damascus and wants to highlight risk of UK supporting opposition fightersNick Griffin, the leader of the British National party, has waded into controversy by paying an officially sponsored visit to Damascus as part of a delegation of far-right and nationalist European politicians.
Griffin, an MEP for north-west England, used his Twitter account to publicise selected details of his "fact-finding" trip, calling the Syrian capital a "modern, bustling city". Aside from "occasional explosions" in the distance, life in Damascus was normal, he tweeted.
Syrian state media reported that suicide bombings in Marja Square in the centre of the city had killed 14 people and injured 31. Griffin later visited the site and commented: "Vile ... smells like an abbatoir. Hague wants your taxes to arm these terrorists!"
The BNP spokesman Simon Darby said Griffin was not being paid by the Syrian regime and did not want his presence in the country to be seen as an endorsement of President Bashar al-Assad. But anyone entering Syria - as Griffin did by road from Lebanon - needs a visa, which would require the approval of the information and foreign ministries.
Other members of his delegation are MEPs and MPs from Belgium, Russia and Poland. The BNP is part of the Alliance of European National Movements in the European parliament. Other members include Jobbik, the Movement for a Better Hungary, France's National Front, Italy's Tricolour Flame, Sweden's National Democrats and Belgium's National Front.
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