Row costs Hardy his gig

Jeremy Hardy has been banned from performing in Burnley – for saying British National Party supporters should be 'shot in the head'.

The far-right group claim that ‘several thousand’ of its supporters complained over comments the left-wing comic made on his Radio 4 show.

And they had campaigned that because of the offence caused, he should be banned from the council-run Burney Mechanics – in the same way Bernard Manning had previously been blackballed.

Burnley Borough Council, which has six BNP councillors, cancelled Hardy's November 30 gig, but insisted their decision was not political.

The row stems from a comment on Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation in September, when the comedian told listeners "If you just took everyone from the BNP and everyone who votes for them and shot them in the back of the head, there would be a brighter future for us all."

Following a campaign to mobilise supporters against Hardy, a spokesman for the BNP said: “The BBC have been inundated with complaints about these comments which Hardy tried to pass off as comedy.

And BNP activist John Cave wrote a letter to the Burnley Express saying: "In the past artistes have been rejected on the grounds they may cause offence to some members of our community. Does the management of the Mechanics not consider the thousands of people in this town who voted BNP will not be offended by their promotion of this man's opinions?

"Considering the BBC has upheld the objections they have received regarding the comments of Mr Hardy on its programme, would it not be prudent for the Mechanics to withdraw its invitation to this pseudo-comedian and so avoid any similar embarrassment?"

A spokesman for Burnley Borough Council where the BNP has six councillors said: "The decision was taken after our attention was drawn to controversial, unsavoury comments made by Mr Hardy on his national radio show which raised certain concerns."

“We recognise Mr Hardy's right to voice his sometimes controversial views and the role of satire in his act. However, as a result of his comments, we do not the feel the event will be a night of comedy, and that the performance has the potential to be disruptive.

"The decision was not taken on any political grounds."

In May 2003 council officials pulled the plug on Bernard Manning's performance at Burnley Mechanics for fear of causing offence.

Published: 2 Nov 2004