THE BBC has pulled a segment from a flagship radio show after a guest called Robert Jenrick “xenophobic”.
It comes after the Tory shadow minister said in an article last week that he didn’t want his children “to share a neighbourhood with men from backward countries who broke into Britain illegally”.
Dr Krish Kandiah, a refugee charity founder, said Jenrick’s words echoed “a fear many have absorbed. Fear of the stranger. The technical name for this is xenophobia”.
He added: “It is understandable that many people are scared by the unknown, especially if they’ve been told illegality and unfairness are part of the story.
“However, over the past year, xenophobia has fuelled angry protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers, deepening divisions in our communities.”
Reacting to the segment, Jenrick said: “On BBC Radio 4 this morning listeners were told that if you’re concerned about the threat of illegal migrants to your kids, you’re racist. Wrong. You’re a good parent.”
The BBC apologised in the aftermath and pulled the segment.
A spokesperson said: “Today’s episode of Thought for the Day contained reflections from a faith perspective on fear in society but has been edited to remove some of the language used and we apologise for its inclusion.”
Here are the words of Dr Krish Kandiah's full Thought of the Day on BBC Radio 4:
“We are not born. Psychologists and neuroscientists explain that babies arrive in this world with only two natural start responses. One to falling and the other to loud noises. Most other fears, whether of heights, failures, spiders or strangers are learned. Picked up through experience and the influence of others. When my children were born I felt afraid leaving them alone in their cots, I hesitated to let others hold them, I felt my stomach twist when they walked through the school gates for the first time. Even now as I count down the days to my daughter’s wedding, I feel butterflies in my stomach. Across the country many parents, carers and grandparents will be feeling a similar nervousness ahead of tomorrow’s A-level results. They seem so important, shaping our children’s next steps towards university, a job, a career, but in truth our fears are misplaced. A grade on a piece of paper does not define who our children are, nor does it dictate their future success or happiness.
“A front page story in the Mail on Sunday quoted shadow justice minister Robert Jenrick talking about his fears for his young daughters. He 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.' 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. It is understandable that many people are scared by the unknown, especially if they’ve been told illegality and unfairness are part of the story. However, over the past year, xenophobia has fuelled angry protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers, deepening divisions in our communities.
“After rigorous Home Office assessment, the majority of people arriving in small boats are found to be genuinely fleeing war, persecution, and famine – circumstances we would never wish on our own families. The idea that they pose a greater risk to our children than those already within our communities isn’t supported by evidence. Most crimes against children are committed not by strangers, but by people they know, often from within their own families or neighbourhoods.
"Fear, when it makes us cautious, can keep us safe but when it makes us unnecessarily suspicious it can be dangerous, making society more fractured and fragile and eroding the very values we want our children to experience - kindness, fairness and open heartedness. Martin Luther King Jnr, standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, spoke not of fear but of hope. He wanted his children to share a neighbourhood with those others considered a risk. Children from all races walking hand in hand in peace. His words rooted in his Christian faith echo what Jesus taught - to love thy neighbour and to welcome the stranger. Just as fear may be learned, I believe it is possible for us to learn to hope. By choosing empathy over suspicion, by listening before judging and by building bridges instead of walls.”
