Sun’s BBC Religion Rant Busted

The sense of disappointment among the inmates of the Baby Shard bunker at their failure to have the hated BBC hobbled by the latest White Paper on the Corporation’s future has not yet abated, as today’s Sun editorial demonstrates, with the opportunity being taken to accuse the Beeb of a combination of political correctness, pandering to alleged “luvvies”, and caving in to all those Scary Muslims (tm).

After ranting “NOW we see what the Government’s limp surrender on the BBC charter really means for licence fee payers”, today’s Sun Says goes on to talk well, and lie badly: “Aaqil Ahmed - owner of the box- ticking Beeb’s ‘Head of Religion and Ethics’ - has decided the Corporation is ‘too Christian’ and could broadcast the Muslim call to prayers”. “Owner of the Head of Religion and Ethics”? Doesn’t make sense.

Moreover, Ahmed has not said the BBC is “too Christian”, which is why the Sun, and all the other papers reporting the story, had to put the phrase in quote marks. And he hasn’t said the Corporation “could broadcast the Muslim call to prayers”. That’s just a combination of scaremongering and dog-whistling. And there’s more.

“Mr Ahmed, who last year compared illegal immigrants sneaking into Britain through the Calais jungle to Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus”. Oh dear, Murdoch doggies. Let’s see what he actually said, shall we? It is, after all, freely available.

This is what Ahmed said, in a blog post explaining why the BBC was making an edition of Songs Of Praise which featured the Calais refugee camp: “In churches up and down the country the subject [the human issue of migration and asylum] is an important one. For centuries Christians have related to the vivid image of the Holy family becoming refugees themselves when Joseph, Mary and their baby son had to flee persecution from King Herod and escape to Egypt. The Gospels themselves are full of stories and teachings of Jesus to help those in need”. They don’t do much Bible reading at the Sun.

Still, that’s merely misleading, rather than flat out lying. And Sun Says is not finished yet: “Aaqil Ahmed’s intervention shows why it was pathetic of the Government to let the whining BAFTA luvvies scare them out of making big changes to the BBC charter”. BAFTA had no input into the White Paper discussions. These fact things aren’t easy for the Sun.

Try again. “Downing Street failed to get a grip on its Leftie leadership, rampant website and spiralling licence fee, and now BBC pen-pushers like Mr Ahmed feel empowered to push PC nonsense on everyone, regardless of what they want”. Where do we start? There is no evidence of “leftie leadership”, there is nothing “rampant” about the BBC’s website, the licence fee has remained at £145.50 per annum since 2010, and Aaqil Ahmed is not pushing anything on anyone, as he is not “empowered” to do so.

But good to see the Sun not letting an opportunity to kick the Beeb, while dog-whistling its readership about Scary Muslims (tm), go to waste. Stay classy, Murdoch poodles.