Nick Griffin gets his own invite to Palace party

Nick Griffin may have been run out of Barking, but when it comes to getting into Buckingham Palace it seems the defeated British National Party leader’s pride knows no bounds. Having relinquished the chance to accompany his BNP colleague Richard Barnbrook to the Queen's annual garden party last July following a media outcry, Griffin has now secured his own invitation to this year's event.
 
A number of tickets are allocated to European Parliamentary members and Griffin, as an MEP for the North West, was eligible to nominate himself for a pair of tickets, a Palace spokeswoman said today. The Palace did not discriminate against democratically elected representatives, she added, whatever their politics.  
 
What is still unclear is how the far-right politician got himself four tickets to the July 22 event. Griffin produced his invitations at a BNP supporters' dinner last weekend. On a video seen by the Times, Griffin told the crowd that he, his wife Jackie (above left with Griffin) and their two daughters, Jennifer and Rhiannon, had all been invited to the Queen’s party.
 
Griffin's possible attendance plunges the Palace into fresh controversy. The decision by Richard Barnbook, who had been invited as a member of the London Assembly, to invite Griffin as his 'plus-one' last summer, caused widespread fury. In the end, Griffin opted out of going, saying he had "no wish to embarrass" the Queen.
 
This no longer seems to be the case. Griffin suffered a humiliating defeat in last month’s general election, losing in the 'Battle of Barking' to the sitting MP, Labour's Margaret Hodge, by a landslide, and now seems determined to use his Palace appearance as a platform to relaunch the BNP.

In the video, he is seen telling fellow diners: "My guess is the six o’clock news on Thursday, July 22, might have a little bit about the British National Party. So we're gonna be back in the news." ·