Kumar fears his Left-wing comedy adds to toxic culture

THE BBC’S Left-wing comedy shows are contributing to Britain’s toxic political culture, one of its leading lights has admitted.

Nish Kumar is the host of The Mash Report, BBC Two’s satirical late-night show, which has been branded “selfsatisfied, self-adulatory, unchallenged Left-wing propaganda” by broadcaster Andrew Neil.

Kumar was booed and pelted with bread rolls at a recent Lord’s Taverners charity lunch, when he made jokes about Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-mogg and Brexit.

Asked by Radio Times if he worried that his show’s Left-wing messaging is “reinforcing our politically polarising culture”, Kumar said: “Completely. It’s constantly of a concern to me that I, personally, am making things worse.”

Explaining why he does not give a similarly hard time to Labour Party politicians, Kumar said: “I’m not sure those people need to be further beat up. They’re getting their beat-downs from election results.”

Kumar has made several appearances on BBC One’s Question Time, and admitted that his contributions may have added to the “toxicity” of debate recently remarked upon by Fiona Bruce, the programme’s host.

“Obviously, I don’t believe myself to be qualified to be on Question Time, but if we all turn down those invitations then no one is being invited to speak to our communities,” he said.

Kumar added that the reaction he got at the Lord’s Taverners lunch proved that some Right-wing voters have an issue with free speech.