Jeremy Vine is under heavy fire for ‘joking’ about Jeremy Corbyn getting assaulted

Jeremy Vine studio
Support us and go ad-free

On 1 April, Jeremy Vine stood accused of trivialising a recent assault on Jeremy Corbyn.

“Attack on our democratic process”

Chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot sentenced culprit John Murphy to 28 days in prison on 25 March for assaulting Corbyn. She said:

An attack like this is an attack on our democratic process. This is a public servant and attacks on MPs must stop. The message must go out – this must stop.

CCTV footage shows Murphy hitting Corbyn on the side of the head while holding an egg at Finsbury Park mosque and Muslim Welfare House:

The Channel 5 show made a joke out of the situation:

Someone on the programme jokingly claimed that co-host Storm Huntley should be arrested for cracking the egg on Vine’s head.

There was an MP who was murdered

But on social media, people were not impressed. They noted that a far-right terrorist murdered Labour MP Jo Cox on 16 June 2016 and that another terrorist wanted to kill Labour leader Corbyn:

In response, Vine denied he ‘minimised’ the assault:

Elsewhere, prosecutor Kevin Christie said of the case:

The male was repeatedly shouting ‘respect the vote’ while being restrained by staff. Mr Corbyn described… the male with his face contorted in anger. He appeared to be acting in a very aggressive manner after striking him.

It’s concerning that a violent man was able to get close enough to Corbyn to hit him over the head with an egg. And it seems deeply irresponsible for the Jeremy Vine show to make light of an attack on the leader of the opposition.

Featured image via Jeremy Vine on 5/ 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