BBC supports Tory and Saudi governments but censors Corbyn

Last night (13.10.15) BBC Newsnight reported the government decision to withdraw from a £6m British bid to provide prison services to the Saudi regime. According to the BBC the change of mind was down to Secretary of State Michael Gove (“Michael Gove had thought that and got his way”) and Tory concerns about Saudi regime's harsh treatment of a British citizen imprisoned for possession of alcohol. “All of a sudden the (Saudi) government has come under more scrutiny that ever”.

But the BBC doesn't want viewers to know about the Saudi regime or the pressure for the UK to distance itself from this terrorist sponsoring dictatorship.

Newsnight completely failed to mention the campaign by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for precisely this policy change. Corbyn's call could not have been more prominent. He made a direct appeal for Cameron to withdraw from the proposed Saudi contract in his recent speech to Labour Party Conference. He followed up the call with a letter to Cameron. Why was this very public position of the leader of the opposition censored from the Newsnight coverage? [At the time every message in the speech was censored as the BBC desperately invented stroies (e.g. 5% of the speech being borrowed from an older draft) to hide behind. One detail you probably never heard was that after his speech 53% of Sky viewers thought Corbyn prime ministerial, and that figure rose steadily throughout the speech.]

Also censored by Newsnight last night was reference to teenager Ali Mohammed al-Nimr sentenced to death and crucifixion for participating in a pro-democracy demonstration in Saudi Arabia. Corbyn highlighted this appalling case and demanded the PM intervene. However Newsnight chose to reference the far less serious (but still appalling) threat to flog Karl Andree and gave a platform to Tory MP Bob Neill to offer advice to the Saudi regime. In its choice of case and spokesperson Newsnight chose to censor Corbyn's moral crusade for human rights, censor the Saudi government's vicious repression of democracy and instead highlight purported Tory concern for humane treatment of prisoners in Saudi Arabia at the very moment it did a complete U-turn in its policy on providing prison services to the regime. There was also no mention of the government's commitment to abolish the Human Right's Act.

Newsnight's coverage could not have been more sympathetic to the Conservative government and could not have been less balanced. Chinese state television could take lessons in invisibilising democracy from Ian Katz, Newsnight editor.

The escalation of censorship and propaganda within the BBC coincides with the threat Corbyn posses to the Neo-Conservative dictatorship in Britain. Since MI5 staged a coup within the Labour Party and brought Blair to power the agenda has shifted massively to the right. Corbyn's landslide in the Labour leadership exposes the manipulation of politics in the UK and threatens a re-emergence of democracy.  The majority of people in Britain support nationalisation of key utilities, oppose illegal military intervention and favour equality rather than growing inequality. All these things run contrary not only to the policies of the billionaire press barons who control the British capitalist press but also to the vast majority of Labour MPs, right wing BBC commentators like Laura Kuenssberg and Andrew Neil, and Guardian editorial policy.

The fight is on for what is left of democracy in Britain. Now is the time to join in doing whatever you can or want to, such as: challenging right wing propaganda; exposing the lies and corruption of the 1%; demanding the BBC restore some balance; or supporting Corbyn, and others like Caroline Lucas. Reformist optimism I know but the situation is desperate for millions in Britain and abroad. The Tory's are actively pursuing class war (neo-liberalism) against the poor behind a BBC and corporate media smokescreen that misrepresents Bullingdon thugs like Osbourne, Cameron, Johnson and Goldsmith as socially liberal conservatives.

Here are a few issues to be getting on with:

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Comment by Gilbert Smyth on October 25, 2015 at 17:19

The right has no answer to the decay of neoliberalism whilst the left is reclaiming a better future for society under JC.  Getting away from median voter theory (centre ground politics) enhances the quality of our so-called democracy and is a long overdue breath of fresh air!  

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