The BBC goes Fox hunting

As a blogger, I sometimes feel as if I'm dancing in the dark (hopefully with Monica from Friends) when it comes to the BBC.

What on earth is going on here?...

Actor turned politician turned London mayoral contender Laurence Fox tweeted this today:

Dear Rebecca Cafe from the BBC. Regulations aren’t imposed under the coronavirus act, but the public health act, and thank god we don’t live in a country where the prime minister makes the law. I’m not going anywhere. Kind regards. 

He was responding to this from BBC online reporter Rebecca Cafe, sent by her to someone:

So many questions: 

• Is Laurence right or wrong about the regulations? 
• If he's wrong, will his opponents - including the BBC - succeed in getting him barred from contesting the London mayoral election, or even arrested? 
• Who was Rebecca of the BBC sending this to? 
• How did Laurence come across it? 
• And would the 'impartial' BBC ever pursue such an investigation against someone who didn't offend them politically?

Characters

Twitter folk will twitter. 

It follows actor Laurence Fox posting an image of the BBC's LGBT correspondent Ben Hunte and saying, “So glad I’m not paying for this anymore”:

Ben Hunte, BBC: My family and I have been sent racist and homophobic abuse following the below screenshot of me being posted. I am fine - but I will let the police take over. If you disagree with my job, or with the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines, or with wider LGBT-related decisions I am not involved in, please do not contact my family with hate. Please use the BBC’s complaints process. I am doing my job to the best of my abilities. I am proud of being a journalist and so grateful to those who share their experiences with me. Thank you ♥.

Laurence Fox, actor: Hey Ben, saddened to hear you have had abuse. It’s horrible and I know exactly how you feel. My view is that the BBC is increasingly identitarian and divisive and should be defunded. I believe in people, not acronyms. Loz x #DefundTheBBC

John Simpson, BBC: Deeply depressing that my excellent colleague, the BBC’s LGBT correspondent Ben Hunte, should have received racist and homophobic abuse in the wake of an unpleasant tweet by Laurence Fox which talked about 'defunding' the BBC. Fox should know better.

Laurence Fox: Hey John. Nice to meet you. Do you believe the BBC should have a dedicated LGBTQ correspondent? Where do you stand on safe spaces for biological females? Do you have a position on trans children? Really interested to have a discussion. 

Adrian Hilton, academic: Deeply distressing that [another] Laurence Fox should be on the end of abuse, reproof and damnation in the wake of this mistaken tweet by John Simpson News, which presumably was meant to target [actor] Laurence Fox. Simpson should be more careful.  

John Simpson:  Apologies to the Laurence Fox I tagged — turns out he wasn’t the character whose anti-BBC tweet stirred up various homophobic & racist types to abuse my colleague Ben Hunte. The mistake is mine, but the offence lies elsewhere.

John Simpson: [to the correct Laurence Fox this time]  I think you’d do better to express your regret that a tweet of yours should have led people who support you to abuse my colleague.

Maybe Tim Davie should just tell them to get off Twitter, and enforce that call?

Nish Kumar does a Jo Brand

As it says on his name-tag (lest he forgets)

Just for prosterity, here's a comment from Monkey Brains that needs a post to itself: 

Incidentally, meant to mention I heard the News Quiz being used to promote violence against opponents of the Left. Nish Kumar said "...that HS2 would be shovel-ready...just like Laurence Fox's face." So next time Kumar comes out with his hypocritical "hope not hate" schtick.

Here's that 'joke' in context, should anyone wish to complain to the BBC about it:

Yes, this is a leaked report which suggests that HS2 could end up costing the government £106 billion. Work on HS2 was initially delayed when construction workers discovered that Yorkshire was actually a load-bearing county. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said that the massive decision on whether to go ahead with HS2 needs to be a fact-based, or at the very least inspired by one of the more recent episodes of Thomas the Tank Engine. Almost £9 billion has been spent on the project so far, and the London to Birmingham phase is said to be "shovel-ready" - a bit like Laurence Fox's face. 

It's little over a month since the BBC's Executive Complaints Unit ruled on Jo Brand's very similar battery acid 'joke' which it judged to have been "capable of causing offence beyond what was editorially justified", and that it "should have been edited out before transmission".

Wonder what possessed the programme’s producers to give this a free pass?

⍣⍣⍣⍣⍣⍣⍣

P.S. Nish was on Pointless Celebrities last week. There's always one, you know - the annoying celebrity who is trying far too hard to be funny, and laughing louder than anyone else, and clapping when no one else is clapping, and being unfunny and cringeworthy. Nish was that celebrity last week, embarrassing himself, his fellow guests, the studio audience and the audience at home. If only the studio audience had brought some shovels along.

Happy with Shappi

Radio 4 comedienne Shappi Khorsandi has risen further in my estimation for refusing to sing to her own choir. Responding to a tweet from The Stage reporting that "Equity’s minority ethnic members committee has called on fellow actors to “unequivocally denounce” Laurence Fox for comments he made during an appearance on BBC1's Question Time", Shappi wrote:

Blimey. Laurence Fox doesn’t need me to stick up for him, I’m sticking up for compassion though, which should NOT be reserved just for people you agree with. The man sees the world differently to you and said so on TV...but we must actually try to RUIN him for this? To what end??

Fox in the henhouse

You know why I ignored Laurence Fox’s bombshell on Q.T. and focused instead on Shami?  It’s not just because she poo-poohed antisemitism. No, the reason I chose to highlight Shami’s performance (how can one be shamefaced yet brazen, all at once?) - is slightly different. I ignored Laurence just because I thought what he said was ‘normal’. It’s exactly what most people were probably saying at home. You know, (groan,) “A woman then!”.

Not that I agreed with Laurence that Starmer would make the best Labour leader. He’s not even the least worst.  As John Lennon might have remarked ”He’s not even the best drummer candidate in the leadership contest. 

However, I happen to think Laurence’s choice was a bit sexist, but not in a bad way. I think he was being ‘sexist’ in recognising masculinity's inherent authoritativeness. Shouldn't say so, but there you go. 'Trust him, he’s a bloke’ is how (I’m guessing) Laurence’s mind was working. 

Maybe he had mugged up on the Labour Party’s leadership race in anticipation of his stint on QT, but I’m thinking not. I bet he hasn’t been as obsessed with the matter as the BBC has been. (I love the way they call it a ‘race’ ) I’m sure the Beeb wasn’t half as interested in the minutiae of the qualities of the contenders for any other Party’s race.

This ridiculous kerfuffle has been all over the media. I’m just linking to Brendan O’Neill’s piece without even having read it yet, though I intend to do so in a minute.

Has Laurence been chucked out of Equity? Something like that. All the luvvies adhere to woke - it’s the rules.

Don’t read this, go and read Brendan.

Update:
Oh, and of course, Douglas

Conversations

I

Peter Hitchens: The BBC has no right to meddle in this crude cheap way with Charles Dickens's 'Christmas Carol': "The BBC plans to rewrite Charles Dickens tonight, complete with the f-word and a scene showing a character urinating on a grave. It has no right to do so."  

David: No doubt done deliberately to get media backlash & increase audience figures.

Peter Hitchens: I’m not sure this is true about the ‘backlash’. Though yes, it is about numbers. The BBC genuinely think the ‘Peaky Blinders’ appproach to the past is a good one. This mad incomprehensible rubbish gets good ratings. 

II

BBC One: We are thrilled to announce that Stormzy will be bringing Christmas Day to a close this year on BBC One, telling the story of the first ever Christmas with a reading from Luke’s Gospel. On Christmas Night.

Allison Pearson: This is the man who just said the UK is “100% racist”. And he’s allowed to read the CHRISTMAS STORY on the BBC funded by the licence payer. The very people who are 100% racist? A new low for public broadcasting. #bbc

III

Iain Dale: Somewhat appalled by the idiots piling in on Owen Jones for no apparent reason other than he is Owen Jones. Grow the f**k up, He has as much right to a voice as anyone. #whycantwealljustgetalong. #ItsChristmasFFS. #SolidarityWithOwenJones.

Andrew Neil: Agreed. Even though he has run a campaign to shut me down.

Laurence Fox: Owen Jones has sought to divide people at every opportunity. I am enormously encouraged that his narrative has been so roundly rejected by the electorate. Do I feel that mocking him furthers the cause of reason? Not really, but you live in the sun and you die in the sun. X 

IV

Dr Paul Stott: If there's one thing the British are rubbish at, it's racism. After Stormzy's dad did a runner, our welfare state helped bring him up. It may not have been perfect, but it was better than what was on offer in Ghana. As a celebrity, we invite him to our schools, where he tells the next generation our society is 100% racist. Our national broadcaster (presumably funded by 100% racists) gives him a platform on the most important day of the year. Although he does not realise it, half the world would swap places with Stormzy in a shot, if they could. If there's one thing we need to hear from this young man in 2020, it is surely thank you Great Britain.

V

Michael Swadling: Are they finally starting to get it? “THE BBC is looking at restricting its journalists use of Twitter, following the waves of online criticism...It comes as Channel 4 reportedly have told non-political staff not to tweet about current affairs”.

Suzanne Evans: Ludicrous idea. Twitter is now my primary source for news and I want to read what journalists are reporting here. Shoving them off social media isn’t the answer - reinforcing principles of objectivity, factual reporting and ensuring sources are checked, is.

VI

Bruce Lawson: BBC Editorial meeting: “So who are we going to get to close Christmas Day by reading from the Bible? How about a misogynist, homophobic millionaire who thinks our country is 100% racist and shouts “f*ck Boris, f*ck the government” at every opportunity? Yes, that’ll do nicely.”