Billy Brit Explained

Billy Brit is a puppet character who has been used in YouTube videos by the youth wing of the British National Party.[1]

In one of the videos, titled "Heroes", the character recites a poem extolling a series of British figures: Boudicca, Edward I, William Shakespeare, Isaac Newton, Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, Captain Scott, Enoch Powell and Nick Griffin. Every verse except for the one on Griffin ends with a statement that the individual was white.

The "Heroes" video was criticised by Hari Kunzru of The Guardian.[2] An episode of Have I Got News for You played a clip containing the Boudicca verse, prompting Stuart Maconie to jokingly comment "Pixar have gone really downhill, haven't they?".[3]

The puppet itself was not commissioned by the BNP but was, in fact, a standard puppet bought off-the-shelf.[4]

References

  1. News: 10 things you should know about the BNP when you watch Question Time tonight - The Independent . 2010-08-03 . London . Cahal . Milmo . Kevin . Rawlinson . 2009-10-22.
  2. News: BNP puppets are not the real threat - The Guardian . 2010-08-03 . London . Hari . Kunzru . 2009-05-30.
  3. Episode 5, series 37. Have I Got News for You. BBC One. 22 May 2009.
  4. News: Meet the new Billy Brit . 2011-05-27 . 2009-05-27.