Sergeant: We shouldn’t have let immigration become a ‘taboo’
POLITICAL pundit John Sergeant has claimed the BBC and ITV may have held Britain back by refusing to “talk openly” about immigration.
The veteran broadcaster said that during his time at both channels staff saw immigration as a “taboo subject” that was easier to ignore.
Sergeant, who rose to chief political correspondent at the BBC and political editor at ITN, insisted it was not racist to talk about the subject.
Writing in the latest edition of Radio Times, the Oxford-educated journalist claimed that ignoring “unprecedented migratory pressures” can crush debate and stifle democracy.
The 74-year-old’s intervention is bound to spark controversy with Brexit – which he says is linked to the issue of migration – looming fast.
He said: “In my years as a political correspondent I was fully aware of the immigration taboo. There is an old journalistic rule that says, ‘if in doubt, leave it out’, and we were guilty of not encouraging a more serious debate on this subject.” Sergeant said the extreme sensitivity surrounding immigration began with Enoch Powell’s notorious Rivers of Blood speech in 1968. The Tory MP caused a political storm by predicting unchecked immigration would lead to racial conflict on British streets. Sergeant also pointed out that, without fears over migration, David Cameron’s Remain campaign would have triumphed in the EU referendum. He said that migrants want to come to Britain because many speak English, they can link up with countrymen already here and there are jobs and benefits to be had. He said: “These ‘pull factors’ should not be played down, nor can we ignore the problems they cause.
“The effects on the provision of public services, as well as the difficulties of integration, are matters of justifiable concern.”