See the original news article on the documentary HERE
Below is the response that the National Assembly Against Racism received
to its complaint against the 'Immigration is a time bomb' documentary.
The documentary, IMMIGRATION IS A TIME BOMB, was part of a three part season,
UNWELCOME BRITAIN?, broadcast by the Channel during the second week of March
2005. Each of the three programmes were on subjects linked by the theme of
immigration. The first, LET 'EM ALL IN, authored by Kenan Malik, argued the
economic case for no immigration controls.
IMMIGRATION IS A TIME BOMB, authored by Rod Liddle, argued that unrestricted
mass immigration [including the importation of a certain interpretation of
Islam] is storing up social and economic problems for the future. The third
programme, IMMIGRATION ON TRIAL, was a studio debate in the now well-established
format chaired by Jon Snow, to consider and vote on the motion "The Government
has allowed in too many immigrants, putting a strain on public services and
threatening social cohesion"
One of Rod Liddle's points in IMMIGRATION IS A TIME BOMB was his view that
there are aspects of Islam that are at odds with traditional western democratic
values, in particular, an individual's right to freedom of expression. It
was in this context that he referred to Nick Griffin, not to endorse his comments
and/or views in relation to Islam, but to argue for his right to express them.
He says: "This is why I support the right of the BNP leader, Nick Griffin,
to say that he dislikes Islam ...".
In IMMIGRATION ON TRIAL David Aaronovitch and Rosie Boycott argued the case
against the motion above whilst Bruce Anderson and Geeta Sidhu argued the
case for. Rod Liddle was one of the 'witnesses' for the 'prosecution'. During
the course of the debate Rod Liddle was vigorously cross-examined on his views
(including those expressed in IMMIGRATION IS A TIME BOMB) and his reasoning
behind them by David Aaronovitch. In addition, a witness for the 'defence'
Aina Khan, a solicitor and member of the Muslim Council of Britain, was scathing
about Rod Liddle's film whilst at the same time admitting that people do need
to hear these views so they can be challenged. It is interesting to note that,
at the end of the IMMIGRATION ON TRIAL programme the studio audience, selected
to reflect a cross-section of the public, voted against the motion.
In IMMIGRATION IS A TIME BOMB, Rod Liddle was keen to make the point that
to object to mass, unrestricted immigration was not 'racist', it was about
'culture' and 'numbers'. In IMMIGRATION ON TRIAL, David Aaronovitch introduced
the pre-recorded interview of BNP Leader Nick Griffin, the clip was a statement
from him stating his support for the motion and an outline of his reasons
for doing so. This was intended to make the point that some of the views held
by people like Rod Liddle were also held by people from whom they would perhaps
want to distance themselves. In that sense, the inclusion of Nick Griffin's
views was by no means a validation of BNP views, but quite the opposite, an
illustration that Liddle's and the 'prosecutions' anti-immigrant sentiments
might, at times, be embarrassingly indistinguishable from those of a man whose
politics they might prefer not to be associated with.
Immigration is a topic which is of clear concern to our viewers. Indeed it
has been more prominent in this election than in any other for many years.
As a complex subject it needs to be thoroughly aired; as a delicate subject
it needs to be debated with candour - something you don't always hear at the
hustings or on the media, where the fear of provoking, or reflecting racism
often leads to a reticent self-censorship. In the case of this Season we acknowledge
that some of the views expressed both by the presenters and contributors were
provocative. That was the point of the debate, to bring aspects of a difficult
and sensitive issue into the open. Indeed Rod Liddle himself, at the start
of IMMIGRATION IS A TIMEBOMB, describes the subject matter as "uncomfortable".
It is central to Channel 4's remit, as a public service broadcaster, to provide
a platform of views that are not always able to access the mainstream media.
We do however ensure that all our programmes comply with the Programme Codes.
Finally, thank you for taking the time to write in with your views, which
have been logged and passed on to those responsible for our programming.