The Independent and the BBC

I have always seen the Independent as a left-to far-left publication, not quite as an unhinged as the dreadful Guardian but still pickled in bias. So I was surprised to see the article, Coffee with Chuka Umunna is a step too far for Jeremy Corbyn, by one Flic Everett. She doesn’t seem to appreciate Corbyn much, with barbs like

….from the very beginning of the Brexit process, leader of the Opposition has behaved like a sulky teen forced to visit his nan

And

….Corbyn has fudged and dissembled, sniped and muttered, and divided his own party….

And

High principles that go unchallenged when you’re cycling round a few far-left meeting halls are not fit for purpose when you intend to run the country.

This made me recall that Dimbleby also doesn’t seem fond of Corbyn. He allowed questions quite critical of him on QT re anti-Semitism and refrained from jumping in and interrupting panelists who would also attack Corbyn.

As recently as the last QT, Fiona Bruce echoed Everett’s concerns by pointing out to the Labour guy that Corbyn had walked out of a meeting because Umunna was present.

This makes me wonder why Corbyn doesn’t get wholehearted support from these representatives of the left. Do they see him as the wrong leader to defeat the Tories because he is too far left?

What say you?

Midweek Open Thread 20 March 2019

Happy Equinox  .

The political trial of Tommy Robinson has been put back to May .. So this is how to repress a dissenting individual .

Even the Far Left State Broadcaster is unable to keep Project Fear nonsense up as remainers make Parliament look absurd every day .

In view of all of this I would like to thank you for the restraint in your comments which is a testimony to the quality of our site .

Tommy Robinson sues the police!

Update March 12: Ezra Levant is doing a fine job reporting from the trial on Twitter.

Yesterday, March 11th, Ezra Levant got an urgent request from his friend Tommy to hop over from Canada to London and then Peterborough to report on his suit against the police in civil court. It’s probably unnecessary since there are so many fair and impartial UK media people keen to report honestly on anything to do with Tommy Robinson. John Sweeney will most likely be the first one in court, representing that most-trusted broadcaster known as the BBC.

UK media will no doubt be appalled and outraged at the harassment of Tommy and his family by the Cambridgeshire police, and will therefore report on the trial in impeccable and comprehensive detail. But just to be sure, he wanted Ezra Levant with him for his input and support.

I suppose Ezra has already landed and has made his way to Peterborough for the beginning of proceedings at 10am. The exercise is costly and he has appealed for help. Info on developments can be found here and donations made for those able so to do.

Here’s Tommy from yesterday, discussing the issue.

Thanks to StewGreen and G.W.F. for providing links on the Open Thread.

To John Sweeney Cc BBC Panorama

Update March 11: I messed the links up on the initial post, but all links are fixed now

As a keen follower of Panodrama, I note you are suspected of being a bigot here and here, and a homophobe. I reserve judgement, because I think the remarks you made could be due simply to your rough Irish sense of humour rather than any real animosity towards these groups of people including your own. I also note that you strenuously denied these deficiencies of character and I’m inclined to believe you.

But you shouldn’t be surprised if people who are constantly judged and disparaged by the BBC simply for holding valid beliefs the BBC disapproves of should judge and disparage you after the unwitting revelations you made in Panodrama.

However, there are two extremely damaging revelations that cannot be debated or excused. The first is your hero-worship of the IRA’s Martin McGuinness and the second is the idea you came up with of sexualising a heated argument between Tommy Robinson and Lucy Brown, thereby potentially portraying Tommy as a sexual predator.

The working title of your Panorama is (or was) Tommy Takedown. It seems in order to facilitate this objective you worked closely with a violent, far-left outfit with the peculiar label of HopenotHate. Tommy Robinson confronted you several times with that allegation. You only responded near the end of the ‘interview’ with a partial admission that you have had some input from some people. Your ‘executive producer’ would also neither confirm nor deny the same allegation, saying only this is an ongoing documentary.

Apparently it is ongoing, since you were seen last week with far-left ‘activist’ Mike Stuchbery. Stuchbery was apparently responsible for sending a pack of five men (including a druggie, ‘journalists’ and a dog) to intimidate Tommy Robinson’s wife and children while he was out of the country.

It is unclear to me what kind of ‘Panorama’ you now intend to produce, or will be able to produce on Tommy Robinson. What would you call it – Post-Panodrama butt-covering exercise? Well over 10 000 people saw Panodrama on a giant screen outside BBC studios on February 23rd. And in just over two weeks, Panodrama has now been viewed on the Internet by millions of people in the UK and worldwide. Your reputation, along with that of the BBC, has been seriously damaged, perhaps irreversibly. Productions of Panorama will now be viewed by many with skepticism and a Panorama on Tommy Robinson will be regarded with raised eyebrows at best and ridicule of the BBC at worst.

However, there are steps you can take to regain some credibility. The first, and most obvious, is to tear Tommy Takedown up and throw it in the bin where it belongs. The second is to apologise unreservedly for the intended sexual slur against Tommy Robinson – a fraudulent claim which, as he said, could have ruined him. The third is to scout around for stories of interest to the general public – and not just the BBC elite and your fellow-travelers – and to tell them honestly and impartially. Don’t decide beforehand that you are going to take someone down and then scout around for ‘evidence’ to back your biased intention.

Here’s an idea: Facebook has banned Tommy Robinson, with no justification and out of narrow, left-wing spite and fear of Tommy’s numerous enemies. At the same time, Facebook allows terrorist organisations such as Hamas to incite murder against Jews on its platform, but immediately removed an account inciting murder against Palestinians. That account was created to test mark Zuckerberg’s alleged commitment to fair play. The Israel Law Centre, Shurat Hadin, sued Facebook (unsuccessfully) in 2016 in a New York court and is now suing Facebook again for a billion dollars.

This is a huge and complex story and worthy of the attention of a diligent investigative journalist such as John Ware, who unfortunately no longer does Panorama. Mr. Sweeney, I doubt you could as good a job as him but you could certainly try.

Oh, and one more thing: BBC, I realize this would be a drastic omission for you, but please stop plastering ‘Yaxley-Lennon’ over every story on Tommy Robinson. Everybody knows by now who he is and despite your efforts he will always be regarded as Tommy Robinson and admired and respected around the world for his courage and commitment in the face of evil.