Caveat emptor

Today's Daily Mirror reveals that Julian Leppert, a BNP councillor in Redbridge, north east London, has a car with a number plate that somehow feels quite appropriate:

A senior BNP member has caused outrage - by driving a car with a number plate that looks like "Nazi".

British National Party councillor Julian Leppert has angered political rivals by turning up for meetings in his black Ford Focus, registration NA51 ZCY.

And they are now demanding that Leppert, 41, a councillor in Hainault, East London, removes it at once.

Opposition councillor Veronica Cole said`: "When I first saw the number plate on his car I couldn't believe my eyes. It is sickening and appalling.

"It beggars belief that even a BNP councillor could think this kind of behaviour is acceptable."

 But, Leppert explained, the fact that a councillor for the far right party has a number plate that looks like "Nazi" is entirely coincidental:

Yesterday Leppert said he had decided to sell the car but denied choosing the registration deliberately.

He said: "This isn't a personalised number plate. I needed to buy a car in a hurry a couple of years ago and found one for sale online. The number plate was blacked out so it wasn't until I arrived to pay that I saw it.

"Had I known I would probably never have bought it. I am planning to sell the car now as the other councillors seem to want to make a political point. I find that pretty cheap."