Far-right MEP Griffin denies reports of 'financial collapse'

British National Party leader Nick Griffin has hit back at allegations his party is on the verge of financial collapse.

Reports in the British press suggest that Griffin, an MEP for north west England, has written to every BNP member asking for donations "to keep the wolves from the door".

According to the Times newspaper he is looking for over €160,000 to shore up the party's finances, while insisting that the €650,000 used to fight the European election campaign in June was spent wisely.

The letter sent to members says, "Our success [in the European elections] has unleashed the furies of hell against us, now our very existence is being challenged, and it is costing us dear. Precisely because of our political success we are now fighting for our very existence."

It is reported that the letter than offers the party faithful a special life-membership package, costing €430, to try to raise the levels of their coffers.

However, Griffin told this website that the mail shot was "part of regular fund-raising activity" and the party had a turnover of €2.5m, making it "the only party in the UK that wasn't massively in the red".

He says that there is certainly "lots of money coming in and lots going out", but this is the result of groups such as the equality and human rights commission trying "to bleed our coffers dry ahead of an election so we can't fight it as well".

The Times also claims that Griffin's party is to be assessed by the UK's electoral commission over concerns that although large amounts were spent in the June election, no donations were recorded for the same period.

Griffin said that donations only need be registered if they are over €7000, and the majority of his party's funding comes from large-scale but small donations on a branch level.

"We showed them the records five years ago and we would be happy for them to come and investigate again," he said.

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