BBC defends comic’s joke about killing white people

Comment by panellist on Frankie Boyle’s show branded ‘hate speech’ as politicians demand action

THE BBC has defended a comedy show in which a panellist joked about killing white people, after politicians accused the programme of “promoting hate speech”.

The episode of Frankie Boyle’s New World Order on BBC Two featured a conversation about the Black Lives Matter movement in which one of the guests, Sophie Duker, a black comedian, discussed the idea that “white power is Trump Tower”.

She said: “But when we say we want to kill whitey, we don’t really mean we want to kill whitey,” then added in a jokey aside: “We do.”

The comment prompted Shaun Bailey, the Tory candidate for mayor of London, to write a letter to Tim Davie, the BBC’S director-general.

Mr Davie has expressed concern that the BBC’S comedy output is too Leftleaning,

threatening the corporation’s reputation for impartiality and alienating many viewers.

Mr Bailey said that Ms Duker’s comments were not “edgy or humorous” but “just hate speech, plain and simple”.

He said: “The BBC should never have aired this episode of Frankie Boyle’s show. And licence fee payers deserve to know what action will be taken.

“No one will be surprised to see Frankie Boyle at the centre of another controversy, a man who has made a career out of mocking people for their looks, their disabilities and their sex.

“But the BBC doesn’t need to give airtime to his views or the views of his guests. Because we can all agree that threatening to kill white people is divisive. And at a time when race has hit the headlines again, we should be building bridges – not blowing them up. So I’d like to know what action you intend to take against the show and its panellists.”

Ben Bradley, a Tory MP, said the episode was “another example of the BBC being way off base when it comes to representing the views and values of the majority of the public”. Mr Bradley said he had made a formal complaint to the BBC.

The BBC stood by the programme. A spokesman said: “Frankie Boyle’s New

World Order was shown after 10pm and its content is within audience expectations for a post-watershed, topical, satirical programme from a comedian whose style and tone are well-established.”

Boyle has courted controversy for years, including an episode when he appeared on BBC Two’s Mock the Week and mocked the appearance of Rebecca Adlington, the Olympic swimmer.

Adlington said later that she was humiliated by the joke, and the BBC Trust later blamed a failure of editorial control for letting the mockery and “nasty sexual innuendo” be aired.