Zakir Naik who was banned in the UK since 2010 over concerns about preaching extremism continues to broadcast to millions of British households through his “personal television channel”, Peace TV.
The Islamic scholar who started the channel in 2006 broadcasting it from Dubai claims to have close to 200 million viewers and was banned by Mrs. May after his speech where he praised Osama Bin Laden and said “all Muslims should be terrorists!”
Ofcom has been urged to “immediately revoke” his TV station license after fouling broadcasting rules on extreme content but remains available to Sky subscribers on its English and Urdu channels.
The Henry Jackson Society accused Ofcom of “a material failure” to protect viewers by revoking the station’s licence.
“The Broadcasting Act explicitly requires Ofcom to ensure licensees are ‘fit and proper’,” said Emma Webb, a research fellow at the think tank who has written a report about extremism on television.
The media regulator said it had launched “six detailed investigations” earlier this year into whether Peace TV had breached regulations that protect audiences from hate speech, offence and the incitement of crime.An Ofcom spokesperson said-
“We will announce the outcome of those investigations soon. We have a clear track record, which this report recognises, of tackling harmful content and taking action against those responsible – including taking channels off the air.”
