Questions

Sarah Smith (face visible)

The other discussion on the Boris/burqa issue on Today this morning was conducted by Sarah Smith, formerly of The Sunday Politics.

It was a slightly embarrassing interview to listen to because it became evident that Sarah, unlike many of us, hadn't been keeping abreast of the story and was severely under-prepared. She'd clearly not been paying attention to social media and certainly hadn't read Guido Fawkes or the Spectator's Steerpike - and others - who spent a lot of time yesterday unearthing examples of similar or 'even worse' jokes and comments about burqas from the BBC, the Guardian and various politicians from Emily Thornberry to Ken Clarke. Sarah was interviewing Andrew Bridgen MP and Mohammed Amin, chairman of the Conservative Muslim Forum and ended up getting herself into a right mess. She allowed a highly clued-up Mr Bridgen (who'd evidently read and remembered the whole lot!) to run rings around her somewhat.

Here's a brief flavour of it - unfortunately lacking the tone of Sarah Smith's voice, which made it sound as if every example Mr Bridgen gave had come as a surprise to her:

Sarah Smith: Andrew Bridgen, should Boris Johnson apologise if only to put this row to bed? It's been a week now that it's been dominating the news. That must be very concerning for you and the party?
Andrew Bridgen: Well, that's self-perpetuating, and this is nothing about what what Boris Johnson said. What we do know now is that it's about Boris Johnson. Far worse or far more inflammatory remarks with regard to the burka and niqab have been said by celebrities on the BBC on Have I Got News For You, Polly Toynbee has written about it in the Guardian, the Guardian have written about it, Emily Thornbury has spoken about it, Ken Clarke spoke about it, no outcry at all. This is actually about diminishing, humiliating Boris Johnson because he's seen as a political threat by those on the Left and those in the Conservative Party at the moment and, unfortunately, it is the Muslim community who have been caught up as a stick to beat Boris Johnson with. And that's all it's about.
Sarah Smith: Lots of people of course have talked about the niqab but they haven't used language like letter boxes or bank robbers. That's what people object to.
Andrew Bridgen: Well, Paul Merton and Ian Hislop on on Have I Got News For You...
Sarah Smith:... are not senior politicians.
Andrew Bridgen: Polly Toynbee, your darling political commentator, wrote some quite explosive comments in the Guardian about it a few years ago...
Sarah Smith: Again, it's not an elected representative. You've just heard Mohammed Amin say...
Andrew Bridgen: What about Ken Clarke? Where was the...? What about Emily Thornberry, who was actually the shadow for Boris Johnson before he resigned as Foreign Secretary. She said she wouldn't have someone in a burqa looking after her four-year-old daughter, she wouldn't have someone in a burqa look after elderly mother and the only job they should be doing is in the backroom of hospital looking after the records, but no-one batted an eye because this isn't about Islamophobia or anything else. This is about attacking Boris Johnson because he seems a political threat and it's a stick to beat him with in the silly season. And this story would have died if Brandon Lewis hadn't sent that tweet out 24 hours after the article had been written, and then the Prime Minister waded in, and it has been as Jacob Rees Mogg said tremendously badly handled. If that's what you want to believe it is actually just a stick to beat Boris Johnson with.

And forgetting that Mr Bridgen had already talked about Labour's Emily Thornberry at some length earlier and apparently not noticing that he'd just done so again, just look at her interruption here:

Andrew Bridgen: But where was the outcry when Emily Thornberry said what she said live on the BBC on Question Time? Ken Clarke made his remarks in a BBC interview. Anna Soubry supported Ken Clarke's remarks on a panel...
Sarah Smith: Andrew Bridgen, simply saying that other senior Conservative politicians have made similar remarks doesn't necessarily defend the party from the accusations of Islamophobia?
Andrew Bridgen: I'm pointing out the huge hypocrisy we're seeing here. There's one rule for everybody else and there's one rule for Boris Johnson, and that's not fair. 

Her questions to both guests will now be listed in full. I think, like Mishal Husain two days earlier, Sarah Smith asked mostly helpful, almost leading questions to Mr Amin. Mr Bridgen, in contrast got the rough end of the stick, and even had to listen to the other guest get asked, "Mohammed Amin, do you worry that Andrew Bridgen and possibly other MPs like him don't understand the problems you see in the perceptions of the Conservative Party?"

Anyhow, here are the questions (in order):


To Mohammed Amin, chairman of the Conservative Muslim Forum:

• Mohammed Amin, does this row show us that the party has a wider problem with Islamophobia and that this isn't just about comments made by the former Foreign Secretary?
• And do you think that situation could be improved if Boris Johnson apologised for the comments he made in the Daily Telegraph earlier this week?

To Andrew Bridgen MP:

• Andrew Bridgen, should Boris Johnson apologise if only to put this row to bed? It's been a week now that it's been dominating the news. That must be very concerning for you and the party?
• Lots of people of course have talked about the niqab but they haven't used language like letter boxes or bank robbers. That's what people object to.
• [Paul Merton and Ian Hislop]... are not senior politicians. 
• [Polly Toynbee] Again, it's not an elected representative. You've just heard Mohammed Amin say...
• But you've just heard Mohammed Amin, chairman of the Conservative Muslim Forum, say that he goes around the country and talk to voters who think the Conservative Party is anti-Muslim.

To Mohammed Amin, chairman of the Conservative Muslim Forum:

• Mohammed Amin, do you worry that Andrew Bridgen and possibly other MPs like him don't understand the problems you see in the perceptions of the Conservative Party?
• Except, of course, the article was actually talking about him supporting the right of women to wear the niqab and saying he didn't agree with the policies in other countries that have banned it.

To Andrew Bridgen MP:

• Andrew Bridgen, simply saying that other senior Conservative politicians have made similar remarks doesn't necessarily defend the party from the accusations of Islamophobia?
• He could put an end to this by apologising. He's been asked to by the party chairman and the Prime Minister. 
• (To Mr Bridgen's question "Why should he?"). Because it would do less damage to the Conservative Party arguably if he simply apologised and his row went away?

To Mohammed Amin, chairman of the Conservative Muslim Forum:

• Mohammed Amin, what we have seen - as well as the comments made by Boris Johnson this week - is the Prime Minister and the party chairman saying they believe he should apologise for this. Does that not show you that the Conservative Party takes this issue very seriously, all the way right up to the top?