Britain is full up they say. Have they never been to Scotland?

Emma Byrne writes in her blog, Colemanballs, that the message of the BNP 'reaches the ears of the public, not across the debating chambers of Westminster, but across doorways and gardens in local constituencies'.

It's a fine point and one which supports my argument in the post of February 3, 'Free speech and the shaven-headed mob'. Those who say we should deny the BNP a platform of expression are missing the point.

Their popularity is growing, not because we allow them to express their views, but precisely because most newspapers, television stations and other forums for debate do not.

All this does is drive xenophobia and racial hatred into the arena of clandestine conversations in the gardens and social clubs of middle England.

Only by letting these people expose themselves as the bigoted ignorami they are can we ensure their opinions continue to be regarded as unacceptable.