Nick Griffin says BNP ruling a 'victory for freedom'

The BNP leader Nick Griffin has fought off a bid to have him declared guilty of contempt of court. He told a mixed crowd of protesters and supporters that this was "a great day for the British National Party" and added the BNP had won a "David and Goliath victory for freedom".

This latest court decision was the result of a complaint by the Equality and Human Rights Commission which accused Mr Griffin of failing to comply with an order to remove potentially racist clauses from his party's constitution.

But the High Court rejected its bid to seize BNP assets.

The BNP has already scrapped its "whites-only" members rule following a court challenge from the equality watchdog.

It comes at the end of an 18-month long court battle over the BNP's membership rules.

The Commission said they would not be pursuing any more legal action against the BNP but said it would continue monitoring their activities adding: "We will be keeping a watching brief on them to make sure they don't break the law".