I know this isn’t saying much, but Justin Webb on Today is a great improvement on Ed Stourton whom he replaced much to some people’s dismay. I thought he gave Gita Sahgal a fair hearing this morning, and it’s certainly encouraging that for once the BBC allowed someone to dislodge the halo surrounding Amnesty International.
If you haven’t been following the story, Ms Sahgal, a senior official at AI, became uneasy about Amnesty’s association with Moazzam Begg who heads the organization Cageprisoners that “ actively promotes Islamic Right ideas and individuals.”
So she wrote about her concerns to the Times.
“Within a few hours of the article being published Amnesty had suspended me from my job.”
The Today interview gave her the opportunity to express her point without the usual innuendos and interruptions. In My Humble Opinion. *And not a word from Widney Brown.
* H/T Hippiepooter
Update.
As you were!
I may have to take it all back.
Who had an exclusive platform for her rebuttal today? Why, Widney Brown.
But then… but then… did I detect a whiff of hostility in Justin’s tone?
Today R4. 8:46. (Link not up yet.)
Toady has a new slot , at about 06.40, they do a round up of all the press articles critical of the Tories . Its taken the place of what used to be the papers review.
The bbc, an utter f**king disgrace.
It’s good news that Justin Webb treated this matter as any impartial broadcaster in a free society should do, but these criticisms have been made by a huge number of people already and why has it taken Gita Saghal’s suspension to give the obscene scandal of AI promoting an Al Qa’eda front group the attention it deserves? Complete respect to M/s Saghal and her stance, but if she had been any other than a hard left, hardline feminist, would she have been able to have her say without constant harrying and haranguing?
Let us remember that the BBC is at the forefront of paying reverence to Al Qa’eda terrorist turned propagandist Moazzam Begg*. For once the BBC has chosen to facilitate free speech instead of facilitate terrorist black propaganda. One cheer. It should be the rule, not the exception.
hurryupharry.org has a litany of information day in day out on how Moazzam Begg’s allegiance to Al Qa’eda is patently obvious even to a blind monkey.
http://www.hurryupharry.org/index.php?s=moazzam+begg
Moazzam Begg is extremely adept at the black arts of deceit and manipulation (although the free ride he’s given by the fawning BBC et al doesn’t exactly make it difficult for him), but it doesn’t alter the fact he is Scumbag #1.
Anyone up for a ‘Send Mo back to Guantanamo’ campaign?
*’Moazzam Begg’. No doubt in Arabic this translates as ‘makes them beg .. before cutting their heads off’.
I’d find it hard to believe that Justin Webb is an improvement on anybody, having seen his performance from America. It is easy enough for the BBC to let this woman have her say as she is the type they approve of: from the right sort of organisation with, generally, the right sort of social /political stances and causes, and from the right sort of ethnicity. Easy peasy for them to let her have her say. She isn’t an English non-lefty politician or thinker.
Yes but they could have had an opposing view, say a spokesperson from their beloved AI or Mr. Begg. I’m sure one of these would have been willing to come on and discredit Gita.
I presume the decision to have her on by herself was down to the producer, not Webb, but I still thought he gave her a fair hearing, and asked the appropriate questions. I admit it’s not hard to improve on Ed Stourton on this type of issue.
Wouldn’t it be weird if the BBC started being impartial? We’d have nothing to do. After all, we’re probably ”just an echo chamber with self selected blowhards not shifting an inch from our comfort zone and being lulled by the repetition of opinions identical to our own” (Comment by Jon d, Re. Bloggin’ – but also sounds rather like the BBC)
Justin was well on message with this earlier item from today’s programme “The British Academy has written a letter to the Queen suggesting that she demand a monthly brief from ministers in order to prevent a future economic catastrophe.”
Justin’s line was c. “The Queen, wtf has she got to do with anything in this day & age?” BBC favorite Peter Henessey had to be risking his future appearance fees by declaring himself a monarchist.
Ken Livingturd, why does the BBC treat him like a queen as well? OK he is a queen I know.
Its only fair that Witless Brown had an exclusive rebuttal when Gita Saghal had an exclusive attack. If it is true that a tone of disapproval creeped into Justin Webb’s voice, well, we must all rejoice that there is hope for him! I look forward to the link Sue.
The thing with the BBC’s duty to impartiality is that it exists to facilitate democratic debate. The BBC should not be impartial with people beyond the democratic pale who would destroy our freedom if they could. Make ’em Begg should receive hostile treatment. The evidence is overwhelming that he is way beyond the democratic pale and over the other side of the hill and the ones after that.
When a group like Amnesty International gives a propaganda platform to a Jihadi Terrorist AI should get a very brisk grilling. The trouble is, that today most people working in BBC News & Current Affairs are beyond the democratic pale themselves, in the cases of Humphrys, Naughtie and Paxman, at least the other side of one hill.
Here’s the link
Thanks for that Sue. I think tyrannies the world over would have learnt a lot from AI’s Widney Brown: We can’t discuss why we have imprisoned so and so due to issues of their confidentiality.
What a complete weasal.
The issue which Justin Webb failed to put to Widney Brown is that AI can defend Moazzam Begg’s human rights if they think that’s necessary but shouldn’t share a platform with someone whose views are diametrically opposed to human rights. It gives the impression that the whole reason AI focussed on the likes of Moazzem Begg and Guantanamo in the first place was just as a black propaganda exercise against the United States.
Not points a BBC journalist would make though. If they truly swam in the democratic sea they would do.
It wasn’t exactly a brisk grilling. Or any type of grilling. Just a whiff of disapproval. But I might have imagined it.