Ofcom received just six complaints over presenter’s ‘bigot’ comments, and didn’t pursue them
Ofcom received just six complaints over a controversy which led to Iain Lee leaving his BBC show, and did not pursue them.
A controversy emerged last month on Iain Lee’s BBC Three Counties Radio breakfast show, when Lee interviewed Libby Powell of Christian Concern and the Christian Legal Centre.
Christian Concern is an extreme Christian group which is strongly committed to opposing LGBT rights, speaking against equality on issues from same-sex parenting to anti-bullying campaigns, and opposing the decriminalisation of homosexuality globally.
Things turned fiery on-air between the pair while discussing the case of a prison gardener who says he was ‘persecuted’ at work, after getting a warning for telling inmates that homosexuals must repent their sexuality to please God.
He left the show following the controversy.
Now it has emerged that Ofcom only received six complaints over the issue and it decided not to take action on them.
The news of the complaints is significant, as although Lee nor the BBC confirmed the interview was the reason he left, it is believed that is the case.
He has also broken his Twitter silence over the issue.
Taking to Twitter yesterday, he wrote: “Here’s the thing – if you think gays and lesbians are sinners for who they love, and they’re going to hell for that love – you’re a bigot.”
In a later tweet, he said: “And now I’m annoyed I broke my Twitter silence. Going back to shh. I’m not very well at the moment. Very dark. But lots happening. Lots.”
Christian Concern has previously claimed that anti-bullying campaigns are playing into the hands of a gay “Trojan Horse” attempting to promote gay sex to children.
The group often exhibits objectively bigoted views, claiming Stonewall is an “ideological propaganda machine” attacking families.
Anti-LGBT CEO Andrea Williams, who has had involvement with ‘gay cure’ events in the past – also affirms that gay couples are “selfish” for having children.
The group has also backed laws criminalising gay sex in other countries. Speaking at a conference in Jamaica in support of the country’s buggery law, Williams cited Tom Daley in claiming that homosexuality can be “caused” by a “lack of the father” and “sometimes a level of abuse”.
