BBC in fresh bias row after Desert Island Discs ‘bans Nigel Farage’ as Reform leader would make woke staff on Radio 4 show ‘feel unsafe’, biography claims

The BBC has been hit with fresh allegations of bias following claims Nigel Farage was ‘banned’ from appearing on Desert Island Disc.

The Reform UK leader will never be invited to the prestigious Radio 4 show because his presence would make Wake Corporation employees feel ‘unsafe’, a new biography claims.

Producers are also said to fear backlash from other potential guests who might boycott the show if it gives a platform to the populist politician.

Last night Mr Farage told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I wouldn’t expect anything less from the BBC; their blatant biases have been evident for years.

‘The BBC will suffer a rude awakening under the Reform government’.

But impressed by repeated allegations of left-wing bias, the broadcaster responded: ‘We do not ban anyone from appearing on Desert Island Discs, this includes Mr Farage.’

Reports of the ban will feature in an upcoming biography of the Reform leader, written by former Conservative Party deputy leader Lord Ashcroft.

It quotes a BBC source as saying Mr Farage has been ‘literally blacklisted’ from the programme, which has been running for 84 years and was once voted the best radio program of all time.

Upcoming biography of Lord Ashcroft (pictured) claims he will never be invited to Mr Farage’s Radio 4 show because his presence would make Wake Corporation workers feel ‘unsafe’

The source said: ‘Farage is instinctively considered unacceptable by many BBC staff. At least half the staff would think Radio 4 had become an ‘unsafe space’ if he were on Desert Island Disc.

‘Nothing will be written down, it’s just the classical liberal-Left BBC.

‘It’s impossible to say how snobbish this is, especially in a program like this where political biases go unnoticed.

‘I also think they are worried that if Farage goes ahead, other potential guests might start a boycott.’

The comments appear in his book The Farage Factor, subtitled Reforming UK And The Remaking Of British Politics, which will be published next month.

Earlier this month, a member of Mr Farage’s team contacted Radio 4 to ask if presenter Lauren Laverne had qualified for an invitation to interview her about eight records, books and luxury items she was taking to a fictional desert island.

They were told: ‘We are not currently looking for new castaways as we have now started production on our final series.

‘We make reservations by ensuring there is a diversity of views over a fairly long period of time when making decisions about the very small number of active politicians on the programme.’

Both Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Opposition Leader Kemi Badenoch (pictured here together ahead of the King’s Speech in May) appeared on the programme.

The BBC added that it would “stay in touch” and “reconsider Nigel’s interest in a future series.”

Both Sir Keir Starmer and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch attended the programme, which did not shy away from inviting figures from the far left.

Matt Brittin, who replaced Tim Davie as chief executive of the BBC earlier this month, is reported to have said that one of his biggest challenges is trying to ‘Reform’ the BBC and make sure any future government cannot change the way the broadcaster operates.

In November, Mr Farage branded the Corporation ‘rotten to the core’ and claimed it had ‘become a symbol of filth, hypocrisy, arrogance, anti-Semitism and worse’.

Following a series of lines about the BBC’s ‘Left-wing bias’ and coverage of Israel, the Daily Mail writer said: ‘I believe this revision is long overdue. In particular, the license fee as we know it needs to be completely abolished.

‘Contrary to false rumors spread by my critics, Reform UK does not seek or intend to abolish the BBC altogether.

‘We want to preserve and develop the good aspects of the company. Reporting and World Service are critical to our national life; But the commitment to true impartiality must be carried out from top to bottom in the newsroom.’

He added that there needed to be a ‘fundamental change’ in the way the BBC was funded, writing: ‘The license fee is a terribly regressive tax; It’s the same for a bankrupt as it is for a billionaire.

In November, Mr Farage said the BBC was ‘rotten to the core’ and then wrote in the Daily Mail that the company had a ‘Left-wing bias’.

‘Those who fail to pay the annual fee of £174.50 will be fined; Anyone who does not pay the fine imposed by the court will face the danger of being sent to prison.’

His intervention follows controversy over Panorama’s misleading editing of Donald Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021, when the US Capitol was stormed.

The row culminated in the departure of Mr Davie and his news director, Deborah Turness, and Mr Trump launching a $10bn (£7.4bn) lawsuit against the Company in a Florida court.

Last night a BBC source said: ‘The selection of guests on Desert Island Discs is editorially determined and we invite a variety of participants on the programme, including politicians, writers, academics and well-known figures from many fields, to discuss their lives through their love of music.

‘We make the reservations over a fairly long period of time, ensuring a range of voices are heard, while making decisions about the very small number of active frontline politicians on the programme.

‘We are always open to inviting guests from across the political spectrum and have said we would be happy to visit again.’ [Mr Farage’s] There is interest in a future series.’

The only rule for them: leftist hotties invited to the deserted island

By Chris Hastings

Some of the UK’s most famous Leftist ardents have been invited to Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs.

It appeared in 1988, when Arthur Scargill was president of the National Union of Mineworkers, and used the respected program to defend his position against a year-long miners’ strike that aimed to paralyze the UK.

Arguing that the Thatcher government engineered the conflict with the miners for the party’s political interests, Mr Scargill said his only regret was not launching the strike before 1984.

The lifelong trade unionist said miners would emerge victorious in the long run despite losing the dispute, and said he looked forward to the ‘establishment of socialism’ in the UK and that it would be ‘in spite of the strike, not in spite of it’.

The following year, former Cabinet Minister Tony Benn condemned the ‘horrible’ legacy of Thatcherism in a speech.

He also celebrated the tradition of Left-wing radicalism, which he claimed dated back to the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381.

The veteran Labor Party politician challenged the idea that the British public saw him as ‘crazy’ and said: ‘If you followed me and felt a warmth. I mean, if people don’t wave their first greeting at you, how do you think I survive? I’m not saying people share my views. That would be a big mistake.”

Mr. Benn chose Karl Marx’s Das Kapital as reading material on the fictional island.

When Labor advocate Dennis Skinner appeared on the programme, he chose Karl Marx’s Das Kapital as his reading material.

In 1990, Labor firebrand Dennis Skinner, nicknamed the Beast of Bolsover, shared his far Left views on politics and Parliament.

The MP, a staunch supporter of the National Union of Mineworkers, showed his militant leanings by choosing Dad, What Did You Do on the Strike? As Peggy Seeger’s favorite song.

Three years later it was the turn of Ken Livingstone, the former leader of the Greater London Council and one of the most prominent Leftist politicians of modern times.

The Brent East MP was a fierce opponent of Margaret Thatcher. True to his socialist roots, Livingstone chose Joe Hill, named after a leading trade unionist and sung by American activist Paul Robeson, as his favorite song.

When left-leaning playwright Sir David Hare appeared on the program in 1989, he highlighted what he called Margaret Thatcher’s ‘hard Right’ ideology and wondered why she was always ‘so angry’.

But perhaps the most controversial castaway in the program’s history was Lady Mosley, widow of British fascist leader Oswald Mosley and former friend of Adolf Hitler.

Lady Mosley condemned the horrors of the Holocaust during her appearance on the programme, but said the idea that six million Jews were killed by Hitler was ‘unimaginable’. He also expressed his admiration for the Nazi leader.