Women’s Hour’s Emma Barnett is being hounded by an “Inequality Lead” for asking the first woman to be elected Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain about the prospects for female imams. The other Abrahamic faiths have women spiritual leaders, there are female Christian priests and female Jewish rabbis, Women’s Hour legitimately asked how many female imams there are in Britain? Attacks fell on the questioner, rather than the interviewee who dodged the question…
Formerly of the CLASS think tank, unsuccessful Parliamentary candidate Faiza Shaheen is now the “Inequality Lead” at New York University’s Center on International Cooperation. She spent yesterday afternoon hounding Barnett for asking a question about gender equality, declaring:
“I’m so angry this. Pure ignorance from the presenter. And why have you clipped it? Trying to cater for the Islamophobic Twitter crowd?! Click bait for a culture war you support? You should be ashamed.”
Shaheen went on to add:
“Please, can everyone write a complaint? I just did it, super quick.”
Apparently “inequality lead” means ‘leading defences of inequality’…
Throughout my @bbc5live programme today – we’ve been trailing ahead to an interview with Shadow Health Secretary @JonAshworth -he is meant to be on air with me right now. The interview was planned. We are now told can’t speak to him-no reason given..I’m on air until 1pm #ge2019 https://t.co/jMTa1G7q7u
— Emma Barnett (@Emmabarnett) December 10, 2019
Ashworth pulls out of 5Live interview with Emma Barnett just minutes after emphatically telling Guido he will be doing more media interviews today
Do you think you’ll be doing much more media in the next few days Jon? pic.twitter.com/VhrjaG8j4x
— Guido Fawkes (@GuidoFawkes) December 10, 2019
He’s still got Politics Live and LBC tonight booked in…
Guido likes Emma Barnett’s pugnacious neo-Paxonian interviewing style. She seems to dish it out to all sides and manages to keep her personal politics off broadcast. Not off Twitter though…
So a gentle reminder to a BBC journalist opposing the stated policy of both candidates to be the next Prime Minister. The BBC social media guidelines clearly state “We must not endorse or appear to endorse any other organisation, its products, activities, services, views or opinions… The personal use of the internet by BBC staff must be tempered by an awareness of the potential conflicts that may arise… editorial staff should not indicate their political allegiance.” Guido is unsurprised that a BBC hack is not keen on exiting the EU on no deal terms, just a little surprised they are tweeting their view…
The BBC’s Emma Barnett took Shadow Justice Minister Richard Burgon to task over his rant against ‘Zionists’ that he tried to deny he delivered. Last month it was revealed that he lied about not saying it, and now he’s doubling down by trying to claim he didn’t lie. There was a time where this behaviour would provide a one way ticket out of the shadow cabinet, but apparently not under Jeremy Corbyn…
When asked who would he rather have negotiating a Brexit deal, David Starkey was cutting. “I think the answer is a bit obvious”…
Marr tells Labour’s Jon Ashworth: “I don’t want to go all Emma Barnett but you’re not answering my questions”. Some might say Emma would be an improvement…
