Oh dear. It seems that the BBC press office has had a nightmare 24 hours, with not one but three blunders in rapid succession involving three of their biggest stars – Fiona Bruce, David Attenborough and Gary Lineker. The Lineker row has been dominating the headlines but it’s not the only row consuming the Beeb.
On Thursday night, Bruce fronted an episode of Question Time in which the mooted knighthood for Stanley Johnson was referenced. Journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown described him as ‘a wife beater’ prompting her host to explain to the audience that:
Stanley Johnson’s wife spoke to a journalist, Tom Bower, and she said Stanley Johnson had broken her nose and she had ended up in hospital as a result. Stanley Johnson has not commented publicly on that. Friends of his have said it did happen, it was a one off.
That response has led to a chorus of execration from MPs, charities and lobbying groups, with Bruce now accused of trivialising ‘violence against women.’
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