BBC Fails To Call Out Lying

Under the less than benign influence of former pop salesman Tim Davie, and pal of the so-called Taxpayers’ Alliance Robbie Gibb, the BBC’s coverage of the fallout from Brexit continues to veer between exasperating and downright dire. This was typified by a special edition of formerly flagship politics show Question Time last night, before a special all-Brexiteer audience.

But while the programme did show, once again, the Beeb’s inability to deal with facts as facts, and not merely something else with which to play “both sides”, it provided superb examples of the diehard Brexiteer mindset and the lack of reality-based information that fuels it. From there it was possible to see how the visceral anti-European hatred could be maintained.

Not all of the panel covered themselves in glory: John Redwood, that well known speaker of Not Welsh, claimed not to have said the UK would get a trade deal with the USA. He lied. Ben Habib asserted “Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney weaponised the border and threatened violence” which was desperate as well as a complete pack of lies. Then came the audience.

There was a predictably white and older look to them, and, we soon learned, a serious lack of informed opinion. An older woman declared that when the UK had to implement safety regulations for working above the ground floor of buildings, the French and Germans did not. This, though, apart from being totally untrue, was a mere hors d’oeuvres for a much more bigoted entrée.

Which came from an elderly man in a white shirt, who said this: “When I voted to Leave … one of the reasons I voted to Leave was to manage our own borders, and stop people coming into this country as and when they felt like it. I’ve seen people entering this country and going straight down to the benefits office. That’s what I have seen in the course of my employment”.

Where does one start with that? We already managed our own borders, and anyone entitled to enter the country could, and still can, do so “as and when they feel like it”. And he has not, repeat not, repeat NOT, seen anyone entering the UK and going straight down to the benefits office. Because it is not possible to rock up in the UK and avail oneself of benefits.

You have to have right to remain in the country. Asylum seekers do not have that right. Also, as one Tweeter pointed out, “Benefits Offices don't exist. There are Jobcentres. To get into a JC you have to have appointments. All sort of bio & identity checks have to be completed then an interview before benefit can be awarded, & it's not by the JC. The process takes weeks”.

As for the idea of going straight to the “benefits office”, Simon Harris has helpfully provided a map showing the most popular landing points on the south east coast for all those small boats, from Camber Sands to Dungeness and on to New Romney and Hythe, together with each nearby branch of JobCentre Plus. Except there are no such branches.

Or, as Mike Bealing from Deal put it this morning, “My watch ends at the Noon Day Gun, so I’ll be brief. I’ve spotted no European Roofers this morning and no-one has yet walked up the beach from the Channel and asked for directions to the Benefits Office”. Because the Question Time bigot was lying. Whether he and his fellow bigots believe this drivel or not.

Perhaps host Fiona Bruce would have felt duty bound to “both sides” any pushing back against the whoppers, given Gibb is still on board and is known to be a rabid Brexiteer. In any case, the BBC has failed to call out lying in its politics strand, and not for the first time. Or stressed enough that 30% of Brexit voters admit their mistake and would not vote that way again.

The Beeb failed to cover itself in glory last night. But you knew that already.

Enjoy your visit to Zelo Street? You can help this truly independent blog carry on talking truth to power, while retaining its sense of humour, by becoming a Patron on Patreon at

https://www.patreon.com/Timfenton