RIGHT-WING extremists say they will "certainly" be standing for election in York in May.

The British National Party have been leafleting homes across the city, and say they are planning to field several candidates in the forthcoming City of York Council elections.

A local member of the party, which is led nationally by Nick Griffin, claimed they had a strong backing in the city, but the mainstream parties and anti-fascist groups condemned them, and said the people of York would not tolerate their racism.

Current council leader Steve Galloway said: "York has got a relatively sophisticated electorate and I do not think they are likely to take seriously a party which seeks to demonise migrants and blame them for the problems of the world. In York, we have always had a more mature political debate than that, and I do not expect them to feature prominently in the election campaign."

He said he knew of the BNP leafleting in Westfield and Acomb, but said it seemed uncoordinated and wasn't being taken seriously. He said he wouldn't be surprised if they stood, but said he would be surprised if they polled more than a hundred or so votes.

Ben Drake, of the York branch of Unite Against Fascism, said he was aware the BNP had been leafleting lately. He said: "I think the vast majority of people in York reject the unpleasant and racist politics of the BNP. We are confident that there would be broad support against them."

The BNP's Yorkshire secretary, Ian Dawson, said: "We will certainly be standing in the elections in May, without a doubt. At the moment, we are generally leafleting across the city in various parts. It has no real bearing on where we will stand."

He claimed: "We are doing fantastically well in York. We have one of the fastest growing groups here."

Some of the recent leaflets refer solely to national issues and situations, but one, entitled York Patriot, refers specifically to York. It said the city could become "another Leeds or Bradford" and called on people to fight "to keep the country free."

Heworth councillor Ruth Potter said the BNP regularly leafleted round the mosque in Hull Road ward, but seemed to have been doing so more widely lately.

It will not be known which parties are standing in which wards until election nominations close on April 4.

Extremists make their demands

The BNP's poison "York Patriot" newsletter includes a string of extremist demands, including:* Use "ethnic profiling" so police search people from minority groups instead of those who are clearly "native British".

* Stop immigration from Muslim countries.

* Ban the Burqa.

* Deport illegal immigrants immediately.

* Remove Islamists from "sensitive positions" - including studying chemistry, biology and computer communications, or jobs which offer access to installations such as water treatment plants and aeroplanes "before they launch a terrorist spectacular".