The BPP was led by Kevin Watmough and was largely dedicated to the legacies of British Nazis who pre-date the party, such as
Arnold Leese,
John Beckett and
Colin Jordan. On 27 October 2005, the party officially registered with the Electoral Commission as BPP – Putting Britons First. The BPP initially had two publications:
Vanguard, which came out every month, and
Imperium, a quarterly magazine that was more theoretical. The BPP stood a small number of candidates in the
May 2006 council elections without winning any seats. The party did not contest the
following year's elections as they claimed to have declared a 'truce' with the BNP but continue to oppose the BNP for its rejection of
Nazism. The BPP was also critical of the
British First Party for what it claimed was that group's attempts to conceal its Nazism and behave as a '
populist' party.
Goole party member Martyn Gilleard was convicted in June 2008 of possessing child pornography, illegal weapons and explosive devices. Gilleard was sentenced to 13 years in prison and has since reportedly converted to Islam. When police searched his house they found 39,000 indecent images of children and an arsenal of weapons, bombs and far-right literature. He was expelled from the BPP when the police revealed he had also been arrested for possession of child pornography. The party supported
Simon Sheppard during his arrest, trial and imprisonment on
incitement to racial hatred charges for material on his Heretical Press site. and against the presence of
Roma people in the
Village area of south Belfast. A further campaign against
Polish immigration was condemned by the
Democratic Unionist Party MP
Gregory Campbell, who called for a crackdown on the BPP in Northern Ireland. Although the BPP website avowedly stated that it supported Northern Ireland's continuing status within the UK, it also offered coverage to
Ulster Nation, a
pro-independence journal. The only BPP member to have stood for election was David Jones (who was the former BPP Commissioner) who three years running contested the
Todmorden ward of
Calderdale Council, in West Yorkshire, where he is a resident. In May 2010, he received 283 votes (5.0%) of the poll, in May 2011, 203 votes (5.5%) and in May 2012, 257 votes (8.5%). According to the party's website, Jones was expelled from the BPP, over allegations of bringing them into disrepute, a week before the 2012 election. The party was "voluntarily deregistered" with the Electoral Commission on 25 July 2013. Watmough dissolved the party and called on all members and supporters to give their support to the
National Front which he believes can create a viable white working class backlash in the United Kingdom. ==Membership==