FRANKLY I m amazed and disheartened at the response I received from my Last Word last week, when I shared my views on the British National Party (BNP). Having done some research, I had outlined the reasons I believe the BNP to be racist, xenophobic, homop

FRANKLY I'm amazed and disheartened at the response I received from my Last Word last week, when I shared my views on the British National Party (BNP).

Having done some research, I had outlined the reasons I believe the BNP to be racist, xenophobic, homophobic and anti-Semitic, and how I cannot understand how any right-thinking person can vote for the party. I stand by everything I said.

I received a flurry of emails, letters and phone calls from BNP supporters, having asked people who voted for the party to tell me why.

A number latched onto the idea that the BNP takes a hard line on immigration. Of course immigration needs to be tightly controlled and I do think our Government's soft approach is not good enough. But when you vote for the BNP you can't cherry-pick which of their policies you want them to act upon. You vote for the whole package and that's what I can't condone. I'm concerned some people are focussing on the relatively benign aspects of the party, without looking at the bigger picture.

A number of people also said they had received a leaflet from the BNP, or looked at their website, and thought their policies were acceptable.

It seems the BNP relies on those who are happy to accept what it feeds them, with increasing success. And to think some of the party's supporters have called me a "moron" and a "fool".