Judge to decide on mayoral candidate's BBC 'censorship' case

A High Court judge will today decide whether the BBC 'politically censored' a London mayoral candidate's party election broadcast, just one day before polling booths open.

The Christian Choice candidate, Alan Craig, instructed the Christian Legal Centre to file papers for a Judicial Review at the Royal Courts of Justice after the BBC told him to remove parts of his party election broadcast which was aired last Wednesday evening.

Cllr Craig, a long-standing campaigner against the London 'mega-mosque', due to be built in Newham close to the site of the Olympic Games, originally described the organisation behind it, Tablighi Jamaat, as 'separatist'. However, BBC officials responsible for supervising the broadcast instructed him to moderate his views and change this description of the Islamic organisation if he wanted it aired. Cllr Craig claims not only 'political interference' by the broadcaster, but says such action breeches his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects freedom of speech. The CLC said that Cllr Craig changed the word to "controversial" only under duress.

Cllr Craig said: "BBC officials, none of whom were lawyers to our knowledge, clearly instructed us to 'tone down' our views and change the sense if we wanted the PEB broadcast. My comments were reasonable and moderate and did not contradict the Racial and Religious Hatred Act. The BBC is not entitled to limit free speech and I look forward to the judge ordering them both to broadcast my original message or make a full, public apology."

Andrea Minichiello Williams, barrister and director of the Christian Legal Centre, said: "Providing that the content of an election broadcast is within the law, the BBC should enable the electorate to hear the unedited views of candidates and allow them to make up their own minds as to whether they agree or not."

The Christian Legal Centre will be calling for a Judicial Review of the BBC's decision, and ask the judge to order, as a matter of urgency, the unedited Party Election Broadcast tonight or a substantial broadcast apology. Cllr Craig is being represented by leading human rights barrister, Paul Diamond, who represented Nadia Eweida in the BA cross row.