The BBC has acknowledged a complaint that it failed to properly introduce a guest on the Today programme who has previously been described as “one of America’s most notorious Islamophobes”.
The Radio 4 team failed to “challenge” Gaffney’s “conspiracy theories about Muslims and Islam” when he appeared on the show in January, according to complainant Miqdaad Versi.
Gaffney was introduced on the programme as “the Assistant Secretary for Defense under President Reagan, and founder of the Centre for Security Policy based in Washington”.
Versi, assistant secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said this did not it make clear to the audience that he was “associated with an anti-Muslim conspiratorial viewpoint”.
In his complaint, Versi argued that the BBC had failed to “rigorously test” Gaffney’s contentious views on Sharia law and the Muslim Brotherhood.
He told Press Gazette: “It is hugely worrying that our publicly funded BBC is providing an unchallenged platform to bigots, normalising their spread of hatred of Muslims. [Press Gazette] Read more
