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Patel:  BBC guilty of 'xenophobia' over Rwanda refugee deal

This woman is dangerously insane!!!  The article is behind a paywall so am copy-pasting the initial paragraphs only.Home Secretary accuses scheme’s critics of ignorance and lazy stereotypingPriti Patel has accused the BBC of exhibiting an "undercurrent" of xenophobia when reporting the Government's new immigration deal with Rwanda.Reigniting a war with the broadcaster, the Home Secretary said she was "taken aback" by the tone of BBC journalists' references to the African country when she announced the agreement 10 days ago.In an interview with The Telegraph, Ms Patel said she had identified "undercurrents" from the corporation that were also visible in criticism from MPs in the Commons last week.Setting out her view on the BBC's approach to the policy, Ms Patel added: "There are always going to be critics, and we live in a free country."The Government has been roundly criticised by opposition MPs over the deal, which will allow migrants who arrive in the UK illegally to be sent to Rwanda so they can be considered for asylum and resettlement in the East African state.Ms Patel insists it will help to save lives by deterring people from making the journey across the Channel in small boats.Last week Andrew Griffith, the Prime Minister's policy chief, told constituents it was "sadly not possible to be in favour of unlimited, open door migration and simultaneously to protect our local communities from unsustainable development".

Ivonne Holliday ● 1148d18 Comments

"Notice how the would be illegal immigrants are now saying that they will stay in France" says the Daily Mail, the "Basic Instinct" newspaper. "Meanwhile the rest of us in the real world have to deal with it."Thank you for your service, Mr Rolink.

David Ainsworth ● 1146d

And the people smugglers keep their profits, reinvest in new crimes and create more misery ... sounds like you're on the criminals side?

Michael Ixer ● 1146d

Notice how the would be illegal immigrants are now saying that they will stay in France if that is the case. You lot are woke, dumb, or haven't a clue. Meanwhile the rest of us in the real world have to deal with it.

Paul Rolink ● 1146d

Seems to me that the BBC just represents the establishment.On which side the establishment interest lie will vary but the overall goal is just to keep things the way they are.Do not ask too difficult questions and know your place or you will not get on.Perhaps I have it confused with another organisation that employed Savile for decades!

Ed Robinson ● 1148d

Perhpas, Ms Hammond, you would favour us with a few examples of the BBC's leftwing bias to aid our understanding?

David Ainsworth ● 1148d

Sorry, "beutral" should say "neutral". This crappy site has no post-posting edit facility to go with its absent moderation.

Michael Winstanley ● 1148d

Nigel Farage. 33 appearances on Question Time.Andrew Neil. Given a platform for many years.Not very much left-wing biased about that.Use of the word "believe" is an interesting choice. Public broadcasting in the UK is held to the highest standards. There is still a substantial budget for news gathering and the editorial policy includes taking enormous care with fact checking. Thus when it comes to facts, you can safely BELIEVE the great majority of what the BBC tells you - certainly in comparison to any other news broadcaster (eg Sky, CNN, Fox News, Al Jazeera, but not Russia Today, which is not a genuine news broadcaster but a Russian state propaganda outlet).As to what you THINK, that is to say your opinion, whether the BBC is left wing or right wing, that really depends upon one's perspective.The BBC tries to be beutral, to cast itself somewhere in the middle, but clearly this is somewhere left of you.

Michael Winstanley ● 1148d

It is very odd that Andrew Marr, in one of his programmes on Sunday mornings, confirmed he is a Labour sympathiser....

Ivonne Holliday ● 1148d

No Ivonne you are wrong, it's the exact opposite to what you are saying. Of course they voice their own opinions and if they think the Government is wrong they can openly say so, which is only right.  However they do now have an unbiased platform to discuss issues with the general public to listen and discuss differing points of views which they could not do when verbally shackled by the BBC. I do realise that from reading your posts over the years that you seem to believe everything the BBC churns out and do not see its left-wing bias.

Sue Hammond ● 1148d

"“Every time I went into the studio I reminded myself I was broadcasting to people who were paying for the BBC and they have the right to as neutral and fair-minded interviews as we could manage. It was very frustrating."Do you disagree that:-BBC watchers and listeners "have the right to as neutral and fair-minded interviews as we could manage."?He wishes to be a different type of journalist. There is room for both types.

David Ainsworth ● 1148d

Ha ha ha!  David, I am sure that is the reason why! :-) :-) :-)

Ivonne Holliday ● 1148d

An nothing, of course, to do with the inflated pay cheques they'll be getting...

Richard Carter ● 1148d

Precisely Sue!!  Because they were constrained as to how much they could say when criticizing the government.You have just provided the evidence!

Ivonne Holliday ● 1148d

@IvonneNo sorry Ivonne it's take off your rose coloured specs and view the BBC in a realistic way. Why do you think Eddie Mair and Andrew Marr both left the institution and moved over to LBC? They both wanted to break free of the BBC's broadcasting agenda and speak for themselves.  In Marr's own words he "was keen to get my own voice back". The journalist also said that he wants to “be able to say and write what I really think”.“I want to go back to being a gum-shoe reporter with a pen and a notepad in my pocket wandering the halls of Westminster, and finally be able to say and write what I really think,” he said.Andrew Marr reveals why he left the BBC | Evening Standardhttps://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/andrew-marr-bbc-left-self-censorship-b978181.html

Sue Hammond ● 1148d

Please Sue!!!Priti Patel speaking of xenophobia is laughable to say the least!"Everybody is entitled to their opinion" says she, stating under her breath provided it agrees with mine!Have you seen Matt's joke in today's Telegraph?  Have you seen the article by Douglas Carswell entitled:  "British conservatism used to be a model, now it is a cautionary tale"All of this in The Telegraph!!!!Leave the BBC alone! You say the BBC is bashing the Government again, other people say it is defending the government too much, their mouthpiece even.This suggests to me the BBC is getting something right!

Ivonne Holliday ● 1148d

Says the Telegraph, that absolute paragon of political neutrality. Now that really is a laugh...

Richard Carter ● 1148d

Patel not guilty of 'xenophobia' over Rwanda refugee deal - she's just making room for the Ukrainian refugees.That'll be it.

David Ainsworth ● 1148d

The British Biased Corporation attempt at bashing the Government again. 🥱

Sue Hammond ● 1148d