BNP leader Nick Griffin declared bankrupt
The leader of the British National Party Nick Griffin has been officially declared bankrupt, following a difficult few years for the party.
A bankruptcy order was made against Griffin at Welshpool County Court yesterday. In a statement, the BNP leader claimed it was "a good day" and insisted it would not prevent him from carrying on as leader of the embattled far right party.
"A note for all: Being bankrupt does NOT prevent me being or standing as an MEP," he tweeted. "It does free me from financial worries. A good day!"
Under a change in the law, Griffin will not be banned from remaining as a member of the European parliament, unless it can be proven that he has acted dishonestly.
The BNP have had a troubled few years, following Griffin's appearance on the BBC's Question Time programme in 2009.
Since that appearance, which he described as a "lynch mob", the party has lost all of it's seats in Barking and Dagenham, it's only seat on the London Assembly in 2012, as well as it's only remaining county council seat in last May's local elections.
As a result, the party has reportedly faced financial difficulties. However, in a statement today, the party claimed their finances would be "completely unaffected" by Griffin's bankruptcy.
According to the statement, Griffin had offered to enter into an individual voluntary arrangement to pay his creditors 42p in the pound over the next five years but had been rejected.
In a bizarre development Griffin also claimed that he would use his experience of bankruptcy to write a new "booklet on dealing with debt". No further details of this publication have yet been released.
