Author Archives: Laban

Rod Liddle lays into his former employers for their left-wing bias in this Sunday Times piece, which was inspired by the BBC’s affectionate look at what their senior people used to get up to thirty years ago. Read the whole thing.

In fairness it must be said that Liddle himself was a paragon of political correctness during his time at the BBC.

An example of the sort of thing Liddle means is this 2002 edition of the Radio Four series ‘Crossing Continents’, about Italy. Although the website features Mussolini, the first half of the programme (RealAudio) is taken up with a discussion of “how the radical left is responding to the Berlusconi government“, in which a succession of far-lefties are given an incredibly easy, even supportive ride by reporter Rosie Goldsmith.

Two things stand out about this section. The obvious one is that it’s almost impossible to imagine a BBC programme on how, say, the “radical right” in the UK were responding to the Blair administration. Any such programme on the “right” could only be couched in terms of “threat” or “the ominous rise of …”.

The second is an almost unbelievable omission. One of the responses of the “radical left” to the Berlusconi government was the murder of a government adviser, Marco Biagi, by the Red Brigades. Incredibly, the murder does not get a mention.

Just say that a couple of years into the Blair administration, some neo-Nazi group like Combat 18 had shot a Blair adviser. Can you imagine the BBC running a programme on the response of the “radical right” which passed the killing by? I can’t either.

on the “United against Incitement and Islamophobia” rally planned for Trafalgar Square today.

“The rally … has been organised by the Muslim Council of Britain, the Muslim Association of Britain and a number of Christian organisations.”

Well, yes. Two minor inaccuracies and a curious omission. According to main organisers the Muslim Association of Britain and the Islamic Forum of Europe, the MCB are ‘supporters’, not organisers.

Secondly the ‘number of Christian organisations’ appears to be one – Pax Christi, a ‘peace group’ wholly focused on Palestine and the Middle East.

(UPDATE – I’m sure their presence is nothing to do with the fact that a trustee of their educational arm, Norman Kember, is currently an enforced guest of the Swords of Truth Brigade in Iraq. Hat-tip to Rick in the comments).

The curious omission? The appearance of the Socialist Workers Party front the Stop the War Coalition, or the state-funded Operation Black Vote is not unexpected. But surely the fact that the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament considers the suppression of cartoons of Mohammmed a part of its campaigning work is newsworthy? I’d have asked them for an interview.

UPDATE – just a thought. Has the BBC website not realised yet that the cartoons were published in Egypt last October? I can’t see the story anywhere.

There is more coverage of the BBCs Religion and Ethics webpage (as mentioned in Will Wyatt’s letter and Andrew’s related post below) at the Telegraph and Eursoc.

Here are the relevant web pages for the Prophet and the Prince of Peace. Make up your own minds.

Stephen Pollard takes issue with a Michael Buchanan piece – which has since been stealth-edited.

As for the idea that, All the Danes can do now is hope the repeated apologies for the offence caused, by both the government and the newspaper, will end this unseemly row, has a sentence more indicative of the BBC world view ever been written? Take a running jump, Mr Buchanan. So much for the BBC as a stout defender of free speech.

but they are chary of showing even a picture of the cartoons in a newspaper.

At Harry’s Place a commenter notes that BBC television news

showed the cover and inside pages of France Soir newspaper (where various cartoons of Mohammed are reproduced) but did so in a ludicrous, semi-blacked out style thereby preventing viewers seeing what the fuss is about. Treating satirical cartoons as if they were pornography is disgraceful. The BBC (rightly) wouldn’t hesitate to show clips from Jerry Springer: the Opera – indeed they broadcast the whole thing. Tonight BBC News demonstrated cowardly, one-eyed pandering to an aggressive lobby group.

notes that the Today programme item (RealAudio) on the French women’s movement Ni Putes Ni Soumises treads carefully round one aspect of oppression.

whether this piece, on the withdrawal from the party leadership contest of Liberal Democrat MP Mark Oaten, says more about the BBC or the Liberal Democrats.

In Parliament since 1997, Mr Oaten is seen as being to the right of many in the party, having promoted a law and order policy of “tough liberalism”.

Mr Oaten has campaigned for prisoners to be given the vote, a policy which his then leader confirmed would apply to child murderers.

He also believes that the best way to punish car thieves is to give them go-karting lessons.

Do the BBC have a very distorted view of what a tough law and order policy looks like ?

Or are they accurately reporting the current political spectrum in the Liberal Democrats ?

If the latter, the BBC should be reporting on what the ‘left’ candidates’ policies are. A law and order policy to the left of Mr Oaten is surely newsworthy.

I’ve always said that the BBC are neutral betwen Tories and Labour – they’re happy to attack the Tories (from the left) or Labour (from the left).

Good to hear this from ex-BBC business editor, Jeff Randall.

But surely the BBC’s journalists give the government a hard time?

‘They attack Labour ministers, but usually for not being sufficiently left-wing.’

On the BBC and immigration :

‘Whenever we had an anti-immigration interviewee, it was a Nazi with a tattoo on his face who looked like he’d just bitten the head off a cat. I pointed out that it’s the white working class who have to make immigration work. Immigrants don’t move to Hampstead, mate’.

It’s this mindset which gives us “the self-styled Migrationwatch pressure group” – a prefix more usually applied to comedy terrorists – or Tories.

and on BBC bias :

‘It’s not a conspiracy. It’s visceral. They think they are on the middle ground’

says Mark Holland, in a piece on the new Channel 4 (non-BBC) output which takes a sideswipe at BBC ‘comedy’ (which on Radio Four means Jeremy Hardy, Mark Steel and a host of public-school lefties, one of whom must be called Sally for some reason).

These days we all know how to read between the lines, Pravda style, during any BBC news broadcasts we’re unlucky enough to catch. On the radio mostly. But it’s getting that way with the Radio Times too. One only has to spot a few tell tale keywords in the listings to know that a cavalcade of cobblers is looming onto the broadcasting horizon. ‘Satire’ is the big one for me. Take the BBC4’s The Late Edition;

Marcus Brigstocke hosts BBC FOUR’s studio audience comedy show, a riotous half hour of intelligent satire and debate with contributions from leading comedy writers. Strong language..

If Roy Castle were to rise from the dead in an effort to discover just how many George Bush is thick “jokes” it’s possible to squeeze into the back of 28 minutes of air time it just might be worth bothering to tune in. Otherwise forget it.

the humour of the late left-wing Labour MP Tony Banks, “known for acid tongue and sharp wit“, who “will be remembered for his hilarious insults“

“Tory MP, Terry Dicks, was dismissed as “living proof that a pig’s bladder on the end of a stick can be elected to Parliament”.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats were “woolly-hatted, muesli-eating, Tory lick-spittles”.”

Just let me pick myself up off the floor – that is so funny. And so original.

Although the BBC don’t tell us his brilliant follow-up to the ‘foetus‘ jibe.

“I bet a lot of Tory MPs wish they hadn’t voted against abortion“

First Ronnie Barker. Then Richard Pryor.

Now, as the BBC remind us, another comic genius has left us.