Missing in action: Brussels publishes list of the first pan-European crimes

– has anyone seen or heard anything of this important story on the BBC? Anthony Browne, reports:

BRUSSELS unveiled detailed proposals yesterday that would for the first time create a body of pan-European criminal law and force member states to punish citizens who transgress it.

The ruling means that for the first time in legal history, a British government and Parliament will no longer have the sovereign right to decide what constitutes a crime and what the punishment should be.

Also unseen and unheard on the BBC are:

  • Kennedy failed to declare free flights:

    CHARLES KENNEDY is expected to be subjected to a Commons investigation over his failure to declare more than £30,000 of free flights from his party’s most generous donor, who is wanted by police in America.

  • Marlowe’s Koran-burning hero is censored to avoid Muslim anger:

    …producers of Tamburlaine the Great have come under fire after censoring Christopher Marlowe’s 1580s masterpiece to avoid upsetting Muslims.

    The censorship sparked condemnation yesterday from senior figures in the theatre and scholars, as well as religious leaders. Terry Hands, who directed Tamburlaine for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992, said: “I don’t believe you should interfere with any classic for reasons of religious or political correctness.”

Bet these would have both got top billing at the BBC if they weren’t about Charles Kennedy and Muslim appeasement…

Update: Bryan comments that the Marlowe story was mentioned on the BBC World Service yesterday, whilst Venichka has spotted the third of these ‘missing’ stories in action on BBC Views Online as Marlowe rewrite ‘draws criticism’, a luke-warm report of The Times story, missing out, for instance, an interesting quote from Inayat Bunglawala, media secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain, who said “In the context of a fictional play, I don’t think it will have offended many people”.

Meanwhile, the search goes on – has anyone seen or heard anything of the other two stories (the EU one in particular is notable – where is Mark Mardell?) in any BBC media or the Marlowe story on any UK broadcast?

Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.