BBC Bashers’ Proms Own Goal

Such is the obsession of some people with putting the boot into the hated BBC that they abandon all reason when presented with what looks like the Corporation doing something, anything, that causes them offence. Also abandoned is any spirit of inquiry, or any consideration that the material they are taking on trust may not have been fully researched, or that it may have been generated to serve an agenda. Like that of the Mail.

The Mail told readers “One of the BBC's own columnists has called for Rule, Britannia! and Land of Hope and Glory' to be scrapped from the corporation's Last Night of the Proms concert because they are 'crudely jingoistic’. Richard Morrison … used his column in the BBC Music Magazine to claim it would be 'insensitive, bordering on incendiary' to chant the 'nationalist' songs this year in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement”.

Someone failed to look before leaping ...

There was more. “He took aim at the traditional - and popular - patriotic pieces, and called for a 'toe-curling embarrassing anachronistic farrago of nationalistic songs' to be replaced with a 'more reflective' finale which doesn't 'provoke offence or ridicule’ … The column has sparked a furious backlash, with Tory MP Philip Davies branding it 'extremist, virtue signalling views.’” Ah, Philip Davies, the voice of moderation. What else did he say?

... and he was not alone

“He told MailOnline: 'This is the kind of metropolitan left wing political correct drivel which is so prevalent at the BBC that makes it so out of touch with the country at large … The sooner the licence fee is abolished and we are no longer forced to pay for these extremist virtue signalling views to be rammed down our throats at our own cost the better.’”

Thus the starting gun for a pile-on, led by Brexit Party top gun Richard Tice. "This is why BBC licence fee needs reform. Vast majority of patriotic taxpayers should not be forced to pay salary of woke lefties at BBC who want to banish key parts of our heritage”. Tory Paul Bristow added “Just attention seeking drivel. The BBC preach diversity but are one of the least diverse of any national institution. Some of the staff loathe the viewers they pretend to serve. I weep for what it has become, and for it’s [sic] inevitable downgrade & demise”.

And in the fullness of time, along came Darren Grimes to show he hadn’t done his research either. “The BBC’s Music Magazine telling us that some of our most popular national songs should be scrapped, these people won’t be happy until they’ve destroyed every last vestige of pride and unity that this island enjoys. Don’t like it? Switch off”.

But, as James Coatsworth has pointed out, “Enter Richard Morrison, the chief music critic of The Times. He also writes a column for BBC Music Magazine. Confusingly BBC Music Magazine isn’t published by the BBC, it’s entirely separate and owned by Immediate Media. So Richard doesn’t work for the BBC”. Morrison is a Murdoch journalist.

He noted “certain people have seen coverage of Richard’s column (most notably in the Daily Mail) but instead of saying they disagree with him, have opted to criticise the BBC … For some reason they’re pretending that the views of a single journalist who doesn’t work for the BBC are the views of the BBC … Indeed they like the Last Night of the Proms so much that they think the BBC, which makes it, shouldn’t be funded”. Got it in one.

So that’s four more uninformed and ignorant BBC bashers who want the Corporation defunded because of what a Murdoch journalist said. We are through the looking glass.

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