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The Question Time British National Party controversy follows an invitation by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to the far-right British National Party (BNP) leader Nick Griffin to be a panellist on Question Time, one of its flagship current affairs television programmes. Griffin appeared on the 22 October 2009 edition.

This was the first time the BNP had been represented on the programme. The decision to include Griffin sparked public and political debate in the United Kingdom.

At the heart of the matter was the BBC's public broadcasting mandate, which requires it to give equal prominence to political parties above a given level of representation. Mark Thompson, Director-General of the BBC, defended the BBC's decision to invite Griffin. Writing in The Guardian, he said:

"Question Time is an opportunity for the British public to put questions to politicians of every ideological hue. Politicians from the UK's biggest parties appear most frequently, but from time to time representatives of parties with many fewer supporters – from the Scottish Socialists and Respect to the Green party – also take their seats on the stage. Question Time is the most prominent programme of its kind on British television, and we carefully study the support gained in elections by each of the parties, large and small, before deciding who to invite and how frequently they should appear.'

He went on to add:

'It is a straightforward matter of fact that, with some 6% of the vote and the election of two MEPs in this spring's European elections – and with some success in local elections as well – the BNP has demonstrated a level of support that would normally lead to an occasional invitation to join the panel on Question Time. It is for that reason – not for some misguided desire to be controversial, but for that reason alone – that the invitation has been extended."

A late appeal was made to the BBC Trust, the BBC's governing body, by Welsh Secretary Peter Hain, to have the appearance blocked, which ultimately failed.

As the programme was due to go to air, public protests took place at BBC Television Centre in London.

The programme, pre-recorded and broadcast on the same night, featured Griffin alongside a panel consisting of the United Kingdom Secretary of State for Justice, Jack Straw MP, the Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion Baroness Warsi, the Liberal Democrats Home Affairs spokesperson Chris Huhne MP and writer/playwright Bonnie Greer.

The edition was watched by over 8 million people, over half the total audience share, and over double the previous record high for Question Time.

Background

Question Time

Question Time is the flagship BBC Television political panel show, which began in 1979.

British National Party

The British National Party (BNP) is a "far right" minority party in British politics founded by John Tyndall in 1982 and now represented by the present chairman, Nick Griffin.

Run-up to the broadcast

The BNP won 940,000 votes and two seats in the UK's 2009 European Parliament elections held in June, when a total of 72 seats were contested. Griffin was elected as one of the eight MEPs in the North West England constituency.

The BNP polled 6.2% of the national vote of 15,625,823 (from an electorate of 45,315,669), making it the sixth ranked party, behind the Conservatives (27.7%), United Kingdom Independence Party (16.5%), Labour (the incumbent party of the UK government) (15.7%), Liberal Democrats (13.7%) and the Green Party (8.6%). The result represented a 1.3 percentage point increase on their previous performance.

Before Question Time, Griffin was on other BBC shows, including The Andrew Marr Show on BBC One and on The World at One on BBC Radio 4. No BNP representative had ever appeared on Question Time before, but with evidence of increased electoral support at a national level, the BBC felt that the party was now of sufficient public interest to take part on the show. In an article for the Guardian entitled 'Keeping Nick Griffin off air is a job for parliament, not the BBC', Mark Thompson, the Director-General of the BBC, examined the BBC's reasoning: :

"Question Time is an opportunity for the British public to put questions to politicians of every ideological hue. Politicians from the UK's biggest parties appear most frequently, but from time to time representatives of parties with many fewer supporters – from the Scottish Socialists and Respect to the Green party – also take their seats on the stage. Question Time is the most prominent programme of its kind on British television, and we carefully study the support gained in elections by each of the parties, large and small, before deciding who to invite and how frequently they should appear.'

He went on to add:

'It is a straightforward matter of fact that, with some 6% of the vote and the election of two MEPs in this spring's European elections – and with some success in local elections as well – the BNP has demonstrated a level of support that would normally lead to an occasional invitation to join the panel on Question Time. It is for that reason – not for some misguided desire to be controversial, but for that reason alone – that the invitation has been extended."

The BBC Deputy Director General Mark Byford also defended the decision on the day of the programme, stating:

"They should have the right to be heard, be challenged, and for the public who take part in Question Time and the viewers to make up their own minds about the views of the BNP. It's not for the BBC to censor and say they can't be on".

Broadcasting unions said some of its members would protest at the invitation. However, the senior BBC presenter and journalist John Humphrys said that it was "absolutely right to invite the BNP on to Question Time. Why should we be afraid of what they have to say? Free speech is the issue here, and the BBC's obligations."

UK parliamentary party reactions

The policy of the Labour Party never to share a platform with the BNP was changed following the BBC's invitation to Griffin. Labour said that future appearances were to be on a "case by case" basis. On 27 September 2009, the Secretary of State for Justice Jack Straw announced he would appear on the programme, following the announcement that the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats would take part in any edition of Question Time that featured the BNP. Straw said:

"Wherever we have had BNP problems in my area and when we have fought them hard, we've pulled back and won the seats back...We've got to make the argument for people and I am delighted to do so."

Speaking on the Question Time episode on Thursday 15 October, the week before the expected appearance by Griffin, panel guest and British Home Secretary Alan Johnson condemned the decision of the BBC:

There isn't a constitutional obligation to appear on Question Time. That gives a legitimacy they do not deserve. These people believe in the things that the fascists believed in the Second World War, they believe in what the National Front believe in. They believe in the purity of the Aryan race. It is a foul and despicable party.

The British Prime Minister and UK Labour Party leader Gordon Brown said he would not interfere with the BBC's decision. He continued:

"If on Question Time, they are asked about their racist and bigoted views that are damaging to good community relations, it will be a good opportunity to expose what they are about".

When pressed on the reversal of Labour's 'No Platform' policy, Brown said "The issue is: should we have someone there? Jack Straw is a very experienced person who has had to deal with the BNP and their awful politics over a period of time".

Conservative leader David Cameron said the BBC decision reminded him of Gerry Adams' invitation to speak at the Union during the 1980s when he was at Oxford: "It makes me uneasy. I don't think the BBC should have done it."

The Conservative panel member, Baroness Warsi, a British Muslim from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire – a town with reportedly the biggest BNP vote in Britain – stated "I want to ask Nick Griffin what about me isn't British". Liberal Democrat panel member Chris Huhne, in consultation with party leader Nick Clegg, decided that given the BBC's decision to invite Griffin, he had no choice but to attend. He said that "...Thursday night's excitement would not have been called off just because the Liberal Democrats decided not to participate."

Reactions

In an editorial on 15 October 2009, The Guardian newspaper said: "The BNP is no normal party – yet by inviting it on to Question Time, the BBC runs the risk of normalising it". It also stated that it would give the BNP "its best-ever platform for its poisonous politics".

Jim Shields, associate professor in French Studies at Warwick University, stated that the appearance would be "a real milestone" in Griffin's acceptability. Professor Ted Cantle, an academic commissioned by the Government to investigate the 2001 race riots said a "more sophisticated approach" to the far right was required, believing that "reasoned arguments to defeat them" were needed.

A protest rally by Unite Against Fascism was held in London on the night of Tuesday 20 October. Anti-fascist group Searchlight, said that entry level for inclusion on BBC programmes should be "election to the national parliament". Muhammad Abdul Bari, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain said of the invitation, "We regret the BBC's decision. There is a general fear that allowing the BNP to air its toxic views will increase Islamophobia and give the BNP the aura of respectability needed to spread its message of hate".

On 21 October, blogging for The Wall Street Journal, Iain Martin opined that the appearance on Question Time signalled that the mainstream political parties in Britain had "badly let down their fellow Britons...by setting narrow terms for the national debate which exclude the concerns of millions of voters and force them out on to the fringes". The issue of Griffin's upcoming appearance was the headline story on BBC Two's Newsnight programme on the night before the appearance, in a segment on social decline in Britain and the perceived failings of the major parties.

On the morning of the programme, The Times said that the BBC were right to offer the invitation, but that the panel must ensure that the issue of Griffin's appearance was not allowed to dominate the programme, and that "the panel and David Dimbleby should nevertheless make sure that they are well briefed on Mr Griffin’s many unsavoury comments on topics such as immigration". Richard Preston, blogging for British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, played down fears over Griffin's appearance, on the one hand dismissing its importance by comparison to past infrequent Question Time panellists such as the comedians Eddie Izzard, Norman Pace and Jim Davidson, and musician Alex James, while also expressing confidence that the hour-long show and David Dimbleby would provide enough scrutiny to expose Griffin if he was a 'lightweight' or a 'bluffer'. Preston said that "if emerges from tonight’s hour-long programme, in which a trio of mainstream politicians really ought to be able to take him apart, without looking at least mildly unhinged, then Britain truly does have problems."

Speaking on the day of the programme, former Labour Mayor of London Ken Livingstone said that the BBC would "bear moral responsibility" for any rise in racist attacks in Britain. Labour MP Diane Abbott, believed that the appearance of Griffin would signal the BNP was part of the political mainstream in the same way that her appearance on Question Time in 1987 had signalled black people's acceptance as part of the mainstream. She said: "it's not a programme that's going to scrutinise his views, it's not that sort of programme, it's politics as entertainment".

Appeal to the BBC Trust

A late attempt to stop the programme came from Peter Hain, the Welsh Secretary and Labour MP for Neath, who accused the BBC of being "apologists" for the BNP and making "one of the biggest mistakes in its proud history". After failing to persuade BBC Director General Mark Thompson to stop the appearance, Hain and another member of the public, appealed to the BBC Trust. Hain appealed on the basis that the appearance might be illegal due to the prior court ruling that the BNP's membership criteria were discriminatory. On the night of Tuesday 20 October, the Trust announced it was forming a special emergency ad hoc committee to examine the appeals, comprising three trustees chaired by Richard Tait. Late on the 21st, the day before the programme was due to be made, the Trust cleared Griffin to appear on the show, declaring that the issue of his appearance was a question of editorial judgment. It also ruled that, given the pre-recorded nature of the show, many of the concerns were hypothetical and premature. The Trust declined further comment, in case of an appeal of the decision after the show:

We have concluded that the decision as to whether it is appropriate in all the circumstances for the BBC to allow the BNP to participate on Question Time is a question of editorial judgment, which the charter and framework agreement reserve for the Director-General

We have written to the Director-General asking him to engage personally to ensure that the broadcast programme complies with the general law, the BBC's editorial guidelines and all other regulatory requirements.

The committee is aware of the debate and public controversy on this issue and that this is a matter of considerable importance to many licence fee payers.

Broadcast

Panel

With the final participant announced as Baroness Warsi on 15 October, the panel for the 22 October edition of Question Time consisted of:

• Nick Griffin, British National Party MEP for North West England and BNP Leader
• Jack Straw, Labour MP for Blackburn and United Kingdom Justice Secretary
• Baroness Warsi, Conservative Life Peer of the House of Lords and Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion and Social Action
• Chris Huhne, Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh and Home Affairs spokesperson
• Bonnie Greer, writer and playwright

Recording

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Demonstrations were planned during the show. Amid concern over safety of residents, Hammersmith and Fulham council, in whose borough the show was shot, requested clarification over the BBC's security arrangements, and asked that they consider an alternative location. Protest organisers denied suggestions that the protests would be violent. Increased security was planned at BBC Television Centre in London on the night of the programme. Extra officers of the Metropolitan Police were to be drafted in to maintain order outside the studios, while the BBC recruited an extra 60 security guards for inside the studio. Griffin expressed fears over his safety regarding protection arrangements for his arrival and departure.

The audience was expected to number 200 people and was to be arranged to comprise a broad spectrum of political views, including BNP supporters and left-wing groups. David Dimbleby, according to one of their number said to the audience as they went into the studio that 'the nation is going to be watching, and they will be looking for you to speak for them'.

In normal Question Time practice, the show was pre-recorded in the studio beforehand, before being broadcast later that same night. The filming of the 22 October edition was however due to be brought forward two hours from the usual 8.30pm start time, to begin at 6.30pm (BST), to allow for any disruption. The show was broadcast on BBC One at 10.35pm (BST) (11.05pm on BBC One Wales).

Protesters began gathering outside Television Centre by mid-afternoon of the day of the programme. Protests also took place outside BBC buildings in Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, Nottingham and Belfast. Simon Darby of the BNP stated there would be no counter-demonstration. Sixteen coachloads of UAF protesters were expected to attend. Early protesters chanted, "Build a bonfire, build a bonfire, put Nick Griffin on the top, put the Nazis in the middle, and burn the fucking lot". By 4.30pm (BST) police estimated there were 500 protesters, and 25 people had already been dragged out of Television Centre after breaking through a cordon and rushing into the main entrance, resulting in three arrests. Between 25 to 30 protesters reportedly managed to reach the stage door inside the BBC reception area. Around 40 people had made a dash for an iron gate that had been left open, necessitating the calling in of police reinforcements. After the breach, protesters hoped to prevent Griffin entering the studios by blocking Wood Lane, but he arrived at 5.17pm unnoticed and entered on foot through a rear entrance on Frithville Road. The protesters were eventually reported to number around 600. Due to the various protests, London Television Centre and other BBC buildings around the country were 'locked down', preventing staff entering or leaving for their own safety until the protesters dispersed. People with tickets for other shows at Television Centre, such as Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (recorded Thursdays), had to be turned away due to the protests. Six people were arrested during the protests, reportedly for "offences including violent disorder, causing actual bodily harm, assault of a police officer and a person wanted on warrant". Three police officers were injured, but did not require hospital treatment.

Filming started shortly before 7.00pm after delays, and ended at around 8.30pm. Griffin left the building 10 minutes later. The first question asked was, "Given what the UK has fought for during World War Two, is it fair that the BNP hijacked Winston Churchill?" Audience members inside the studios used Twitter on their mobile phones to relay live information about the recording's progress. James Lyons, political correspondent for the Daily Mirror, relayed that the mood in the studio turned from anger to mockery of Griffin.

After filming and before broadcast, a BBC spokesperson stated that a wide range of issues had been covered and that "the programme will demonstrate that the audience were able to provide strong scrutiny of all the panel members and what they stand for. A full audience attended the making of the programme and there were no protests in the studio," although one audience member suggested that there had been a "half dozen" BNP members in the studio shouting encouragement to Griffin.

Questions

Five debate topics were initiated from audience questions during the programme: the BNP's campaign symbols, Islam, Immigration policy, Jan Moir and finally, the show itself.

The first three topic starting questions were as follows (with notes detailing the approximate time into the broadcast the question occurred, the first panelist directed to respond to it by the moderator, and any background information to the question):

• Given that the Second World War was fueled by the need to disarm oppressive and racist regimes, is it fair that the BNP has hijacked Churchill as its own?. (1 minute in, Jack Straw.) Regarding the BNP's use of images of Winston Churchill, the British wartime Prime Minister, in its recent European election campaign.

• Why is Islam a "wicked and vicious" faith?" (21, Nick Griffin.) Directed to Nick Griffin, the question was in reference to a quotation attributed to him.

• Can the recent success of the BNP be explained by the misguided immigration policy of the government? (27, Jack Straw.)

After these first three questions, which focused more or less on the policies and positions of the BNP, Dimbleby declared that "I'm going to move on now, because believe it or not we've only got under ten minutes left, and I didn't want this whole programme to be about the BNP", and introduced the next question, which was:

• Should the Daily Mail have published the Jan Moir article on Stephen Gately? (50, Bonnie Greer.) Referencing a recent newspaper article written by Daily Mail columnist Jan Moir about the recent death of the former Boyzone bandmember Stephen Gately, which sparked record complaints to the Press Complaints Commission.

After that fourth question, and reflecting on the controversy surrounding the BBC's decision to allow Griffin onto the programme, Dimbleby announced that "We're coming towards the end of the programme, we've only got a few minutes left, I want to go back to this programme itself, and whether this programme was the right programme for Question Time to put on", and introduced the fifth and final question, which was:

• Might this programme be viewed as an early Christmas present for the BNP?" (58, Chris Huhne.) In reference to the prior comments of Peter Hain after the ruling of the BBC Trust that the programme could go ahead would represent "an early Christmas present" for the BNP.

Viewing figures

Question Time had recently recorded its highest ever audience figure in its 30-year history on its Thursday 14 May 2009 edition, when 3.8 million watched in the wake of the MPs' expenses scandal. The Guardian had estimated the BNP might attract an audience of '3 million or so'.

The programme was watched by over 8 million people, the highest number of viewers in the 30-year history of Question Time, and nearly triple the programme's normal audience of two to three million, representing over 50% of the total audience share on the night. This eclipsed previous record of 30% share achieved for the broadcast on 14 May 2009. The Nick Griffin edition squeezed the audience of Newsnight (BBC Two) to 300,000 viewers compared to its normal 700,000 to 1 million, while a repeat showing of Piers Morgan's Life Stories on ITV1 attracted 700,000 viewers, a 5% share. The Times noted that audience figures for the late night politics show had exceeded the weekly total for the BBC's prime time Strictly Come Dancing Saturday night entertainment show.

Reception

Public comments

Both the BBC and its independent regulator Ofcom had expected a 'barrage' of complaints over the programme, but Ofcom reported having received a "small number of complaints" about the programme by the following day, understood to be fewer than 100. By noon on Friday 23 October, the BBC had received 416 calls about the show, 243 complaining of bias in the programme against Griffin, while 114 people complained about Griffin being allowed to appear, and 59 people supported the move. The main complaints were reported to be that the programme had overly focused on the BNP, becoming the 'Nick Griffin show'. Ofcom was considering whether a formal investigation was warranted under the broadcast code section on harm and offence.

The Guardian described the Have Your Say Question Time online internet forums as being "filled with comments supporting Griffin and attacking the BBC, the other panellists and the anti-fascist demonstrators outside Television Centre".

Panel view

Jack Straw described Nick Griffin as a "fantasising conspiracy theorist with some very unpleasant views and no moral compass. But now that he has been exposed for what he is it is time to move on."

Baroness Warsi said Griffin was "...very much exposed for the man that he is. When he was questioned on his views his face of extremism was exposed. He was given an opportunity to explain some of his policies and he couldn't".

Chris Huhne said, "This is a person who comes from a fascist background; anyone who watches the programme will see exactly what he stands for."

Bonnie Greer said Griffin had been "totally trounced" on the show, and that sitting next to Griffin had been "probably the weirdest and most creepy experience of my life".

Griffin described the experience as a "lynch mob" because the choice of London made it hostile territory; he complained that he had not had a chance to speak on current events such as the postal strikes. "Millions of people are angry about the way I was treated," he declared. Griffin stated to the Associated Press that he had "been able to land a few punches of my own," and was relatively pleased with it. He further claimed that the appearance had secured the BNP's place on the national stage, like a kind of "boy scout's badge".

BNP view

On 23 October, the day after the broadcast, Griffin announced he would be lodging a formal complaint over the programme, over its undue focus on BNP issues rather than topical subjects, and over the unfair ethnic composition of the studio audience due to it being hosted in London. Griffin stated, "There is not much support for me there , because the place is dominated by ethnic minorities. There is an ethnic minority that supports me: the English. But there's not many of them left." At the time of the programme the BNP held one seat on the London Assembly and council seats in four London boroughs, including being the second party in Barking and Dagenham. The BNP were also going to file a Freedom of Information Request to the BBC to determine the decision-making process behind hosting the programme in London, and in allowing the debate to focus on the BNP, arguing that criticism of the BNP had dominated the whole programme.

Griffin dismissed criticism of his performance on the panel, saying "people who have always been against the BNP will say that I couldn't answer some things", and he was of the opinion that he had been shown "extraordinary hostility" by the main political parties, but that he was happy having done his best. Griffin was also of the opinion that he was representing the alternative option, stating "I can see that millions of people who don't usually watch Question Time will remember what I've said and think that's how they feel and I'm perfectly happy with that." Griffin believed he would be allowed on Question Time again, but was hoping this would occur in a more favourable area. A party spokesperson suggested "a more balanced programme" would be possible if the programme were re-run in an area of BNP support, such as the North West.

The BNP claimed 3,000 people had expressed an interest on their website in joining the party once their recruitment freeze was lifted, which according to a party spokesperson would represent nearly a 30% increase in membership. The BNP also claimed that it had received thousands of pounds in donations.

Other reactions and analyses

The programme was headline news in several of the early Friday paper editions of the British press, from the tabloids to the broadsheets. Tabloid headlines included such examples as "Bigot at Bay" (Daily Mail) and "When Auntie Met Nazi" (The Sun), while broadsheets featured examples such as "Hostile reception for Griffin" (The Times) and "Griffin's baptism of fire at the BBC" (The Independent).

Immediately after the show, The Independent declared that Griffin had "choked" on the oxygen of publicity given him by the BBC. The Times described Griffin as having been "caught in TV's glare", subjected to a "hostile hour-long grilling". The Guardian however was of the opinion that, while Griffin was jeered and attacked and "often looked just plain shifty", he made no major gaffes and would thus think of it as a success. After rating the panel's performance as "flawed", and after some questions on the night went unanswered or were avoided by Griffin, it concluded that it "was the audience that came out best from the evening". The fact that four out of the five question topics on the night were BNP-related was criticised by some who believed it would allow Griffin to claim 'victimisation', although the BBC were reported to be 'delighted' with the strategy, which, according to The Times, was arranged to ensure it could not be said that Griffin received an "easy ride".

Welsh Secretary Peter Hain, who had appealed to the BBC Trust to have Griffin's appearance prevented, continued his attack on the decision, stating that "our black, Muslim and Jewish citizens will sleep much less easily now the BBC has legitimised the BNP by treating its racist poison as the views of just another mainstream political party when it is so uniquely evil and dangerous". David Lammy, one of Britain's first black ministers, feared that people would face violence as a result of the programme. Former Home Secretary and Labour MP for Sheffield Brightside David Blunkett attacked the invitation decision; he said the way in which BBC News at Six covered it was "a deliberate promotion of their own publicity-seeking decision", opining that "the only people who have benefited from this row are the BNP and the BBC's Question Time ratings". French far-right leader and MEP Jean-Marie Le Pen, whose rise in support following a similar appearance on French television (on L'Heure de vérité) had been compared to Griffin's appearance beforehand, called the attempts to prevent it "scandalous", and predicted it would lead to a similar rise in BNP support. The Conservative Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, responded to Griffin's complaints about the location by defending London's diversity, urging residents to "reject their narrow, extremist and offensive views at every opportunity". Anshel Pfeffer, commenting for Israeli newspaper Haaretz, while noting the relative silence of UK Jewish groups over the BNP appearance, praised the BBC's decision to give the BNP a voice, stating, "The BBC is right to have Griffin and other racists on its most respectable shows; it is wrong to apologize. By doing so it is simply fulfilling its democratic and journalistic duties." He compared and contrasted this with Israeli freedom-of-speech laws, and questioned whether Hitler could have risen to power in modern times given the media's scrutiny of democratic politicians.

The Independent analysed a selection of Griffin's actual statements on the programme: his stance on Holocaust denial, his opinions of Winston Churchill, his raising of Jack Straw's father's wartime imprisonment as a conscientious objector, the current stance of the BNP on racism and anti-Semitism, his comments on Islam, his concept of an 'aboriginal' people on 'this island' of English, Scots, Irish and Welsh, his claim of 84% popular support for the BNP immigration policy, his relationship with American white nationalist David Duke, the BNP's criminals and bogus asylum seekers deportation policy, and his claim of being prevented by European (German and French) law from explaining on the programme some of his changes of position regarding Holocaust denial.

The Guardian selected a spontaneous joke about the South Pole made by audience member Khush Klare as the "undoubted highlight", having raised the loudest cheer from the audience. Klare, the son of Indian parents who emigrated to Britain in the 1960s, had initially asked Griffin, "Where would you like to me go?" in reference to his immigration policies. In a subsequent comment, he suggested a whip-round (collection of money) for Griffin to be deported to the South Pole, as "it's a colourless landscape that will suit you fine". Klare said that whilst he did not think so at first, in retrospect he thought that Question Time was the right platform for Griffin. The journal said that after initial satisfaction with the outcome, "some senior BBC sources conceded that an overwhelmingly hostile panel and audience might have allowed Nick Griffin, the British National party leader, to burnish his credentials as an outsider who the political establishment would like to gag."

The Times newspaper analysed the broadcast footage, determining that the cameras spent 38% of the screen time either on Griffin or a "two-shot" with him and another panellist, equating to "nearly 25 minutes" of the hour-long programme.

In an interview in News Of The World, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, spoke out against Griffin's claims that he was representing "Christian Britain" and called on Christians to "stand shoulder to shoulder" in rejecting the British National Party.

BBC view

BBC Deputy Director General Mark Byford stated after the programme that "members of the audience asked the kind of tough questions that mark Question Time out as the premier television programme where the public put the panellists on the spot." In defence of criticism of the format and focus of the programme, Byford stated that "the agenda of the programme was set by the audience's own questions". Byford also said of the comments that "clearly Mr Griffin and the BNP were the subject of intense questioning, but all the panellists were given the opportunity to respond and to have their voices heard".

The BBC was subject to criticism from some of its own staff, as broadcaster Sue MacGregor that the show "gave the impression of attack dogs against Nick Griffin", and another presenter called it a "bear pit". Sir Christopher Bland, former chairman of the BBC's board of governors, said, however, that had the BBC not changed the format, the corporation would have likely have been accused of leniency.

People who complained about the BBC's treatment of Griffin during the show received this email in response:

Thanks for your e-mail regarding 'Question Time' broadcast on 22 October.

As ever, this edition of 'Question Time' saw tough questioning from the studio audience and chairman David Dimbleby, putting all the panellists on the spot on a range of subjects.

As with every edition of 'Question Time', the audience themselves wrote the questions and therefore guided the topics chosen.

The audience was, as always, selected to reflect a variety of backgrounds and a broad range of views right across the political spectrum and included supporters of the BNP.

Clearly Mr Griffin himself and the British National Party were the subject of intense questioning, but all the panellists were given the opportunity to respond to the points raised and to have their voices heard thus allowing audiences to come to form their own views.

Thanks again for taking the time to contact us with your concerns.

Regards

BBC Complaints

While the letter claims the audience was selected to reflect a variety of backgrounds, analysis of it shows that it contained 24.6% non-whites; in the 2001 census, Britain was 92.1% white (7.6% listed as non-white), and is currently predicted widely to be approximately 9.2% non-white, and so the audience did not accurately reflect a demographic spread.

On 23 October the BBC said it was "too early" to confirm how much more airtime would be given to the BNP in the future; The Times reported on 24 October that the BBC had "no plans" to feature Griffin on Question Time before the next general election.

BBC World to Canada

BBC World television showed the programme in place of the scheduled Doha Debates on the BBC World service to Canada at 0010 PDT (0710 UTC). The hour-long time slot was led by 10 minutes of news/weather/etc so it was expected that some of the original programme would be lost. There were five topical questions (as listed above) asked by members the studio audience in the original broadcast, of which one, the fourth, "Should the Daily Mail have published the Jan Moir article on Stephen Gately? was not broadcast by BBC World. This question and its discussion were omitted from the BBC World broadcast.

See also

• BBC controversies
• Criticism of the BBC
• Far right in the United Kingdom
• Immigration to the United Kingdom since 1922
• List of political parties in the United Kingdom
• List of Question Time episodes
• Politics of the United Kingdom
• Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom
• Racism in the United Kingdom

Footnotes

1. "Keeping Nick Griffin off air is a job for parliament, not the BBC." Thompson, Mark. (2009, Oct 21) Guardian.
2. ^ Telegraph, 21 October 2009
3. ^ BBC News, 8 June 2009
4. ^ The Daily Telegraph, 22 October 2009
5. Keeping Nick Griffin off air is a job for parliament, not the BBC." Thompson, Mark. (2009, Oct 21) Guardian.
6. ^ BBC News, 22 October 2009
7. ^ The Times, 21 October 2009
8. ^ BBC News, 27 September 2009
9. The Guardian, 16 October 2009
10. ^ The Independent, 22 October 2009
11. ^ The Times, 17 October 2009
12. The Guardian, 20 October 2009
13. ^ The Guardian, 15 October 2009
14. ^ The Daily Telegraph, 21 October 2009
15. ^ The Daily Telegraph,
16. ^ The Independent, 15 October 2009
17. Wall Street Journal, 21 October 2009
18. The Times, 22 October 2009
19. The Times, 14 October 2009
20. ^ The Guardian, 23 October 2009
21. ^ The Guardian, 22 October 2009
22. BBC News, 22 October 2009
23. BBC News, 22 October 2009
24. ^ The Times, 22 October 2009
25. ^ The Daily Telegraph, 22 October 2009
26. ^ The Guardian, 23 October 2009
27. ^ The Guardian, 22 October 2009
28. ^ The Guardian, 22 October 2009
29. The Guardian, 16 October 2009
30. ^ Daily Mail, 15 May 2009
31. ^ The Times, 23 October 2009
32. ^ The Guardian, 23 October 2009
33. ^ The Times, 23 October 2009
34. ^ The Guardian, 23 October 2009
35. The Guardian, 23 October 2009
36. ^ The Guardian, 23 October 2009
37. ^ The Daily Telegraph, 23 October 2009
38. ^ The Times, 24 October 2009
39. ^ Associated Press, 22 October 2009
40. ^ BBC News, 22 October 2009
41. The Independent, 23 October 2009
42. ^ The Times, 23 October 2009
43. ^ The Guardian, 23 October 2009
44. Haaretz, 23 October 2009
45. The Independent, 24 October 2009
46. Carey rejects BNP Christian claim, BBC News, accessed 25/10/2009
47. Chris Hastings (2009-10-25). "BNP revolt at BBC". The Times. Retrieved 2009-10-25. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

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Further reading

• Who’s who on the Question Time panel
• Profile: Nick Griffin
• How Europe's media treat the far right

External links

• Question Time
• British National Party

• 2009 in British television
• BBC television programmes
• British National Party