Nazi Nick Griffin had his proverbial backside handed to him on a silver platter on last night’s Question Time.
The Akh was pleased to see that not one of the panellists gave up an inch of ground when exposing Griffin for the vile, racist that he is. Even Sayeeda Warsi, of whom I’m no fan of (what was up with the huge poppy?) came up trumps.
He did try and throw the “We support Israel against Hamas” when asked about being a holocaust denier, thankfully no one bought that.
Interestingly the BNP website was down this morning, with a note stating “We have had to take our normal website offline”.
Wouldn’t it be nice if Nazi Nick and his adherents would all just go “offline” and let the decent people of Britain live together with some semblance of peace and unity.
If you missed it, you can watch here on the iplayer.
All I’m going to do is run through the press briefings and I’m glad to announce, that the British Media have come out unanimously in rightfully condemning the BNP for their abhorrent and repugnant ideological views.
The Times carries a half-page photograph of anti-fascist campaigners protesting outside BBC Television Centre before the show was recorded.
For that paper, Libby Purves writes of host David Dimbleby “only occasionally was it apparent that his flesh was creeping”; Matthew Parris remarks that “nobody dared try what, if it could have been done, would have been the most devastating tactic of all […]: to brush him aside as a small man, enlarged by the anger of his enemies”, and David Aaronovitch concludes :
he confided that he thought the BBC to be ‘part of a thoroughly unpleasant ultra-leftist establishment’, when voters know it best for Strictly Come Dancing. He showed himself to be, not so much a fearful Nazi, as kook.
The Guardian focuses on Mr Griffin’s denials with the headline “As protesters bay outside BBC, Griffin insists ‘I am not a Nazi'”. In an editorial column, the paper portrays the BBC as:
a ratings-hungry corporation [which] failed to defend the values embodied in its own equality policies; it confused ultra-relativism with a proper commitment to free speech.
The Daily Mail headlines its report “Bigot at Bay”.
“Jeered, scorned and ridiculed… but still BNP leader milks his moment in the spotlight,” the Mail says.
The paper says the “priceless air time” has left the BBC facing accusations of “publicity-seeking naivety” and Max Hastings regrets that “[a]s a history lesson, almost all the panel talked tosh.”
The Independent reports on the demonstrations under the headline “Griffin’s baptism of fire at the BBC”.
It says the BNP leader had to be smuggled in through a back door. Tom Sutcliffe reflects:
Was it an early Christmas present for the BNP, an audience member asked finally, as Peter Hain had charged? If it was it was one of those presents that requires you to adopt a fixed and unconvincing grin, and which falls apart in your hands even as the wrapping is coming off.
The Daily Telegraph has a photo of Mr Griffin surrounded by his minders as he arrived at the BBC.
It says the corporation was “under siege” after the BNP leader used his appearance to attack Muslims and homosexuals while defending the Ku Klux Klan.
It says the “controversial statements” were made in response to “intense questioning” by audience members from ethnic minorities.
The Scum carries the headline “When Auntie Met Nazi” and says Mr Griffin “outraged the Question Time audience”.
“Booed Nick Griffin smugly” joined the panel after the BNP leader sparked mayhem at TV Centre, it reports. The paper’s deputy political editor Graeme Wilson writes : “Shifty and ridiculous, the BNP leader crumbled before our eyes.”
The Daily Express describes the appearance as a “dangerous and shameful moment” for British democracy, its editorial claiming :
Griffin has learnt plenty since his days as a National Front boot boy. He has coated himself with a fake veneer of respectability, becoming the purveyor of a sharp-suited, soft-focus form of fascism.
The Daily Mirror says Mr Griffin “slunk away” from the BBC after a “pitiful display” which exposed him as a political lightweight.
But in its leader column, it says “free speech should not include the right to spread hatred on national TV”. Political editor Kevin Maguire adds :
The logic of Thompson’s argument is Griffin will be invited on other programmes which feature other politicians. Putting Griffin on Question Time inflates his position. Last night the BNPer was deflated. Let’s leave it at that.