Neo-Nazis accused of BNP attack

A feud between neo-Nazi groups in London may lie behind the recent string of vicious attacks on BNP activists.

The police are investigating tips that C18 - a neo-Nazi group whose leaflets promote a reign of terror against Jews, blacks and Asians - carried out the beatings to scupper the BNP's electoral efforts. Last year the National Party had a surprise win in Tower Hamlets. They expected further gains in last week's local elections but were soundly defeated.

'C18 used to have a lot of contact with the BNP but they are now distancing themselves from the paramilitaries,' said Simon Morris, a spokesman for Searchlight, a monitor of extreme right-wing activity. 'The beatings with staves and hammers bear all the hallmarks of a C18 operation.'

An attack by three white men last month left Mike Newland, BNP press officer, with a broken hand and severe head injuries. Earlier in April Michael Davidson, a BNP candidate, lost an eye when he was attacked by 10 white men, some armed with iron bars, while canvassing. A colleague escaped with cuts.

C18, a secretive hard-line group committed to 'race war', is said to have links with other extremist paramilitary groups on the Continent. Although the BNP denies C18's existence, insiders admit that C18 includes a small band of former members.

C18 stands for 'Combat' and 'Adolf Hitler', with 18 representing the first and eighth letters of the alphabet, A and H.

The BNP, which is offering a pounds 1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those who assaulted Mr Davidson, blamed leftist groups such as the Anti-Racist Alliance.

But Searchlight, which is at the centre of the anti-fascist movement, insists that left-wingers were not involved.