Kilroy-Silk quits chat show
Popular TV presenter Robert Kilroy-Silk has quit his long-running BBC chat show following an anti-Arab “rant” in a newspaper.
The BBC suspended the ex-Labour MP for North Knowsley after he wrote in his regular column for the Sunday Express newspaper that Arabs were “suicide bombers, limb amputators and women repressors.”
Mr Kilroy-Silk said last night: “I believe this is the right moment to leave the programme and concentrate my energies in other directions.
“I have been overwhelmed by the support from the general public, and I continue to believe that it is my right to express my views, however uncomfortable they may be.
“However, I recognise the difficulties this has caused the BBC, and I believe my decision is the right way to resolve the situation.
“I will continue to lead the Kilroy Television Company Ltd and in addition to our existing commitments to the BBC, we will be bringing new ideas and programmes to the BBC and other broadcasters.”
Iqbal Sacranie, the Muslim Council of Britain’s secretary-general, said in a statement: “We hope today’s landmark decision by the BBC will send out a clear signal that anti-Arab racism is every bit as unacceptable, every bit as odious as any other form of racism,”
The Beeb strenuously denies it wanted to silence the charismatic chat show host but said Kilroy-Silk’s beliefs made his job untenable.
Jana Bennett, the BBC’s director of television, said: “I would like to say that this has never been about freedom of speech.
“Presenters of this kind of programme have a responsibility to uphold the BBC’s impartiality. This does not mean that people who express highly controversial views are not welcome on the BBC but they cannot be presenters of a news, current affairs or topical discussion programme.
The 61-year old insists his secretary sent the wrong column by “mistake,” as it had already been published in April 2003.
