Nicola Sturgeon has pulled out of a conference being jointly hosted by the BBC next month after learning that Donald Trump’s former strategist Steve Bannon had been invited to take part.
Scotland’s first minister said that allowing Bannon to freely express his opinions risked “legitimising or normalising far-right, racist views”.
She was also critical of the BBC for an attempt to justify Bannon’s inclusion at the three-day News Xchange event in Edinburgh on 13 November in an email sent to her office.
She tweeted on Saturday: “I believe passionately in free speech but as @ScotGovFM I have to make balanced judgments – and I will not be part of any process that risks legitimising or normalising far-right, racist views. I regret that the BBC has put me and others in this position.”
She later added: “The email the BBC sent to my office justifying Bannon’s inclusion described him as a ‘powerful and influential figure … promoting an anti-elite movement’. This kind of language to describe views that many would describe as fascist does seem to me to run the risk of normalisation.”
The two had been scheduled to appear at the conference on different days.
Until August 2017 Bannon was one of Donald Trump’s most trusted aides. He left the US government after losing his seat on the national security council amid a power struggle and has since continued to champion rightwing political causes, although his appearance at events has proved controversial. In September his invitation to the New Yorker festival was withdrawn.
In a statement, the BBC said Bannon had been invited on behalf of the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) News Xchange committee.
The statement added: “Good journalism in a world of fake news and disinformation is more vital than ever. Journalism is about asking tough questions and understanding what is happening in the world and why.
“A conference designed to analyse the big issues impacting that world isn’t an endorsement of anyone or anything – it is a function of what journalism is.”
The event’s organiser, the EBU, said Bannon was a “key influencer” in the rise of populism.
“We also consider it our journalistic responsibility to share and scrutinise a range of relevant viewpoints within the framework of a balanced debate,” a spokesperson added.
