BBC faces backlash from the community after one of its most senior journalists compared hate preacher Anjem Choudary to freedom fighters such as Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and Winston Churchill.
Mark Easton, BBC’s Home Editor, criticised Government plans to clamp down on fanatics and said extreme views were needed “to challenge very established values”. He drew examples to the treatment of two of history’s greatest civil rights campaigners and a Churchill view on democracy.
He said Mandela and Gandhi had both been seen as extremists in their time and questioned what they would think of attempts to silence Choudary.
The comments sparked an immediate outcry from Britons accusing Easton of making “ludicrous” comparisons and holding “disgusting” views.
David Cameron, the Prime Minister, has promised new laws in the Queen’s Speech later this month that will confront “poisonous Islamist extremist ideology”. Following a BBC report on the issue, including more airtime for Choudary, on Wednesday, Mr Easton said: “It's one thing to ban someone for inciting hatred or violence, but quite another to pass a law that silences anyone who challenges established values.
“I was in Parliament Square today – a statue of Gandhi looking down at me who was jailed for being extremist; Mandela who was jailed for being an extremist.
“History tells us that extreme views are sometimes needed to challenge a very established values that people at the time hold so dear.”
A spokesman for the Clarion Project, which confronts Islamist extremism, said: “'It is ludicrous to compare Anjem Choudary, who promotes the most extreme form of Sharia law which denies entire segments of the population their basic human rights, to human rights champions such as Gandhi and Mandela.”
Mr Choudary is currently on police bail after being arrested last year on suspicion of being a member of or supporting a banned group. Baroness Warsi, a former Minister in Mr Cameron's government, after the Woolwich mayhem had urged media to stop giving airtime to extremist voices.
A BBC spokesman said: “The news story reflected the deep concerns over Choudary and the extent of his influence and Mark Easton reiterated that point in his live broadcast.
"He then made a wider point that the definition of extremism can change over time. He was not suggesting that the views of Anjem Choudary will be thought of differently in the future and we believe this was clear to the viewer.”
