The BBC’s paranoia about causing offence has reached a new high

If the Naga Munchetty fiasco wasn’t cause for enough embarrassment for the BBC, an apparent attempt to censor a script referring to a Sikh Guru’s martyrdom for fear it, ‘might offend Muslims’ should certainly be. The Beeb’s in-house ‘thought police’ have driven Lord Singh to quit a radio slot he’s contributed to for thirty-five years. It’s a sorry state of affairs – not just because it highlights a new high in BBC paranoia on giving imagined offence to imaginary people, but because it demonstrates how historical facts (not just opinions) are not immune to censorship. In the end, the broadcast went ahead. It did not criticise Islam and unsurprisingly received no complaints.

It goes without saying Lord Singh’s – (known to listeners as Indarjit Singh) longstanding contribution to Thought for the Day (TFTD) on Radio 4 has been widely appreciated, in Britain and beyond.

One of his talks caught the ear of Prince Charles, leading to the establishment of the Lambeth Group to celebrate the Millennium in the Royal Gallery in Parliament.