This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/bradford/7741270.stm

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Police probe BNP link to car fire Police probe BNP link to car fire
(about 2 hours later)
Police are investigating a suspicious car fire close to the alleged home of a British National Party (BNP) member. Police are investigating a car fire near a house in West Yorkshire which was included in a leaked list of British National Party (BNP) members.
West Yorkshire Police said firefighters and police officers were called to the blaze on Eighth Avenue in Windy Bank, Liversedge, on Thursday. The parked car exploded after being set alight late on Thursday night on Eighth Avenue in Windy Bank, Liversedge.
It is believed the car, which was parked at the time, did not belong to anyone connected to the BNP. The BNP said none of its members lived in Eighth Avenue, although one of the houses in the road was on the leaked membership list published this week.
Police confirmed that one of the lines of investigation concerned the publication of the list of BNP members. The car belonged to a neighbour of the person whose house was on the list.
A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said nobody was hurt. Police investigating the car fire, in which nobody was hurt, said a possible link to the BNP list was just one line of inquiry.
A force spokesman said: "The cause of the damage and any potential motive all form part of the current investigation." If this person has been targeted because his name has been on that list... it is a disgrace David Exley, BNP's Kirklees organiser
The BNP's local organiser David Exley said none of the party's members lived in Eighth Avenue.
"I spoke to the police this morning and they confirmed that a car has been firebombed last night and one of the lines of inquiry is the person who lives next door to whose car it was is on the list on the internet.
"I can confirm that the gentleman, whose house the car was outside, is not a member of the BNP and is not a current supporter of the BNP.
"If this person has been targeted because his name has been on that list I feel it is very very sad, it is a disgrace."
Mr Exley said the list covered everybody who had ever contacted the BNP head office.
"It could be this man got an information pack, looked at it, decided it's not for him and thrown it away.
"But unfortunately somebody has irresponsibly put this list on the internet."
Charred debrisCharred debris
Asked about the proximity of the vehicle to a BNP member's home, he said: "The cause of the damage and any potential motive all form part of the current investigation." Eight houses in the road remained cordoned off by police on Friday.
Eight houses in Eighth Avenue remained cordoned off by police on Friday.
A charred patch of debris was visible on the road and path outside one of the red brick semi-detached houses.A charred patch of debris was visible on the road and path outside one of the red brick semi-detached houses.
There are eight people with Liversedge addresses on the BNP membership list which was leaked on the internet. Eight people with Liversedge addresses are named on the BNP membership list which was leaked on the internet on Tuesday.
The BNP said the list of 12,000 activists, which included names, addresses, home telephone numbers and e-mail addresses, dated from 2007.The BNP said the list of 12,000 activists, which included names, addresses, home telephone numbers and e-mail addresses, dated from 2007.
Legal threat Party leader Nick Griffin has pledged to take court action against those behind the leak.
The party said some people on it were no longer members.
BNP leader Nick Griffin has pledged to take court action against those behind the leak.
The only BNP councillor on the local council, Roger Roberts, who lives a couple of miles from where the car fire happened, said he believed the incident was not connected to the publication of the list.
Mr Roberts, who represents Heckmondwike on Kirklees Council, said: "That kind of thing is a regular occurrence on that estate.
"It could be drug dealers or anybody. Even the buses have stopped going through there because they get bricks thrown at them.
"The car doesn't even belong to a BNP member."