London, Friday, September 26, 2003
David Irving
comments: I SHARE Ludovic
Kennedy's feelings, but perhaps I had
better not say
so out
loud.
 
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TV
has too many ethnic minorities, says Ludovic
Kennedy By Shirin Aguiar
 ONE
of the BBC's most distinguished former broadcasters
was criticised yesterday for claiming there were
too many black people on television. Sir Ludovic
Kennedy, 83, said that television in general
had "more than its fair share of black
participants", compared with the actual proportion
of ethnic minorities in the UK
population.
Sir Ludovic wrote: "I am all in favour of black
advancement but there's now hardly a TV pub, police
station, soap, vox pop or ad without rather more
than its fair share of black participation." His remarks, in a book review in The
Oldie magazine, were criticised last night. A
spokeswoman for the Commission for Racial Equality
(CRE) said: "It is sad to see a well-known author
and commentator like Ludovic Kennedy so
misunderstand the realities of modern
multiracial Britain."Black and Asian people are still distinctly,
visibly and obviously disadvantaged." Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, a journalist and
writer, said that his comments were totally
unacceptable. "There is no excuse for it at all,"
she said. "I'm appalled and it just shows what real
attitudes in the establishment are. To me it is
nothing other than racism. We are moving forward,
unlike old fogeys like him." Trevor Phillips, ITV's first black news
presenter, said that Sir Ludovic's comments were
not true: "There are vast areas of TV which hardly
ever see a black face. Until quite recently you
would be hard pushed to see an Asian on most news
and current affairs programmes. When did you last
see a Chinese person on any factual programme or
drama?" Sir Ludovic has a reputation as a liberal
campaigner through involvement with miscarriage of
justice cases. His stance on race matters, however,
has on occasions been at odds with his attitudes
towards the legal system. Two years ago he wrote in The Times in
support of John Townend, a former Tory MP,
who complained that "Commonwealth immigration" was
undermining Britain's "homogenous Anglo-Saxon
society". Sir Ludovic received support from an
unexpected quarter last night. Raj Chandran,
a former member of the CRE, said: "He may be right.
The profile of Asian and blacks is enough to make
us wonder if we are living in England. "It gives an impression that we are overpowering
ourselves with black and ethnic minority
people." Copyright 2003 Times
Newspapers Ltd.
 London, Friday, September 26, 2003 Ludovic Kennedy
claims 'too many black faces on TV' By Terry Kirby
Chief Reporter SIR Ludovic Kennedy, the former
broadcaster, author and veteran campaigner for
liberal causes,
caused
astonishment yesterday by
saying there were too many black people appearing
in television programmes. Writing in The Oldie magazine, Sir
Ludovic, 83, said there was "rather more than its
fair share' of black participation in television
soaps, vox pops and advertising. He said political
correctness had got "completely out of hand" and
that the imbalance needed to be readjusted. The comments
shocked both
broadcasters and broadcasting organisations. The
BBC said it was "proud' to be committed to
diversity and fairness, while Channel 4 said the
comments were "ludicrous.' The Commission for
Racial Equality said he had misunderstood the
realities of multiracial Britain. Sir Ludovic, who lives in Wiltshire, could not
be contacted yesterday to clarify his comments,
made in a review of The Fun Factory, A Life in
the BBC, by Will Wyatt, the former
managing director of BBC television. He concluded his review writing: "I'd like to take issue with Will when
he says it was his aim to bring more blacks to
the screen, in which it seems he has more than
succeeded. I am all in favour of black
advancement, but there's now hardly a TV, pub,
police station, soap, vox pop or ad without
rather more than its fair share of black
participation.""The Statistical Office tells me the
proportion of all ethnic groups (blacks,
Indians, Pakistanis, Asians) to whites in this
country is no more than 7.5 per cent. Political
correctness has got completely out of hand and
requires that the imbalance be readjusted.' A spokeswoman for the BBC, which recently began
a new black sitcom, The Crouches, said: "The
BBC has a duty to serve all of its audiences and
although ethnic minorities make up 9 per cent of
the UK population (4.6 million people, according to
the 2001 census), some of our programmes -
EastEnders, Holby City and Casualty
for example - do have more than this
representation.  But
this is because these dramas are set in urban areas
where people from ethnic minority backgrounds make
up as much as 30 per cent of the population so it
would seem unrealistic to the audiences watching
these dramas without this variety of
characters." Alan Yentob, (left), the BBC's
director of drama, entertainment and children's
television, added: "I think Ludo is a great guy;
but I don't agree with him on this at all. It's a
very silly thing to say and - I don't want this to
sound patronising at all - I think he needs to get
out more." Channel 4 said: "We do not think these comments
justify a response. They are clearly
ludicrous." About 11 per cent of the
channel's staff are from ethnic minorities, a
figure it is anxious to increase. It
requires commissioning editors to ensure about 10
per cent of all faces on screen are from ethnic
minorities and a similar level is achieved in its
workforce.  
David
Irving's comments in A Radical's Diary
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