3 days ago
No apology needed for Robert Jenrick
I heard Dr Krish Kandiah's Thought for the Day on Radio 4 and agree with Alf Dubs and Tina Beattie – he was absolutely spot-on with his forthright comments on Robert Jenrick's appalling article (BBC apologises over Thought for the Day 'xenophobia' claim against Jenrick, 13 August). Jenrick was unquestionably xenophobic and, in my and many others' view, racist in his disgraceful terminology.
I have volunteered with asylum seekers and refugees for some years and met and taught hundreds. The overwhelming majority are good, decent people, often highly skilled professionals and the sort of technical workers this country is crying out for. If Jenrick knows next to nothing about them, it's because he hasn't bothered to find out before voicing his ill-informed opinions.
The BBC should not have apologised. The world needs people like Dr Kandiah, Lord Dubs and Marian Budde, the brave bishop who preached so eloquently at Donald Trump's inauguration service, to speak truth to power and call xenophobia and racism exactly that when they hear JohnsDerby
I don't understand the BBC's reaction to the Thought for the Day that mentioned Robert Jenrick. The head of the Sanctuary Foundation, Krish Kandiah, quoted the shadow justice secretary as having said: 'I certainly don't want my children to share a neighbourhood with men from backward countries who broke into Britain illegally, and about whom we know next to nothing.' Kandiah went on: 'These words echo a fear many have absorbed – fear of the stranger. The technical name for this is xenophobia. All phobias are, by definition, irrational. Nevertheless, they have a huge impact.' All true and topical, if trenchant. So why is it objectionable? If Jenrick doesn't want to be associated with the echoing of xenophobic fears, maybe he should stop echoing xenophobic de BrunnerBurn Bridge, North Yorkshire
It seems that nowadays you can't call a xenophobe a xenophobe. It's political incorrectness gone JuliansRomford, London
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