In an impassioned address at the Union last Tuesday night, Ray Hill the infamous “BNP mole” who acted as a police informant during his time at the British National Party, criticized the “liberal elite” of the country for being out of touch with the white working class and creating an environment that had allowed the BNP to thrive.

Hill’s speech, which was at turns humorous and emotional, recounted his years in the far-right of British politics, beginning with his involvement with the Leicestershire Racial Preservation Society in the 1960s, and going on to reach the upper echelons of the South African National Front, the British Movement, and eventually the BNP. It was during his time at the BNP that Hill acted as an informant for the police, notifying them of bomb threats and other illegal activity.

Describing the BNP as an “intrinsically violent and terrorist organization”, Hill recalled a chilling tale of a failed attempt to plant a bomb at his own home by BNP thugs after his identity as a mole had been revealed. He also recounted disturbing stories of anti-semitic views openly being circulated that led him to believe that the party was “pure, unmitigated evil.”

According to Hill, the BNP has been resurgent in recent years because of vast levels of disenchantment among white working class youth, whose needs have been forgotten by the elites. Hill urged students and professionals to keep the working class in mind and find ways to reconnect with them, adding “Let us remember that the foundations of this country are the working class who gave their lives for freedom and liberty.”

Answering a question about BNP leader Nick Griffin’s appearance on Question Time, Hill said that he did not think that Griffin should have been invited. He expressed concern that Griffin might gain sympathies with working class people, some of whom, according to Hill, perceived the programme to have been biased and stacked against Griffin. Hill also criticized the Question Time panel for not countering Griffin effectively.   

Referring to Griffin as the “smiling face of fascism”, Hill added that “if he is going to be invited in the future, the panel and the chair need to be more intellectually honest than the one they had.”