“Members of my family spent 35 years in the British Army. They served proudly and this is a disgrace to their memory.”
Simon Darby, deputy leader of the BNP, said the party had every right to place wreathes wherever they wanted.
He said: “We have as much right to lay a wreath as anyone else.
“If we don’t lay a wreath we get criticised so we can’t win. Some of our policies are very popular with Sikhs.
“We don’t regard them as a threat - they are welcome to stay should they wish.”
Earlier this week BNP leader Nick Griffin MEP was accused of whipping up patriotism and support for his party when he joined mourners as the coffins of six British servicemen were presented through Wootton Bassett.
The Royal British Legion, which oversees the collection of wreathes for public remembrance services, said the BNP decoration had not been received by its staff and had been laid independently.
Mike Morris, county manager of the RBL in Birmingham, said: “As far as I’m aware they did not go through our secretary.
“We are not political animals, of course.
“Anybody is entitled to place a wreath - we do not police it.”
A spokesman for Birmingham City Council, which helped organise the ceremony, said: “Every member of the public is well within their right to lay a wreath as long as there is no offensive message.
“We would not want to turn it into politics - it distracts from the importance of the day.”
* A POPPY Appeal crook branded “despicable” by police has been jailed.
Repeat offender Darren Jones, aged 26, of Oak Lane, Chase Terrace, Burntwood, was sentenced to four months behind bars for the theft of charity collection boxes from his hometown.
Staffordshire Police say Jones stole three Poppy Appeal collection tins from various locations around the Burntwood area - just a short time after he had been released from a two month sentence for the same offence.
Inspector Kevin Mulligan, Neighbourhood Policing Commander for Burntwood, said: “I want people to know how seriously we take this kind of crime. Taking money from charities by theft or fraud is despicable, and the Poppy Appeal is so close to people’s hearts that this really touches a nerve.”
