Look of ‘pure evil’ in bulging eyes of Lee Rigby’s ‘killer’

The Times (online) is leading tonight with the latest news from the second day of the trial of Adebolajo and Adebowale:

Look of ‘pure evil’ in bulging eyes of Lee Rigby’s ‘killer’:

One of the killers of Fusilier Lee Rigby had a look of “pure evil” in his bulging eyes as he threatened a couple who tried to help the fallen soldier, a witness told the Old Bailey today . Cheralee Armstrong said that she and her partner, James Henegan, drove past the scene of what appeared to be a road accident in Woolwich, South London, on May 22 this year. Only when they stopped and stared at what was happening did they realise that a man was being repeatedly stabbed by two attackers as he lay on the pavement beside a crashed car. 

The same story is the second item on the Sky News website:

Woolwich Witness Describes 'Look Of Pure Evil'

Witnesses tell the Old Bailey that they feared for their lives and they pleaded with the attackers not to kill soldier Lee Rigby.

Witness Cheralee Armstrong said in a statement to the Old Bailey that there was "pure evil" in one of the knifemen's eyes, and that she thought she would die.

At first she thought they were trying to help the soldier after a road accident, but then saw that they were stabbing and hacking at him, the court heard.

ITV News, which is providing full updates from the trial as it proceeds, also makes this its second story:

Graphic accounts of Rigby death

The widow of soldier Lee Rigby left court in tears today as jurors heard eyewitness accounts of how he was run over and attacked with a meat cleaver and knives. Suspects Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale deny murder.

ITV News also reports Miss Armstrong and Mr Henegan's graphic testimony in some detail; indeed, ITV's online coverage is excellent.

BBC News Online, in contrast, has relegated the story to one of its small print items, headlined in a restrained fashion:

Man pleaded 'do not kill' Rigby

The BBC chooses to focus on a very different angle to the story:

A witness pleaded with two men not to kill soldier Lee Rigby shortly before they allegedly attacked him with knives, the Old Bailey has heard.

In a written statement, Saraj Miah said one of the men had pointed a gun at him when he appealed to them to spare the soldier.

In a case that has aroused deep concerns and considerable anger about Muslim extremism, the BBC's online team seems to have chosen to emphasize the one angle from today's proceedings which offers a more positive take on Muslim behaviour - the bravery of a Muslim witness.

Given the BBC's track record at massaging stories in this way, that is likely to have been a highly conscious editorially-driven decision - in other words, they had a purpose in making this the main part of their article.

It might also be suspected that the decision to keep the story lower down their running order is a highly conscious one too.

The testimony of  Miss Armstrong and Mr Henegan is reduced to a single, short paragraph where Miss Armstrong is quoted as saying that Adebolajo was "almost showing off" - which is hardly the essence of her testimony.

Indeed, the whole BBC article seems sanitised when set against those of ITV, Sky and The Times. 

I doubt I'm alone in having had worries about the way the BBC would report this trial, due to its hyper-sensitivity towards the feelings of the Muslim community. It looks as if those fears could be beginning to be realised. 

It is really to be hoped that the BBC's reporting of the trial doesn't continue in this way.