Post by Teddy Bear on Apr 5, 2012 22:32:43 GMT
According to the Telegraph today, the BBC has spent £100,000 of taxpayers money pursuing the courts to get the right to interview a terror suspect who is fighting to be sent to trial in the UK and not to be extradited to the US for trial.
The BBC claim it was necessary
A TV interview is important as it gives audiences the context to make up their own minds on what they have seen and heard. Sounds good doesn't it? Except where the BBC is concerned it usually means making sure the message that they want to be conveyed is seen and heard. Any doubts about what line the BBC will pursue on his behalf can be deduced from the articles they have produced on the subject already. (Linked to below)
Here's what Damian Thompson has to say about it.
Well we know the answer to that one.
The BBC claim it was necessary
A spokeswoman from the BBC said: “A request for an interview inside the prison was initially rejected by the MoJ. We went to judicial review because the case raises matters of significant public interest including the extradition of British citizens to be tried in other countries and the length of detention without charge or trial.
“A TV interview is important as it gives audiences the context to make up their own minds on what they have seen and heard. The judges agreed with our position, ordering the MoJ to pay costs.”
A TV interview is important as it gives audiences the context to make up their own minds on what they have seen and heard. Sounds good doesn't it? Except where the BBC is concerned it usually means making sure the message that they want to be conveyed is seen and heard. Any doubts about what line the BBC will pursue on his behalf can be deduced from the articles they have produced on the subject already. (Linked to below)
Here's what Damian Thompson has to say about it.
Terrorism suspect says he's innocent, shock horror. So tell us, BBC: just how much of our money did you spend securing this exclusive?
By Damian Thompson
The BBC fought a High Court battle to allow it to interview Babar Ahmed, a terrorism suspect who has been held in Long Lartin maximum security jail for eight years while he fights extradition to the United States. The results will be broadcast on Newsnight tonight. And guess what? The guy says he's innocent.
America disagrees. It reckons that the 37-year-old former IT employee of Imperial College London headed a "terrorism support cell" that provided assistance to Taliban and Chechen mujahideen. Specifically, US prosecutors say they have evidence that a vicious jihadist website called Azzam was operated from Imperial College and was linked to Mr Ahmed. We'll find out on Tuesday whether the European Court of Human Rights will support his battle against extradition.
You can read the BBC trumpeting its High Court victory here. And running on the Beeb's site now is Mr Ahmed's declaration of innocence: "I absolutely reject any allegation that I supported terrorism in any way, in any place, whether in Afghanistan, Chechnya or any other part of the world."
Uh-huh. We shall see how this plays out. In the meantime, I want to ask the BBC just one question: How much of our money did you spend going to the High Court in order to win the right to give air time to Babar Ahmed?
By Damian Thompson
The BBC fought a High Court battle to allow it to interview Babar Ahmed, a terrorism suspect who has been held in Long Lartin maximum security jail for eight years while he fights extradition to the United States. The results will be broadcast on Newsnight tonight. And guess what? The guy says he's innocent.
America disagrees. It reckons that the 37-year-old former IT employee of Imperial College London headed a "terrorism support cell" that provided assistance to Taliban and Chechen mujahideen. Specifically, US prosecutors say they have evidence that a vicious jihadist website called Azzam was operated from Imperial College and was linked to Mr Ahmed. We'll find out on Tuesday whether the European Court of Human Rights will support his battle against extradition.
You can read the BBC trumpeting its High Court victory here. And running on the Beeb's site now is Mr Ahmed's declaration of innocence: "I absolutely reject any allegation that I supported terrorism in any way, in any place, whether in Afghanistan, Chechnya or any other part of the world."
Uh-huh. We shall see how this plays out. In the meantime, I want to ask the BBC just one question: How much of our money did you spend going to the High Court in order to win the right to give air time to Babar Ahmed?
Well we know the answer to that one.