The disturbing case of long-serving Bradford magistrate William Stanley, whose name was yesterday linked with the British National Party in a Commons question from Bradford North MP Terry Rooney, raises some important and worrying issues.

If Mr Stanley does indeed have strong connections with the BNP and therefore supports its view of the world, there has to be an in-depth investigation by the Bradford bench into his record. It surely must be impossible for anyone to dispense justice impartially if he is associated with the sort of prejudices embraced by this appalling party.

Any member of the ethnic minorities who appears before a bench of which he is a member will never be able to know if the judgement handed down is based on the crime or on the colour of the accused's skin.

It is no argument to suggest that if members of the BNP are to be debarred from sitting as magistrates then so should members of the Labour, Conservative, Lib-Dem or Green parties. The undercover BBC documentary The Secret Agent made it clear that the BNP is a racist party embracing policies and attitudes which have no place in a democratic society. It is an outlaw party which cannot be regarded in the same way as other parties.

It is vital that the situation is looked at swiftly, closely and openly to restore confidence in the system. At a time when the Lord Chancellor's office is trying to recruit more magistrates from the ethnic minorities, many might feel uncomfortable about the possibility of finding themselves sharing a bench with someone steeped in the BNP's abhorrent philosophy.