Twenty-one people in the borough have been publicly revealed as members of the far-right British National Party on a leaked listed posted on the internet.
They are among thousands of members nationally whose details including addresses, telephone numbers and personal information such as hobbies were published on the web on Wednesday.
Among them was a St Leonards man who, along with his wife, has be
en a BNP member for six years.
"I have no reason to be ashamed of being in the BNP but this was a breach of privacy," he said.
"There is a lot of misinformation about the party - it is not extreme, it is a common sense party."
But a Hastings man named on the list told the Observer he has never been a BNP member, although he had expressed an interest in the party.
"Whoever put this list on the net needs to be arrested," he said.
Another alleged member from the town whose personal details were divulged denied any connections with the BNP, adding: "I have no interest in any political party."
BNP area organiser Nick Prince said it was thought only seven people out of the national rollcall of more than 12,000 members published had been added incorrectly and were not members.
He said a former senior party member was thought to be responsible for leaking the information which was a year old.
"We apologise for any difficulties people have encountered as a result of their details being made public," he added.
A couple of distressed members had contacted him following the leak on Wednesday but no-one in the area had suffered job difficulties in the aftermath, said Mr Prince.
Nationally, police officers and prison staff, whose work contracts forbid them from being members of the BNP, were exposed on the list as well as soldiers and teachers.
Merseyside Police are investigating whether one of its officers is a BNP member after he was named, because the party was "totally incompatible with the duties and values of the police service".
BNP leader Nick Griffin has demanded a police investigation into the leak, which he blamed on "a disgraceful act of treachery" by disaffected ex-party officials.
The party said it had obtained an injunction banning any publication of the list.
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