Scott Campbell

(from Blithering Bunny)

Watching BBC 2’s Kilroy: Behind the Tan. In an act of questionable judgement, Kilroy, it seems, has been letting a camera crew follow him around for a long time. The producer, who was constantly asking him questions, clearly sounded unsympathetic. So why did Kilroy do it? Surely he knew that it was a hatchet job in the making?

And hatchet job it was, although everyone involved did their best to look like an idiot.

Kilroy said that Afghans were Arabs, in public. The producer or commentator said “It’s not the sort of mistake a politican can afford to make”. But of course they can, if they’re a BBC-approved Labour politican. It wouldn’t even be reported. It’s just the sort of mistake someone on the right cannot make.

The producer also seemed to think there was something hypocritical in Kilroy claiming that he wanted more openness in politics because he prevented the camera crew from filming some UKIP strategy meetings. Maybe, but it’s not internal strategy meetings that the public want access to, is it?

It seems to be another example of the BBC trying to discredit Euroskepticism by focusing on the silly personalities of some Euroskeptics. I don’t deny that it’s legitimate for the BBC to run shows that focus on political personalities – it’s good to see these people up close, and it’s partly their fault if they look foolish (for whatever sins go on in the editing room, they provided the material). But how about a serious look at the EU for a change?