Friday 6 February 2009

Golliwog

I see the Daily Mail is at it again. That purveyor of small-minded prejudice blames the BBC for getting its own back on Maggie by sacking her daughter for the use of the word Golliwog. So, the BBC deliberately employs Carol Thatcher on BBC1, Radio4, Five Live etc etc deliberately so that one day it will catch her out when she says something offensive. Yeah, right.
By the way, I once interviewed Mrs Thatcher while I was a young reporter working for the English section of the Dutch World Service. Carol was then working for the small London station, LBC. Such was Ma Thatcher's dislike of the BBC, which she regarded as dangerously liberal, that she insisted via her PR attack dog, Bernard Ingham, that interviews for LBC get priority over national BBC radio and TV. Ingham swore at me in front of Mrs T when he thought I'd muscled into an interview without permission. In fact, Maggie had asked me if I wouldn't mind doubling up because she was running short of time. Never a fan of hers, politically, I have to say she was absolutely charming. Yes, I know... good cop, bad cop.