THE British National Party in Burnley today defended racist chanting at football matches and called for lifetime bans for the "offence" to be overturned.

The remarks were made by the town's BNP co-ordinator Steven Smith after the Burnley FC acted against 19 fans -- including two who sang racist songs -- for their behaviour last season.

His stance was condemned by local politicians, including Labour MP Peter Pike and racial equality campaigners, who welcomed the club's zero tolerance policy.

The BNP's three Burnley councillors were due to attend their first official function -- the town's mayor-making ceremony -- today and their full role on Burnley Council's committees will be revealed on Thursday night at the full council meeting.

Mr Smith, who was recently re-assigned his role after serving a six-month sentence for falsifying signatures on nomination papers in last June's county council elections, said the bans for racial chanting were "outrageous."

He said they were a gag on the freedom of people's speech and added: "Chanting songs and slogans, whether they be racist or not, is a natural part of football culture and in itself it is harmless.

"If people do chant racist songs then there is a reason for that and that needs to be looked at rather than punishing people with lifelong bans.

"People causing other offences such as running on the pitch and spoiling the game should perhaps be punished a little more severely because they are disrupting the game, but singing songs means nothing and some racist language has become part of our every day vocabulary.

"It will all backfire in due course.

To ban people from the ground for life is like using a sledge hammer to crack a nut. The bans should be overturned and the fans should be given a warning at the least if the club feel they have done something wrong.

"People's freedom of speech is slowly being taken away from them and these bans just go to show that. You can't even wave a Union Jack at a football match now because it is seen as racist."

The club has now issued 150 lifetime bans as the club tries to create a welcoming, family atmosphere. The latest were for offences including being drunk, assault and pitch invasion.

Mr Pike said: "I think Mr Smith's comments do not warrant responding to. The majority of Burnley fans support the club in its bold action not the BNP. Only a very small minority will have any sympathy with his views."

A spokesman for East Lancashire's Racial Equality Council said: "If people cannot show respect for other human beings while out in public then they deserve to be banned from somewhere they enjoy going. For somebody to say that racist comments should be accepted as part of our everyday life is ridiculous."

The Clarets' safety officer Alex Wood explained: "Things are very good at Turf Moor and have been for quite a while. We have a zero tolerance policy here that works very well and has done for many years.

"We want to create an atmosphere where families can come and have an enjoyable day out without having to put up with bad behaviour. If people think it is unfair to give out life bans then that is their opinion but we have our own rules and people coming to the ground have to stick to them and that is that."

Chief executive Andrew Watson added: "Life bans are something that our fans have demanded. If they are arrested, taken to trial and then convicted, that is it, they are banned for life."

Leader of Burnley Council Stuart Caddy said: "Football supporters should be able to go to a match and enjoy the football and not be subjected to racial abuse or have to listen to it being chanted on the terraces." Leader of Burnley's Liberal Democrats Roger Frost said: "The BNP have to accept what rules the club has."