Greens On Question Time.

Jim has a rather good post on the up and coming BNP appearance on BBC’s Question Time.

Update 1: Left Foot Forward has a related bit:

“Peter Hain, the Welsh Secretary, has written to the BBC’s director general, Mark Thompson, warning it will run a “serious risk” of a legal challenge if it allows Nick Griffin to participate. The media regulator, Ofcom, confirmed that the BBC was under no legal obligation to invite the far-right party on to the programme and was acting under its own interpretation of impartiality. Meanwhile, a posting on the BNP’s website describes Bonnie Greer, the writer and broadcaster who is appearing on Question Time, as a “black history fabricator”, and said that Baroness Warsi, the Conservative spokeswoman for community cohesion, who is of Pakistani origin, was a “product of Tory affirmative action.” Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, writing in the Independent, supports Hain’s stand: “I say the BNP should be interrogated on news programmes but an appearance on Question Time is a privilege which the BBC now bestows on racists. It sickens those of us who expect better of the corporation.”

Update 2: I am not a big fan of Nick Cohen, but this piece at the weekend is good:

“Cruddas dismisses journalists’ boasts about the ruthlessness of television’s inquisitors as so much wind. Question Time “is just car-crash TV”, he says. “He who gets the best soundbite wins. If they were letting Andrew Neil loose on Griffin for an hour, that would be public service broadcasting, but this is pointless. It can only benefit the BNP.”

Maybe Neil could give Griffin a hard time, but the precedent set by his fellow broadcasters is not encouraging for those hoping that he will be unmasked on Thursday. The supposedly ferocious Jeremy Paxman turned into Barbara Cartland when he interviewed the then new leader of the BNP in 2001. “Can I ask you a simple question? If one of your children fell in love with a Muslim or an Asian, what would you do?” he began.

“I would be very unhappy about it, because I would have seen two very distinct lines with their own heritage and culture being destroyed,” Griffin replied. But, beseeched Paxman, “do you think that’s a greater consideration than the fact that they might be in love?” Griffin calmly pointed out that many Asian parents felt the same way as him because “the decision to stay with your own people is a very strong human instinct”.

When Paxman pressed again, Griffin concluded by saying: “Well, children are children and adults are adults, and they do what they want.” A stumped Paxman said: “Mr Griffin, thank you”, and grateful BNP supporters posted the interview on YouTube. “