Clueless Evan’s selfie … with far-Right thugs
AS the presenter of BBC Two’s flagship current affairs programme, Evan Davis might be expected to recognise faces that have appeared in the news.
But when the Newsnight host was approached by a man and woman asking for a selfie with him, he apparently failed to realise they were the leaders of a controversial far-Right party.
And when the picture of him grinning alongside Jayda Fransen and Paul Golding of Britain First was circulated on social media, Davis ended up having to deny allegations he supported the extremist group.
Last night Mr Davis, 56, called the claims ‘ridiculous’. He insisted he had been duped by the pair and had thought they were just ordinary members of the public wanting a selfie with him on a south London street.
The photo, taken in 2016, was later used by Britain First which wrongly claimed Mr Davis had been ‘ campaigning’ alongside Fransen, 32, and Golding, 36. The pair have since been convicted of harassing Muslims. The picture was shared widely online, with some accusing the journalist of being ‘outed’ politically.
Mr Davis hit back yesterday, writing on Twitter: ‘I had no idea who they were. If you think on it, you’ll agree I would be very unlikely to publicly campaign for any party while working as a BBC presenter.’
He added: ‘Over two years ago, I was walking in Kennington when two people who I didn’t know jumped out of a van and said “Can we have a selfie?”. That is a not very remarkable event. So I said yes and smiled with them as I ordinarily would.’
In March, Golding and Fransen were found guilty of religiously aggravated harassment. Fransen was handed a 36-week jail sentence and Golding got 18 weeks. The BBC declined to comment.