BNP leader: Sink African migrants' boats.

BOATS carrying migrants from Africa to Europe should be sunk to stop Europe being "swamped by the Third World", British National Party leader Nick Griffin said yesterday.

Mr Griffin, one of two members of the extreme-right party elected to the European Parliament last month, said occupants of sunk boats could be given life rafts to get back to Africa.

Nearly 37,000 immigrants, many from Egypt and SubSaharan Africa, arrived in Italy by sea last year from Libya, which has become a major staging post.

Mr Griffin said he would back the creation of an oceangoing force to block the Mediterranean routen but called for tougher measures to be introduced.

"Frankly, they need to sink several of those boats," he said.

CAPTION(S):

BNP Leader Nick Griffin: They can throw them a life raft and they can go back to Libya