Breakfast at the Beeb
Thursday, January 14, 2010 It's 9:30 and I have been up since four o'clock. I was going to drive to Television Centre but had second thoughts and got the 5:30 train instead. Arrived in west London an hour and a half later.
Today's Breakfast presenters were Bill Turnbull and Sian Williams. Duncan Bannatyne and I were on at 7:40. We were there (I thought) to respond to a report that the Finnish government wants to ban smoking completely, beginning with a ban on smoking in the home.
In fact we never addressed the subject of complete prohibition because Bannatyne was given the first (and last) word and he began by stressing the need for smaller steps such as a tobacco display ban, a ban on vending machines and a ban on smoking in cars with children.
Cue the man from Forest to talk about smoking in cars with children, a subject guaranteed to put the smokers' lobby on the back foot. ("Who can argue against that?")
Smokers, I said, should be considerate towards their passengers but why are we always banning things? Cars, I added, are private spaces and the "next logical step" would be to ban smoking in the home. How would this be enforced?
I used the phrases "bully state" and "Stasi state" and said that, according to an article he had written (in The Observer), Duncan Bannatyne wanted to give children the power to report their parents to the police if they lit up in the car.
This seemed to hit a nerve because Bannatyne suddenly appeared uncomfortable. The odd thing was, he seemed to deny having written any such thing when we have proof that he did. (Or did someone else write it for him? See HERE.) I was about to push him on this when presenter Bill Turnbull jumped in with a question of his own.
I would like to have said a lot more but that, I'm afraid, is the nature of television and radio. You just have to make the best of it.
Simon Clark
A viewer writes:
"I have just watched an interview with a member of your organization Mr Simon Clark and Mr Duncan Bannatyne. I would just like to comment on Mr Clark's comments: 'What a load of shite'. As an ex smoker with young children I found his interview ill mannered, his defense (sic) against Duncan pathetic and the only to words that sprung to mind were 'nob head'. Thanks for your time."
A friend writes:
"Happy New Year. Was happily sitting on sofa drinking my tea when you popped up with my hero! No not Bill Turnbull."
Duncan Bannatyne - hero?!!! OMG.
Reader Comments (18)
Watched Duncan and Simon on Breakfast. Very funny once again to watch Simon burst into another paranoid rant about 'Stasi' state control just because someone has suggested that we need a law to protect children from adults' smoke.
If I thought he believed a word of his own nonsense then I'd be worried about his mental state. But I know he's just doing his duty for his tobacco company funders.
Very well done indeed Simon.You certainly put the hours and travelling in. Good to see honest reportage via DeHavilland.
All to no avail, I'm afraid. As you so eloquently said;this total Stazi regime will continue and succeed. If only we could get across to ALL people what devastation this smoking ban has already caused and it is the vanguard to complete prohibition of all our basic human rights for smokers and non-smokers alike.
The UKIP stance on smoking may be of help when trying to discuss this with non-smokers.I wrote to them and received this reply today:-
"Dear Ms Johnson,
You can find our position in the policy paper here: http://www.ukip.org/media/pdf/pubs.pdf
We will be the only party giving publicans and clubs the right to choose.
Best wishes,
Tim Aker"
.
Simon did a very professional interview on BBCs breakfast with Sian Williams and Bill Turnbull. He made his points well and constructively without being aggressive. I don’t recognize in the first post where the ranting that Simon is supposedly guilty of was in any way apparent. Perhaps this poster could explain.
Rather than criticise Simon, why not simply use your own wit and imagination to argue where he was wrong, then we can have a debate.
That’s assuming of course…that you have any wit and imagination.
Dizzy…sounds appropriate!
“Very funny once again to watch Simon burst into another paranoid rant about 'Stasi' state control”.
Nothing paranoid about that Dizzy.
Most of the parents I have spoken with on the subject use their common sense and smoke away from their children.
When the anti’s bang on about banning smoking in the cars or in the home it’s funny how they never mention adult passengers or residents.
Consider this scenario:
Dave is on his own driving into town when he spots his mate Rob, so Dave pulls over to offer him a lift.
Rob says “But I’m just about to light up Dave”. “Don’t worry about that” says Dave. “You can smoke in here if you want”.
If the anti’s had their way, even that would be illegal.
Protecting children is one thing but it will not stop there.
They tried to ban smoking in cars in Australia remember.
The police there said it was unenforcable.
They cannot even stop people using mobile phones .
As for children grassing on their parents OMG what is the world coming to.
Oh and dizzy whoever you are I would be carefull if I were you,
Especially when round children as people who deal with children nowadays ,mostly women, as men will not have anything to do with children now as it has been known for such to come under suspicion of ,well you know what.
Besides this Goverment cares little for children .
They drop 1000 lb bombs on them.
Oh and next time you see your hero Bannatyne, (whoars ma strap), LOL.
Ask him how's the casinos doing.
"And now - SMOKING. Yes, we ALL know that it's bad for you, kills millions every year, is crippling the NHS, and causes irreparable damage to the health of our children. But - is the Government doing ENOUGH to stamp it out COMPLETELY ? Over to you, Tricia........."
"That's right, John..........................."
Looking at the photos of the presenters above reminds me about how IRRITATING I find the Collective Smiling Face of the New BBC.
They ALL look as though they're trying to SELL me something that I don't really want (or need).
And - of course - you can tell straight away that these are People Who Care.
Whatever happened to the sort of presenters that I grew up with - who DIDN'T look as though they'd all been recruited from the Brilliant White Teeth Model Agency ?
Must be getting 'paranoid'.
Or just old................
They look like the Osmonds .
But without the humour.
Since Simon has been talking about the smoking ban, I received this e-mail just moments ago; I thought you would like to read it.
‘Dear Mr Cyrnik,
I am writing on behalf of David Cameron to thank you for your e-mail. I am sorry for the delay in my reply. Our office has received an unusually high volume of correspondence recently and I am afraid it has taken longer than we would like to respond to everyone.
We are grateful to you for getting in touch and for making us aware of your views. We have no plans to overturn the smoking ban.
We do however recognise the difficulties many pubs are facing and I enclose for your interest the link to our 'Save the great British pub' campaign which I hope you find reassuring.’
http://www.conservatives.com/Campaigns/Save_the_Great_British_Pub.aspx
Yours sincerely,
Lara Moreno Perez
Office of the Leader of the Opposition
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
How can they want to save our British pubs whilst not acknowledging the smoking ban has had some effect?
Chris -
How wonderful of David to recruit a Correspondence Gofer with SUCH a reassuringly 'European' ring to her moniker.
And MUCH sexier and 'now' than (say) 'Ethel Frump'.
Re:
"We do however recognise the difficulties many pubs are facing blah blah blah if-I-could-only-find-my-script blah blah ah-yes-here-it-is.................."
Shame that her Boss DOESN'T 'recognise the difficulties' that many SMOKERS are facing.
All THEIR own fault, of course.
How about e-mailing back to the Lovely Lara a simple question:
"Since the Conservative Party (in the main) voted AGAINST the Ban - presumably as a Matter of Principle - what has happened to make the Party DEPART from those principles over the last two years?"
There can - logically - only be two possible answers:
a) In Politics, Principle - like everything else - is negotiable. Or:
b) New scientific FACTS have recently come to light which COMPEL us to DITCH the principle upon which we voted.
Just a thought.....................
Martin -
Quite right in what you say...but I do hope that many readers of this site will make their views known comprehensively and politely by visiting the Conservatives website.
Me must maintain the pressure.
I assume most smokers,with any kind of common sense,
and their fair minded friends will certainly not be voting Laour, but we all must concentrate on ensuring they do not waste their vote on Pink Tories
Target the marginals with plenty of info on
the Tories clamp down on hospitality venues.
We will make a start with a few thousand eye openers in Cheshire,Derbyshire and Lancashire.
Ex Tory Activist surrounded by closed pubs.
Yes I was at the Nanchester Conference(last one)
where I nailed a few wets, I will get stuck into the
waverers and "wannabees",I know exactly where they will be canvassing ,God help them
So, Finland are talking about completely banning smoking. One of my brothers had a Finish girlfriend for a while. He told me that FInland have the highest rate of suicide in Europe, and the highest rate of domestic violence. So, Finland are talking about completely banning smoking. They just don't get it do they.
Chris -
You're absolutely right, of course.
But I'm not entirely certain that 'polite' and reasoned argument is quite enough to pierce that impenetrable armour of indifference, wanton stupidity, and implausible logic which SEEMS to characterise current thinking at Tory HQ.
Frankly, my faith in a party leadership which considers (a reputed) £134,000 for a Drunken Broccoli logo a sound investment is diminishing by the hour.
That's SIX times my salary.
Of course, in THEIR World, things may be different.
Rather like their salaries, in fact............
sub dic verbo -
In the immortal words of Crosby, Stills and Nash:
"Carry on...................."
And may the gods smile upon your endeavours.
Thats correct Timbone in fact Finland has the fourth highest suicide rate in the world.
I think they are trying to go to No 1 with this miserable spitefull legislation they are considering.
Interstingly enough Sweden another prohibitionist country has achieved the honour of being No 11 .
The UK is presently 27th but our government are working on it.
The ministry of misery will see to that.
source ;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_OECD_countries_by_suicide_rate
Beg to differ guys, but Ireland are proving once again to be 'world leaders' on that score.
According to the latest stastics released in Ireland it shows that the irish have the highest suicide rates in the eurozone.
They even have people with collection boxes out and about the capitol collecting for suicides, and the rates are climbing daily.
Ann -
If only 'the British' had tried to impose a Smoking Ban on the Irish.
I rather suspect things MAY have been different.....
You said it there Martin.
The smoking ban would have been stopped in its tracks.
And if it was the english instead of the EU who paid us to open our borders to 167 different nationalities, they'd have been dispatched quicker than you could say bomb!