Never afraid to speak his mind, Boris has once again made the headlines for daring to comment on the Carol Thatcher’s recent Golliwog comments on the BBC. However, contrary (perhaps) to expectations, he’s said that the BBC’s decision to fire her is unnecessarily harsh — which, given the furore over Sachsgate, is likely to raise more than a few eyebrows in the media. Quoth Boris:
“The way to deal with it is if someone says something a bit offensive in a green room and you’re the producer of the show and everybody else has taken umbrage and feels uncomfortable … you take that person on one side and say: ‘Listen, you’ve got to understand we’ve got to work together and you’ve got watch what you say and you’ve got to be sensitive,’ but I don’t think you fire someone. I really don’t.”
This is, perhaps understandably, a bit of a political minefield for BoJo, as many people hold the view that he’s walking on thin ice as far as London’s multicultural nature is concerned; Ken Livingstone, for example, has stepped up and noted that Boris should ‘concentrate on the job he is paid to do and stop pontificating’. However, given that the BBC has received over 2,200 complaints regarding their decision to drop Thatcher (compared to just 60 comments in agreement), the Mayor might have a better grasp on public opinion than the people baying for blood.
Is Red Ken right? Should Boris have kept his mouth closed on the subject, or is he right — and entitled — to voice his opinion on topics that don’t directly concern him? Let us know in the comments.