BNP leader Griffin is bankrupt

BNP leader Nick Griffin insists he will stand again for the European Parliament.
3 January 2014

BNP leader Nick Griffin has been declared bankrupt but insisted he will continue as a member of the European Parliament and run for re-election in May.

A listing at the Insolvency Service showed Mr Griffin was declared bankrupt at Welshpool and Newtown County Court yesterday.

Mr Griffin tweeted: "Being bankrupt does not prevent me being or standing as an MEP. It does free me from financial worries. A good day!

"Party funds are not affected in any way. Our campaign in May will be our most professional yet and I will be lead candidate in the North West.

"I am now turning the experience to the benefit of hard-up constituents by producing a booklet on dealing with debt. No surrender."

Mr Griffin will be automatically discharged from bankruptcy in one year, on January 2 2015, in accordance with the Insolvency Act.

Mr Griffin was elected for the North West region of England in 2009.

Advice published by the Electoral Commission said bankruptcy in itself does not bar someone from being a member of the European Parliament or standing for election.

Restrictions are only triggered if an individual is made subject to a bankruptcy restrictions order or debt relief restrictions order.

The Insolvency Service said such orders had not been made in Mr Griffin's case.

Before April 1, 2004 being bankrupt itself would have disqualified a person from standing as an MEP or MP.

The restriction was amended as part of the Insolvency Act 1986 so only the addition of a Bankruptcy Restriction Order on top of being bankrupt means a person being disqualified.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in