BNP facing Marmite legal action

The manufacturer of Marmite has threatened to take legal action against the British National Party after an image of a jar of…

The manufacturer of Marmite has threatened to take legal action against the British National Party after an image of a jar of the spread was used without permission in a political broadcast.

The jar featured in the top left-hand corner of a BNP general election broadcast, in which party leader Nick Griffin discusses the terrible state of Britain. The video was hosted on the BNP's website.

Marmite's parent company, Unilever, released a statement today saying the BNP did not have permission to use an image of its product in a broadcast. "Neither Marmite nor any other Unilever brand are aligned to any political party," the company said.

"We are currently initiating injunction proceedings against the BNP to remove the Marmite jar from the online broadcast and prevent them from using it in future."

The cameo provoked mixed opinion from contributors to a messageboard beneath the video, with several posters calling for the logo to be ditched but others praising it as a "brilliant" way to attract publicity.

The broadcast, which is almost five minutes long and is still available on YouTube, begins with an air-raid siren followed by Mr Griffin telling viewers he will not flatter and deceive or promise everything to everyone.

A voice-over warns viewers that British people have become "second-class citizens", while footage of a woman in a burka walking towards a mosque is shown.

In a series of Twitter messages posted on the BNP website, Mr Griffin wrote: "Unilever PR men and lawyers all over us like a rash. Very upset at our using Marmite in our TV broadcast.

"They should have thought of that before modelling the one for their Hate Party on us.

"They'll be even more upset if they push us further and I start eating a jar of Marmite on my next live TV appearance."

Other Unilever brands include PG Tips, Knorr and Vaseline.

PA