On Friday (8 July) the Respect MP George Galloway was in the
BBC Newsnight studio to explain a statement he had made about the
terrorist attacks on Londoners who, according to him, had "paid
the price" of Britain's role in Iraq. The presenter,
Gavin Elser, barely let him speak so I wrote in to complain.
Dear
Gavin
I watched your interview with George Galloway last night and
wondered why if he was not going to be allowed to speak he was
invited to
in the first place. Would it not have been better if you had
made your own little speech instead?
I don't remember Nick Griffin, a Nazi, getting such treatment
when you last interviewed him.
Peyvand Khorsandi
Dear Peyvand
I think if you watch
the interview back -- it is
available on the Newsnight website -- you will see that Mr Galloway
was given a
considerable amount of time to speak. I don't recall the precise
timings but I expect he had about four minutes in total which
would be more time than the two other guests who followed him.
Thanks
for writing.
Gavin Esler
Dear Gavin
Thanks for your e-mail. The viewer should be convinced
on first viewing that the interview was fair without recourse
to the website.
Galloway may have had more airtime than the other guests but
this was used to splutter a response to one aggressive interruption
before the next one arrived.
Kind regards
Peyvand
(for the record not a Muslim or Respect voter)
Dear Peyvand
I only suggested you look at it again to be quite
sure that I was polite throughout though -- I admit -- very insistent
on
pursuing
Mr Galloway over whether it was right at a time of a grave national
tragedy to tell us that Londoners "paid the price" for not
listening to his views on Iraq and Afghanistan. These are matters
on which people can disagree, but I do notice that staunch opponents
of the Iraq war -- Ken Livingstone for example and the Lib Dems
-- repudiate the idea that Londoners "paid the price" in
such a way. Thank you for writing.
Gavin
Dear Gavin
I have no wish to give a seasoned professional tips
on how to do his job, but I dispute the notion that there is
a "right time" for
voicing opinions that go against the grain. If there is, which
day and what time would it have been acceptable for Galloway
to make those remarks?
Peyvand
