NUJ says Newsquest is shameful to take BNP advertising

The NUJ has condenned Newsquest’s local papers for taking adverts from the BNP.

Numerous Newsquest titles have been running BNP adverts, as discussed in my previous blog post.

NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear said in a statement this afternoon: ‘Newsquest should be ashamed of itself for taking money from an organisation that advocates racist policies that would directly discriminate against the communities these websites serve.

‘This disgraceful decision not only damages the reputation of the company’s online and print titles. Journalists will also find their ability to win the trust and confidence of their communities undermined by this decision.”

Chairman of the NUJ’s Newsquest group chapel Bob Smith said: “Accepting the tainted cash of the British National Party shows unbelievably bad judgement on the part of Newsquest’s management.

‘The BNP is not like other political parties. It only allows ‘indigenous caucasian’ people to join its misguided membership. Accepting advertising from this organisation shows bad faith with readers of Newsquest websites, which report on some of the most ethnically diverse areas in Britain.

‘One has to ask, too, what message Newsquest’s many minority ethnic employees get from their company’s acceptance of this party’s money.

‘Paul Davidson should accept that his greedy management has made a massive blunder in taking the BNP shilling, apologise and make sure it never happens again.”