Jay Lee was a British National Party

British National Party

The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...

 (BNP) member, who fought a legal battle after being expelled from a trade union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

.

Lee, a driver for Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...

, stood as a BNP candidate in the 2002 local elections

United Kingdom local elections, 2002

Local elections took place in many parts of England on 2 May 2002. All London borough council seats were elected as well a third of the seats on each of the Metropolitan Boroughs. Many unitary Authorities and District councils also had elections...

 in Bexley

London Borough of Bexley

The London Borough of Bexley lies in south east Greater London, and is a borough referred to as part of Outer London. It has common borders with the London Borough of Bromley to the south, the London Borough of Greenwich to the west, across the River Thames to the north it borders the London...

 and was subsequently expelled from the train drivers' union ASLEF for BNP membership. In May 2003, an Employment Tribunal

Employment tribunal

Employment Tribunals are tribunal non-departmental public bodies in England and Wales and Scotland which have statutory jurisdiction to hear many kinds of disputes between employers and employees. The most common disputes are concerned with unfair dismissal, redundancy payments and employment...

 ruled that Lee had been wrongly expelled from the union, finding ASLEF had breached section 174 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act

Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992

The Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1992 is a UK Act of Parliament which regulates British labour law. The Act applies in full in England and Wales and in Scotland, and partially in Northern Ireland....

.

On 24 January 2004, the decision was overturned by an Employment Appeal Tribunal

Employment Appeal Tribunal

The Employment Appeal Tribunal is a tribunal non-departmental public body in England and Wales and Scotland, and is a superior court of record. Its primary role is to hear appeals from Employment Tribunals in England, Scotland and Wales...

, which referred the case back to a new tribunal. On 7 October 2004, the new tribunal ruled in Lee's favour, awarding him at least £5,000. Lee also sued for libel after he was described as a racist, seeking aggravated damages from two senior trade unionists and two journalists. In January 2006, ASLEF paid £30,000 in an out-of-court settlement to cover Lee's legal costs in the libel case, but Lee did not receive any personal damages.

ASLEF subsequently took the UK Government to the European Court of Human Rights

European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...

, claiming that UK law was in breach of Article 11 (freedom of assembly and association) of the European Convention on Human Rights

European Convention on Human Rights

The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...

. On 27 February 2007, the Court unanimously upheld ASLEF's claim that there had been a violation of the Convention and that ASLEF was entitled to expel Lee from the union.

Lee was represented at the Employment Tribunal by Lee Barnes (the BNP "legal officer") and in the libel case by Adrian Davies

Adrian Davies

Adrian Davies is a barrister and a member of Lincoln's Inn, London. He was formerly a solicitor with the magic circle firm, Slaughter and May...

.

Jay Lee left the BNP in 2010 due to disagreements with the Nick Griffin leadership. He had been a member for 18 years in total.

Elections contested

UK Parliament

Date of election	Constituency	Party	Votes	%
2005 general election United Kingdom general election, 2005 The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....	Bexleyheath and Crayford Bexleyheath and Crayford (UK Parliament constituency) -Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-See also:*List of Parliamentary constituencies in Greater London*David Evennett Wikipedia page**Howard Dawber Wikipedia page**-References:...	BNP British National Party The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...	1241	2.91

European Parliament elections

Year	Region	Party	Votes	%	Result	Notes
1999	Yorkshire and the Humber Yorkshire and the Humber (European Parliament constituency) Yorkshire and the Humber is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.- Boundaries :...	BNP British National Party The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...	8,911	1.2	Not elected	Multi-member constituency; party list
2004	London London (European Parliament constituency) London is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 8 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.- Boundaries :The constituency corresponds to Greater London, in the south east of the United Kingdom....	BNP British National Party The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...	76,152	4.0	Not-elected	Multi-member constituency; party list

External links

• European Court of Human Rights press release
• European Court of Human Rights full judgement