It's some four hours now since the Daily Mirror posted an article headlined:
Watford bomb scare: 'Suspicious item' detonated in town centre as 'white man in burka arrested'
Within an hour the Independent and Guardian followed, though with less revealing headlines;
Watford bomb scare: Man arrested as experts explode 'suspicious package'
Man arrested in Watford after bomb squad destroys suspicious package
Also around three hours ago, the London Evening Standard went with:
Watford bomb scare: 'Burka-clad' man carrying Peppa Pig rucksack held after army blows up 'device'
Metro came in around two hours ago with:
‘White man in burka arrested’ following bomb scare in Watford
...around the same time that Sky News ran the headline:
Man Dressed In Burka Arrested Over Bomb Scare
The ITV News website published this soon after:
Man in niqab, carrying Peppa Pig rucksack, led away in handcuffs after bomb scare
The Daily Mail arrived next with:
'Burka-clad white man' is arrested after police detonate suspect package in Watford town centre
And the Daily Express published the story around an hour ago:
'White man wearing burka' arrested after 'bomb' found in town centre
Despite being the nation's public service broadcaster, the BBC News website hasn't yet reported this story. (Even the regional section for London and the South East on the BBC website doesn't feature it yet.)
This is a pattern we've become well used to with stories like this.
This is a pattern we've become well used to with stories like this.
When it does get round to reporting it (as it will eventually), will the BBC take the Guardian and Independent's route and try to downplay the 'burka'/'niqab' element of the story in the interests of social cohesion (if there's no white far-right connection), lest lots of people start saying the burka should be banned perhaps?
