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Eddie Izzard calls for BNP ban
Comedian Eddie Izzard has told Lancashire voters they will be going to war against fascism when they go to the polls next week.
The stand-up comic, a member of the Labour Party, also said he believes that war-time leader Winston Churchill would have voted against the British National Party (BNP) in the upcoming European elections.
But, the far-right party's regional organiser dismissed the comments as "nonsense" and insisted it was run more democratically than the government.
Izzard brought his 'Talking Politics' question-and-answer roadshow to Lancaster University this week as part of a drive to get more people to the polls on June 4, warning that apathy over voting would give minority parties like the BNP the chance to gain seats in the region.
He said: "It is 65 years since D-Day when we fought against fascism and we should not be electing fascists into government. I do not believe it is a British thing to have this politics of hatred.
"That is what the Second World War was all about, Churchill fought the fascists and he would be there fighting against the BNP."
But North West BNP organiser Clive Jefferson said the party, for which leader Nick Griffin is standing in the North West, was run by elected members and volunteers which he said was not in line with any definition of fascism.
He accused the government of being less democratic due to PM Gordon Brown having never been elected to the post.
He added: "We are a democratically-run party which is backed by volunteers and trying to get our message across on far less resources than the other major parties.
"This is yet more nonsense about D-Day from a D-list semi-celebrity. He must be a comedian because he's given me a laugh."
Around 250 students packed into the Nuffield Theatre at Lancaster University on Tuesday night to quiz Europe Minister Caroline Flint and Claire Reynolds, who is standing for Labour in the North West.
The comic later performed an intimate show to 450 people at Lancaster's Grand Theatre to cover his expenses for the trip.
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Weather for Preston
Wednesday 08 February 2012
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Sunny spells
Temperature: -3 C to 3 C
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