Nicola Sturgeon quits BBC event over Steve Bannon invitation

[JimGinPA]

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/oct/20/nicola-sturgeon-quits-bbc-event-over-steve-bannon-invitation?CMP=fb_gu

Nicola Sturgeon has pulled out of a conference being jointly hosted by the BBC next month after learning that Donald Trump’s former strategist Steve Bannon had been invited to take part.

Scotland’s first minister said that allowing Bannon to freely express his opinions risked “legitimising or normalising far-right, racist views”.

She was also critical of the BBC for an attempt to justify Bannon’s inclusion at the three-day News Xchange event in Edinburgh on 13 November in an email sent to her office.

She tweeted on Saturday: “I believe passionately in free speech but as @ScotGovFM I have to make balanced judgments – and I will not be part of any process that risks legitimising or normalising far-right, racist views. I regret that the BBC has put me and others in this position.”

She later added: “The email the BBC sent to my office justifying Bannon’s inclusion described him as a ‘powerful and influential figure … promoting an anti-elite movement’. This kind of language to describe views that many would describe as fascist does seem to me to run the risk of normalisation.”

The two had been scheduled to appear at the conference on different days.

More at link

[smirkymonkey]

1. I applaud her from taking this position.

I wish more would do so. Eventually the organizers of these events will realize that Bannon is poison and stop inviting him.