Andrew Neil keeps his head over killer’s “ginger rodent” BBC attack
By Adam Sherwin
Why did the BBC give convicted killer John Hirst a platform on BBC TV and radio? Hirst was jailed in 1979 for brutally killing his landlady and is celebrating the government’s reluctant approval for votes for prisoners.
Hirst showed little remorse for his crime but displayed an aptitude for pre-prepared insults when Andrew Neil quizzed him on The Daily Politics.
In a reference to Harriet Harman’s Danny Alexander jibe, Hirst said: “I’ve heard about the ginger rodent. Is that the dead thing on your head?”
“If you’re just going to be offensive…,” countered Neil whilst Hirst shouted, “Come on Brillo” over the top of his inquisitor.
Neil, who had been pressing Hirst to justify votes for killers like himself when the victim of his crime no longer has any human rights, kept admirably cool, completing the interview without responding in kind.
Then Hirst was whisked off to delight Radio 2 listeners on the Jeremy Vine show. Once again when the questioning got too tough, he told Vine: “No wonder they dumbed down Panorama for you.”
Hirst was chosen to appear after posting a YouTube video celebrating voting rights for prisoners by smoking a spliff. His gloating tone is probably unrepresentative of most prisoners who leave jail with some measure of rehabilitation.
He was given an appropriately rough ride by his BBC interlocutors but should he have been on at all? One thing is certain, after his post PMQs appearance…nobody delivers an insulting soundbite like John Hirst.
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9 comments:
Well, he started it.
T'was a shame that Andrew Neill seemed unwilling to discuss the issues without putting Mr Hirst on trial.
People, including Andrew Neill, should take the trouble to read the ECtHR judgement rather than vent their spleens against Mr Hirst everytime he is invited to speak on the matter
Andrew Neil is a prat! All the idiot could do was put John in the dock - probably because Neil was well and truly owned and didn't have a bloody clue how to handle the interview! Shame on Andrew Neil the pillock!
Nice one John!
Good on you John! From Adele and Craig! ( PFV )
You're a cock mate. One day you'll pay for what you did. Let's see who laughs then.
Cunt.
Does it worry you at all that your whole life's meaning is defined by your status as a murderer? If you'd lived a normal life you'd be a nobody.
You sounded silly and over-rehearsed. Reading through a few of your posts I realise that you completely believe in your own cleverness. I don't.
Hey Mate,
When you say that nobody delivers an insulting soundbite like john Hirst, that's somone else's line. Stop big-noting yourself. Thinking up a few witticisms in advance, and delivering them like a child at a school assembly is a bit see-through. Truth be told, you sound like you need a bit of help.
“Come on Brillo”
Classic, John - though many of today's youngsters will not get that one from the seventies Private Eye series.
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