BBC’s Packham under fire for backing protests outside homes of MPs
BBC star Chris Packham has been branded ‘irresponsible’ by Downing Street for saying eco-zealots have the right to protest outside MPs’ homes.
Politicians reacted furiously after the Springwatch presenter defended ‘ radical’ groups such as Just Stop Oil who target their properties.
Recent protests over Gaza have renewed fears about the safety of MPs, with the Prime Minister warning last week that ‘mob rule’ was a threat to democracy.
Just Stop Oil protesters have protested outside the homes of Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. Environmentalist Mr Packham, 62, faced a backlash
yesterday after he backed their approach, with MPs saying his words put their families at risk.
Mr Packham told Times Radio: ‘We need a portfolio of protests, basically, because we need a radical flank and Just Stop Oil are seen by many as that radical flank. They are the people who in some people’s minds go a step too far. And that might be, you know, standing outside an MP’s house. But the fact is, they are motivated, as I am, by a manifest fear for the health of our future.
‘These people are frightened for my future, for your future, for the future of any children they might have. If this is a peaceful, nonviolent demonstration, then we in the UK – for all the laws that have been radically changed in very recent times – have to preserve that right to protest.’
Downing Street reacted furiously, with Mr Sunak’s spokesman saying: ‘It is clearly irresponsible to encourage people to protest at the home addresses of MPs.’
No 10 has instructed police to break up protests outside MPs’ homes. It said such gatherings should generally be considered ‘intimidatory’ and officers should ‘direct protesters away’.
Former home secretary Priti Patel said: ‘These are dangerous and irresponsible calls from a public figure who is putting the families, including children, of MPs at risk by promoting unrest, protest and as we’ve seen with JSO, physical and criminal damage to people’s homes,’ she said.
Lord Walney, the Government’s political violence adviser, said: ‘Chris Packham badly lets himself and his employer down with these comments.’
Mr Packham did not comment on the criticism when contacted by the Mail last night.
The BBC said: ‘Chris Packham is a freelancer, not a member of staff. His views are his own, not the BBC’s.’
‘Packham badly lets himself down’