Literature from the British National Party - the extreme rightwing political party famous for espousing racist and homophobic views - was discovered last week near the University of Manchester as the group started campaigning to students.

The discovery - which has raised fears that the controversial party may be seeking to increase its profile in Manchester with the coming round of council elections - has been condemned by student leaders and the university, with one union spokesperson saying the arrival of the BNP on campus was "the last thing that anyone wanted".

The offending leaflet - which advocated the return of the death penalty for "child paedophile killers" - was found in The Pub, a well known student watering hole on Grosvenor Street, Manchester. Student newspaper Student Direct approached The Pub to ask why literature from the controversial party was allowed inside, but the licensee declined an interview and the manager was unavailable.

Martin Wingfield, editor of Voice of Freedom, the BNP newspaper, said that while he was unaware of this particular leaflet campaign, he could confirm that the address on the leaflet was that of the BNP post office box. He went on to say a return of the death penalty for "child paedophile killers" was "a long-term BNP goal".

Tony Wentworth, president of the youth wing of the BNP, is based in Manchester and was able to identify the leaflet instantly and without prompting. But he hung up as soon as he was told that he was speaking to Student Direct, and refused to comment further. A University of Manchester spokesperson last week made it clear that "The Pub" was not on university property and so outside the university's control. He went on to say that while the university had no policy on the BNP specifically, it does have strong equal opportunities and anti-harassment policies, and commented: "If any student encountered such on university premises then they should make a complaint to the universities registrar's office and appropriate action would be taken."

Luciana Berger of the national executive committee of the NUS - convenor of the anti-fascist campaign and co-convenor of the anti-racism campaign - described the BNP's policy of using populist agendas to disguise their racist agenda as "sugar coating".

She went on to say that the NUS has a policy of offering no platform to racism and fascism, and that they considered the BNP to be both a racist and fascist organisation.

Ms Berger also said that the NUS campaigned strongly against the BNP and would be publishing packs to be handed out at unions across the country. These packs will be designed to advise students on how to become active against the BNP and mount successful voting campaigns and protests to ensure that the BNP will not gain any more seats in the elections next year. Of the 17 council seats held by members of the BNP, she said: "it is disgusting that they can be democratically elected in multi-cultural Britain".

Jennie Bailey, University of Manchester Union welfare officer, last week commented that the union was in keeping with the constitution of the NUS and would offer no platform to racist or fascist groups. She further urged that any student who felt that such groups were harassing them should come and see a member of the union team.

When asked how she felt about the BNP being active in the university area, Ms Bailey commented: "That it is quite a scary thought. But if we [the students and the union] all work together with the local community, we can build a multi-cultural society where such views are not welcomed.

Source: Guardian