BNP chief invited to Queen's party

Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party, has secured an invitation to a garden party at Buckingham Palace.

The far-right politician intends to take three members of his family to the event on 22 July in his capacity as an MEP for the North West. Last year Mr Griffin withdrew from a similar event because he said he did not want to embarrass the Queen.

He announced his latest invitation during a dinner with party supporters over the weekend.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman confirmed that as an MEP Mr Griffin was eligible to nominate himself to attend a garden party, as part of the allocation of tickets to the European Parliament.