British Police Investigate Lawmaker's Anti-Gay Tweets

Calls discrimination a 'fundamental' right
By Liam Carnahan,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 19, 2012 9:49 AM CDT
British Police Investigate Lawmaker's Anti-Gay Tweets
Nick Griffin, leader of Britain's far-right BNP, allegedly sent a tweet containing the address of two gay men at the heart of an anti-discrimination case.   (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Police in England are investigating controversial tweets posted by the head of a small, far-right conservative party, reports the BBC. The postings from British National Party leader Nick Griffin listed the address of a gay couple who recently won a court case against a Bed and Breakfast that refused to provide them with a single-bed room. The first of two consecutive tweets listed the name and address of the couple, then read that protesters would arrive to "give you a ... bit of drama by way of reminding you that an English couple's home is their castle. Say No to heterophobia!"

The New York Times says the Twitter account was initially suspended, but later reappeared with the same tweets minus the address. It wasn't clear who ordered the addresses to be removed. The controversy comes after Twitter first used its new censorship policy to suspend the account of a neo-Nazi group in Germany. Griffin has ridiculed the whole mess and declared that discrimination is a "fundamental human right." (More twitter censorship stories.)

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