The Gown Student Newspaper at Queen's University Belfast

OPINION: The BBC were WRONG to have Nick Griffin on Question Time

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

Nick Griffin’s appearance on Question Time has provoked a huge amount of controversy. The BBC, along with members of the BNP, have argued that as the BNP acquired two seats in the European parliament it deserved to have its say on one of the main political programmes in the UK; after all, the BBC’s broadcasting mandate requires it to give equal prominence to political parties above a given level of representation.

However, Nick Griffin represents a different breed of politician. Griffin was a former member of the right wing supremacist group ‘The National Front’, and he is the first person to be allowed on Question Time who has been investigated for inciting racial hatred.

BY JANE BROWN

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Tags: bnp, Gown, griffin, newspaper, nick, qub, Queen's, queen's university, question, student, The Gown, time

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OPINION: The BBC were RIGHT to have Nick Griffin on Question Time

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

On Thursday evening over five hundred anti-fascist demonstrators dominated the media spotlight, just hours before the BBC would broadcast Question Time with Nick Griffin on the panel. This highly contentious decision has split public opinion, and divided politicians on whether this far right fascist party should be given a platform to air their heavily criticized odious views. Despite the efforts of the protestors, the BBC refused to intervene to stop the recording of the program. They issued a statement claiming the recording would go ahead  as the BBC “are obliged to treat all legal political parties registered with the electoral commission with due impartiality”.

BY AOIFE MORRISON

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Tags: bnp, Gown, griffin, newspaper, nick, qub, Queen's, queen's university, question, student, The Gown, time

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