Pub caught up in BNP furore

An award-winning licensee was forced to call in the police when her pub became the target of a showdown between British National Party (BNP) supporters and anti-fascist groups.

Last month, residents in the Essex village of Orsett received flyers advertising a meeting at the Whitmore Arms pub, which won The Publican's​ Customer Service Pub of the Year award for 2008.

According to the leaflet, which was delivered with BNP literature, the meeting at the pub scheduled for Saturday (September 13) is being held for "Orsett residents who oppose the local Conservative councillor's plans to diversify the village with ethnic minorities".

Whitmore Arms licensee Margaret Orman, who knew nothing of the planned meeting, then received an email from a group claiming to be Thurrock Anti-Fascists. It stated "unless you call off this event we will arrive at your pub in huge numbers and disrupt the meeting."

Margaret's daughter Victoria Steadman said: "This is all very distressing for my family. My mum is in tears. I don't know why our pub is being targeted.

"It is all because of the stupid BNP. We have no association with any political party."

Victoria runs the pub with Margaret and her husband Jim who have lived in the village for 40 years.

They were distraught when one former member of staff visited to say she would boycott the pub because they were hosting a BNP meeting.

"She believed what was in the leaflet and she knows us, so I have no idea what Joe Bloggs is going to think", said Victoria.

"People come because we are national award winners. This could ruin our business. We just want to protect our reputation."

The pub turned over its booking list to the police who were examining it for any potential troublemakers

An Essex Police spokesman said: "We are aware of some political tension in the area.

"We will be carrying out enhanced high visibility patrols to reassure residents and deter potential criminals."

Emma Colgate, the local BNP councillor, said she had spoken to the leafletters who were working on August 31 and they denied any knowledge of the meeting.

She said: "We do not advertise the venues of our political meetings, as like any other party we have to be aware of security risks."