BNP on the BBC

12 Oct 2009 | Uncategorized

“Would the BBC allow any other party’s spin doctors to appear anonymously?” asks Peter Hain in the Guardian, referring to the BNP’s “director of publicity” Mark Collett being introduced in an interview on Radio 1’s Newsbeat as merely “BNP supporter Mark”.

Well, yes. Yes they would. In 2006, the Today programme allowed Abu Izzadeen, a senior member of far-right Jihadist group al Muhajiroun a lengthy interview without identifying his senior status in the group. In fact, they went one better and neglected to mention he was a member of any group at all, allowing him to rant about Muslim anger without once questioning his credentials in speaking for Muslims. Izzadeen’s al Muhajiroun friend Anjem Choudary also frequently appears on BBC programmes. Bear in mind no one has ever voted for al Muhajiroun:the group believes democracy is blasphemous, and do their best to stop people voting.

Anyway, back to Peter Hain’s argument:

Furthermore, there is a distinction between those who have voted for the BNP and the party itself. In June, at the European election that triggered this BBC decision, many voted for the BNP as a protest against the mainstream parties at the height of the MPs’ expenses scandal. Few of these voters would recognise, still less endorse, the BNP’s virulent racism and its discriminatory policy towards black people, Muslims and Jews in Britain. The number of people in the UK who accept the racist and fascist agenda of the BNP must be far less than 1% of the population and there is no justification for giving them such an important platform.

I hate to say it, but I think Peter Hain’s one per cent is extremely optimistic. And if Hain is claiming that people vote for the BNP without knowing what they stand for, isn’t it better that the party be challenged in a public forum such as Question Time?

The new free expression debates

9 Oct 2009 | Uncategorized

On the morning of Monday 12 October, Index on Censorship will be teaming up with Policy Exchange and Google to discuss free expression and the Internet. Later that day, Liberty and Index on Censorship will stage Protest! an exciting event encouraging students to exercise their right to free speech, with special guest Sir Hugh Orde, head of the Association of Chief Police Officers

Why, people might sensibly ask, is Index on Censorship engaging with one of the world’s leading technology corporations and one of Britain’s top police chiefs? The answer is because we no longer see free expression only through the traditional prism of outright state censorship of or violence against writers and journalists.
(more…)

The Forsyth saga

9 Oct 2009 | Uncategorized

Was it entirely necessary for Bruce Forsyth to prolong the agonies of Strictly Come Dancing’s racism row? Well, no. Anton Du Beke said Lailla Rouass looked like a “Paki” . Anton Du Beke apologised. The apology was generally accepted. Show goes on. But Forsyth felt it necessary to weigh in. Somewhat ironically stating “I’m sure there was nothing vindictive about what he said…the page should be closed on it,” Forsyth then went on to say that in our land of “extraordinary political correctness” we should “keep things in perspective”.

On this, perhaps, Brucie has a point. But it’s his own intervention that has stretched this argument out for another day. There may be no such thing as bad publicity, and it’s true that Strictly has made the front pages of a fair few newspapers this morning. But one can’t help feel that a controversy like this is not really what people want from such a well, wholesome show.

Meanwhile, in a land of slightly less extraordinary political correctness: