REPORTS that the BBC plans a purge of “left-wing” satire shows are worthy of satire themselves, film director Ken Loach said today.
The Daily Telegraph reports that the new BBC director-general Tim Davie has plans to purge the corporation of alleged left-wing bias, especially in comedy shows.
Mr Davie, a former deputy chair of Hammersmith & Fulham Conservative Party and councillor, is said to be keen to redress what he sees as bias against the Tories, Donald Trump and Brexit as part of plans to restore “trust and confidence” in the BBC.
But Mr Loach asked: “Who does he think he’s kidding?
“The BBC has always been the voice of the Establishment. From its beginnings at the time of the 1926 general strike, it has had no time for the left, unions or the organised working class.
“As a Tory Tim Davie will feel at home. Stop pretending the BBC is objective – it stands for the Established order and privilege.”
The BBC notoriously “accidentally” showed striking miners attacking police on the picket line at Orgreave coke depot in South Yorkshire during the 1984-5 miners’ strike, when in reality police had first charged and brutally beaten peaceful pickets.
Today the Corporation broadcasts popular comedy shows including The Mash Report, The News Quiz, Mock The Week and Have I Got News For You, all of which poke fun at the Establishment.
The Telegraph reported that Mr Davie could be planning to axe the shows.
Tim Gopsill, a former editor of The Journalist magazine, published by the National Union of Journalists, said: “Here goes the BBC again, desperately trying to curry favour with the right.
“They’ve been doing it for years. Last week there was another story about them, supposedly banning jingoistic music from the Proms, which wasn’t true but they reported it as if it was.
“It’s getting beyond a joke.
“Anyway, the left has all the best jokes, don’t we? Tories just aren’t funny — not in a good way.”
Tory MP Ben Bradley has been quoted as saying that the BBC broadcasts too many “left-wing rants.”
He said: “In recent years lots of BBC comedy shows are just constant left-wing rants about the Tories and Brexit. If the BBC is to truly represent all licence fee payers, that needs to change.
“I’d like to see more right-leaning comedians given a chance rather than being effectively blacklisted for their views.”
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