Pair arrested over leaked BNP list

Data Protection Act offences alleged

By Cade Metz in San Francisco • Get more from this author

Posted in Security, 5th December 2008 19:20 GMT

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Welsh police have arrested two Nottinghamshire people over last month's leak of the BNP membership list to the internet.

According to The Guardian, the police said the pair were held in connection with alleged offenses under the UK Data Protection Act.

"We can confirm that last night Nottinghamshire police arrested two people as part of a joint investigation with Dyfed Powys police and the information commissioner's office in conjunction with alleged criminal offences under the Data Protection Act," a Dyfed Powys police spokesman told The Guardian.

"The arrests followed an investigation into a complaint received about the unauthorised release of the BNP party membership list."

The investigation was lead by the Welsh police but also involved the information commissioner's office.

In mid-November, the British National Party's full membership list appeared online, identifying 13,500 people as supporters of the far-right organization. The list included names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses.

The Register has seen a version of the list that seems to include members up to September 2008. But the BNP has said the list dates between 30 November 2007 and 2 December 2007.

BNP leader Nick Griffin has also said that the list was leaked by a senior employee who left the party last year. ®

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