London - The controversial leader of the far-right British National Party (BNP) and recently-elected member of the European Parliament has caused a stir by suggesting that boats carrying illegal immigrants from Africa to Europe should be sunk. Nick Griffin, in an interview with the BBC, measures to prevent the illegal immigration of large numbers of people from sub-Saharan Africa arriving by sea would have to "get very tough."
"Frankly, they need to sink several of those boats," he said.
Griffin then explained: "I didn't say anyone should be murdered at sea - I say boats should be sunk, they can throw them a life raft and they can go back to Libya."
"... Europe has sooner or later to close its borders or its simply going to be swamped by the Third World," he added.
The BNP won two seats in the recent European Parliament election.
An estimated 37,000 Africans have made the voyage across the Mediterranean to Italy via Libya in the past year.
