Woolwich attack: Extremist preachers should be banned from TV

Extremist preachers could be barred from appearing on broadcasters such as the BBC under plans being considered by the Government.

At present, Ofcom, the broadcast regulator, only has the power to intervene after a broadcast has been made.

However, Theresa May, the Home Secretary, is considering extending the regulator’s powers to allow it to stop broadcasts of radical preachers.

Her intervention comes after the BBC was criticised for broadcasting an interview with Anjem Choudary, the radical preacher and founder of a banned Islamist group.

Theresa May said people were right to complain about Mr Choudary’s appearance on Newsnight, during which he repeatedly refused to condemn the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby.

Mrs May said: “I think Anjem Choudary has disgusting views and I think it is right that we look at how those views are being presented and I think there were many people who did indeed say ‘What is the BBC doing interviewing Anjem Choudary?”

However Greg Dyke, the former BBC director-general, said the BBC’s editorial independence must be protected.

He said: “The point is that the BBC makes its own editorial decisions. If they turn out to be wrong someone can make a complaint to Ofcom afterwards. But you fundamentally change the BBC’s role if they can intervene before. It isn’t workable.”

Baroness Warsi, a leading minister, condemned the amount of coverage given to Choudary and other militant Islamists on the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 News.

The BBC was criticised for offering the radical preacher a slot on last night’s Newsnight programme on BBC2, in a decision branded ‘idiotic’, ‘irresponsible’ and ‘insensitive’.

The corporation has earlier released footage of Michael Adebolajo standing behind Choudary at a 2007 demonstration.

Baroness Warsi said: “We all have a responsibility, including the media, not to give airtime to extremist voices – idiots and nutters who speak for no one but themselves.

“The heartening thing in the midst of all this tragedy is that the British Muslim community has, with a unified, unreserved voice, condemned the killing and pledged support for our armed forces.

“This is a real maturing of the community which has taken years of painstaking work and frank discussions behind closed doors.

“This time everyone has stepped up to the mark. Yet here broadcasters are undoing all this by giving a platform to one appalling man who represents nobody. I am really angry.”

Choudary, former head of banned Islamist organisation Al Muhajiroun, was behind the planned protest march in 2010 through Royal Wootton Bassett, the town where dead British soldiers were repatriated, the Daily Mail reported.

He has been accused of radicalising Adebolajo, who wielded a meat cleaver in the attack on Drummer Lee Rigby, in the mid-2000s.

Defence Secretary Jim Murphy said on Twitter: “Banned from France but welcome on Newsnight. A mistake of the BBC to invite Anjem Choudary onto the telly tonight.”

Among others criticising the BBC’s decision to give the preacher airtime was Sadiq Khan, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, who told LBC radio that the Choudary was an “offensive and obnoxious media tart” with no followers.

Choudary also appeared on the BBC’s rolling news channel and has been on ITV News, as well as on Channel 4’s news.

Channel 4 had also previously given Choudary and another Islamist called Abu Nusaybah their own slot on the broadcaster’s 4thought.tv, a two-minute opinion show that airs immediately after its nightly news bulletin.

The decision by the broadcaster to hand over its airwaves to both men had sparked anger from moderate Muslims.

A BBC spokesperson said: “We have given great consideration to our reporting of the Woolwich murder and have a responsibility to both report on the story and try to shed light on why it happened. We believe it is important to reflect the fact that such opinions exist and feel that Choudary’s comments may offer some insight into how this crime came about. His views were robustly challenged by both the presenter, Kirsty Wark and the other participants.”

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