|PIC1|The British National Party has denied being racist after one of its senior figures called the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, an "ambitious African" and “anti-British”.

Simon Darby, the deputy leader of the BNP said that the Ugandan-born Archbishop had no right to preach to British people and suggested that Ugandans were likely to kill outspoken foreigners with spears.

Mr Darby made his comments in a number of interviews and on his online blog after Dr Sentamu slammed BNP claims of a “bloodless genocide” taking place among native Britons and refuted the party’s claim that black and Asian people were not British.

In a blog entry dated April 23, Mr Darby wrote: “As if the responsibilities of being the Archbishop of York were not enough, the ambitious African has apparently used his power and influence to kindly bestow upon the world the right to be English.”

He continued, “If I went to Uganda and I went to a Ugandan village and said that the people there were genetic mongrels and that they had no right to their Ugandan identity I would be pocking out spears for days.”

He also described the Archbishop as a “professional anti-British zealot” and said he was “derogatory, condescending and arrogant”.

Mr Darby defended his comments, saying: “I stand by my quotes – I don’t see how that is offensive or racist. It can be twisted or distorted to look that way, but what I am saying is factual. There are lots of indigenous people there (in Uganda) and in the bush they have spears – that is their lifestyle.

“I am not implying that all Ugandan people use spears at all. I was speaking specifically about the indigenous people. The spear is an integral part of their culture and lifestyle.

“I wouldn’t dream of denying Ugandan tribespeople their identity, but the contrast is that that is what he (Dr Sentamu) is doing. If I went there and preached to those indigenous people in the same way that Sentamu does to us, then I’d be attacked.

“If I was derogatory, condescending and arrogant – because that’s what John Sentamu is – I would be attacked. And rightly so.”

The Archbishop of York was one of the few leading figures of the Church of England to promote the celebration of the day of St George, England’s patron saint. He has also called for the formation of a new strong English identity and warned that failure to do so could lead to Islamic and political extremists taking a greater hold on society.