Owen Jones has savaged the BBC’s Andrew Neil, laying bare his far right associations

A split screen of Owen Jones and Andrew Neil
Support us and go ad-free

Guardian columnist Owen Jones has launched a scathing attack on the BBC‘s Andrew Neil, calling him out for his links to far-right figures and movements:

Fake news?

Initially, Neil vehemently refuted allegations from journalist Abi Wilkinson claiming he has links to the far-right Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban:

Read on...

Yet Jones didn’t let him get away with his forthright response:

Neil previously praised the research of Hungarian thinktank the Századvég Foundation:

Viktor Orban was an editor on the foundation’s early publications and continually commissions it to conduct studies. Global magazine Foreign Policy argues [paywall] that Orban’s Fidesz government:

has successfully combined anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic, and anti-immigrant propaganda to scare Hungarian voters.

It throws a new light on Neil’s criticisms of Jeremy Corbyn attending a Passover ceremony hosted by left-wing group Jewdas:

It gets worse

Neil is chairman of Press Holdings, which owns the Spectator magazine. Jones did some more digging and discovered a worrying pattern:

This included more support and links to Orban’s far-right regime:

Silence

Jones felt that Neil’s lack of response to his accusations couldn’t be ignored:

Meanwhile, sociologist Tom Mills made the point that it would be “unimaginable” for the BBC to tolerate similar extremist ties from a left-wing presenter:

Why does it matter?

Jones argues that Neil is legitimising the far right and that the taxpayer is paying for it:

Former executive chair of far-right website Breitbart Steve Bannon has been having secret conversations with high-ranking Tory MPs. Far-right supporters of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson) have repeatedly used violence to further their cause. And on 4 August, a far-right group attacked a socialist bookshop in London.

So it’s no wonder Jones thinks the far right is at its strongest for a long time:

Neil’s continued presence on the BBC while maintaining such strong links to a far-right regime such as the Hungarian government should worry us all.

The BBC must stop employing people whose actions risk legitimising the far right’s ascent.

Get Involved!

– Join us, so we can keep holding the powerful to account.

Featured image via OwenJones/YouTube and RobinHoodUKIP/YouTube

We know everyone is suffering under the Tories - but the Canary is a vital weapon in our fight back, and we need your support

The Canary Workers’ Co-op knows life is hard. The Tories are waging a class war against us we’re all having to fight. But like trade unions and community organising, truly independent working-class media is a vital weapon in our armoury.

The Canary doesn’t have the budget of the corporate media. In fact, our income is over 1,000 times less than the Guardian’s. What we do have is a radical agenda that disrupts power and amplifies marginalised communities. But we can only do this with our readers’ support.

So please, help us continue to spread messages of resistance and hope. Even the smallest donation would mean the world to us.

Support us

Comments are closed