- Outraged listeners question the corporation’s decision to give radical Islamist air time
- Anjem Choudary refused to condemn the actions of Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale convicted of the brutal murder of Lee Rigby
- Lord Carlile, former anti-terror adviser to the Government, said the public ‘should be disgusted’ by Mr Choudary who ‘offends law abiding Muslims’
Angry listeners have today questioned why BBC bosses chose to give hate preacher Anjem Choudary the prime interview slot on the Today programme after two Muslim converts were found guilty of hacking a British solider to death.
The radical Islamist appeared on the corporation’s Radio 4 show where he refused to condemn the horrific murder of Lee Rigby on the streets of London, despite repeated calls from presenter John Humphreys to do so.
Muslim converts Michael Adebolajo, 29, and Michael Adebowale, 22, were yesterday convicted of the young soldier’s brutal murder.
But the 45-year-old former leader of Islam4UK, a banned Islamist group, refused to condemn their actions, instead blaming the barbaric murder on British foreign policy.
As the interview aired at 8.10am, listeners immediately took to Twitter to share their disgust.
Mr Choudary said: ‘I think that to talk about condemnation or to talk about how we feel is not the most important question now, and I’m not going to go down that road.
‘I think that what is important is to learn lessons from what has taken place. Whether you agree or disagree with what took place, you cannot predict the actions of one individual among a population of 60 million when the Government is clearly at war in Muslim countries.
‘I condemn those who have caused what has taken place on the streets of London, and I believe that the cause of this is David Cameron and his foreign policy.’
Dorcas Eatch wrote: ‘Think Chaudary (sic) has had enough air time thank you Radio 4.’
Fatima Manji added: ‘When did Radio 4 replace Today with the Ankum Chaudry (sic) show?! This has been going on for ages.’
Gary Bills said: ‘@BBCBreaking pointless airtime on Radio 4, is it about you thinking you can get one over, stupid to grant him favour.’
Dr Aisha K Gill branded the BBC’s decision offensive, adding: ‘I am disgusted that Radio 4 has given air time to Anjem Choudary #offensive! Inciting hate is wholly unacceptable.’
Also speaking on the show was Lord Carlile, the former Government anti-terror adviser, who urged the Muslim community to publicly speak out against Mr Choudary’s views and actions.
He said: ‘Mr Choudary is a demagogue, he does not like the United Kingdom, he does not believe in democracy.
‘He is an outrageously bad influence on young Muslims and he offends the law abiding Muslim community who are proud to be British.
‘We now need to hear much more from the young leaders of the Muslim community about how they condemn his actions.
‘Very few Muslim leaders agree with him.
‘The public listening should be disgusted Mr Choudary will not condemn the hacking to death with a meat cleaver of an innocent British solider.’
During his rant on the show, Mr Choudary, the former leading member of banned extremist organisation Al-Muhajiroun said he was ‘very proud’ of killer Michael Adebolajo as ‘a practising Muslim and a family man’, but ‘differed’ with him about the interpretation of Islam which he used to justify the murder.
Formerly a Christian, Adebolajo converted to Islam and became a member of Al-Muhajiroun, taking on the name Brother Mujahid.
BBC1’s Panorama broadcast interviews with acquaintances who said he was heavily influenced by Mr Choudary’s preaching.
One former friend told the programme: ‘We saw videos of him. He went to his lectures. He would talk about him with respect, that he admires the person.
‘He said he is a very good influence and we should also go to his lectures and follow him.’
Asked about comments by Al-Muhajiroun founder Omar Bakri Mohammed, who said he was ‘proud’ of Adebolajo, Mr Choudary said: ‘He was talking about Brother Mujahid in terms of the fact that he has been invited into Islam, he is a practising Muslim, he is a family man and by all accounts I’m very proud of him as well, but as for the incident we are talking about something where we differ about the Islamic opinion that he adopts.
‘I can’t control what the youth do. The sad reality is that people have cut off individuals like Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed, Sheikh Abu Qatada and myself, they ban organisations who are in fact channeling the energy of the youth through demonstrations and processions.
‘These people are now going online, finding al-Qaida, swallowing that narrative and seeing Britain as a battlefield.’
OFCOM LAUNCHED INQUIRY INTO CHOUDARY’S NEWSNIGHT APPEARANCE
In July broadcasting regulator Ofcom had launched an investigation into the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 over their decision to give airtime to Anjem Choudary after soldier Lee Rigby’s murder.
Shocked viewers complained when the radical cleric refused to condemn the killing in Woolwich in interviews with Channel 4 News, BBC2’s Newsnight and ITV’s Daybreak following Fusilier Rigby’s death on May 22.
Conservative peer Baroness Warsi said at the time that hate preachers who are ‘idiots and nutters’ should not be put on air.
She added she was ‘really angry’ that broadcasters were ‘giving a platform to one appalling man who represents nobody’.
After receiving 22 complaints from viewers, Ofcom has launched an official probe.
The watchdog said there were grounds to look at whether the programmes met ‘acceptable standards’.
Choudary appeared on Channel 4 News and Newsnight on May 23. He told Kirsty Wark on the BBC2 show he was ‘shocked’ by the murder but did not ‘abhor’ it.
Home Secretary Theresa May said the Government had to look at ‘whether we’ve got the right processes, the right rules in place in relation to what is being beamed into people’s homes’.