THE BBC has come under fire after two panellists who grilled Tory leadership candidates in a live TV debate were suspended from their jobs over vile tweets on Hitler and rape.
Disturbing social media posts by Imam Abdullah Patel and solicitor Aman Thakar came to light just hours after they appeared on the Beeb last night.
The Corporation was also accused of hiding from viewers that Mr Thakar has worked for the Labour party probing anti-Semitism.
During the live debate, Mr Patel accused all five Tory hopefuls of “peddling hate” – before asking if they knew if “words had consequences”.
However, a furore erupted on Wednesday morning when it emerged that the Bristol Imam – deputy head of a primary school – had previously shared offensive tweets about Israel and blamed women for rape.
He ranted: “Every political figure on the Zionist’s payroll is scaring the world about [Jeremy] Corbyn. They don’t like him. He seems best suited to tackle them!”
In another tweet, he posted: “FOUND THE SOLUTION! America wants to look after Israel? I’ve got a way to make them neighbours! (Until Israel attack)”
The Imam also suggested women were at fault for sex attacks.
He tweeted: “Lets make something clear: Generally, men are the predators, but women need to realise this and be smarter.
“It takes 2 to tango, and if you put yourself in that position, don’t expect every man to pass up the opportunity to take advantage of you. Don’t be alone with a man!”
Mr Patel was today suspended from his role as deputy head of Al-Ashraf Primary School with “immediate effect” pending a “full investigation”.
Yakub Patel, chair of Al-Madani Educational Trust, said: “The ‘School’ and ‘trust’ do not share the views attributed to him.”
Nicky Campbell, who interviewed Mr Patel on his Radio Five Live show today, told listeners “we should have checked. We didn’t. I’m sorry.”
BBC chiefs then blundered into another mess – claiming researchers had missed the tweets because Mr Patel had deactivated his account.
People had tweeted him over the weekend – but Beeb bosses say his profile was not visible when they began looking into participants’ backgrounds on Monday.
In a further embarrassing revelation it later emerged Mr Thakar had been working for Labour – but TV bosses had kept this from viewers.
Mr Thakar was a Labour council candidate last year in Southwark and also worked in the party HQ.
He was also suspended from his job, at Leigh Day law firm, after a questionable tweet he wrote about Hitler came to light.
We appreciate his apology and hope the BBC will ensure that racists like this do not receive a platform in future
Amanda Bowman, Board of Jewish Deputies
He had previously posted: “Hitler’s abuse of the term nationalism is, to me a nationalist, the most harmful part of his legacy”.
Mr Thakar’s suspension came after he said his tweet was a parody of a speech by a rightwing US activist.
He was appointed in October 2018 to help investigate anti-Semitism in the party, the Guido Fawkes website reported.
Under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership the party has been dogged by accusations of anti-Semitism and several Labour MPs quit in February.
The BBC said they didn’t disclose any questioners’ backgrounds.
A spokesman told the Sun Online: “A background in politics doesn’t disqualify anyone from taking part in a debate show.
“Last night’s questioners held a range of political views and we did not specify these views nor their backgrounds although some chose to do so themselves.
“[Mr Thakar] is a solicitor who was seconded by his law firm to the Labour Party in the past, rather than being a Labour ‘staffer’. He is a Labour supporter and once stood as a councillor.”
Rob Burley, who edited the programme, tweeted: “There were also self-described Conservatives on the programme”.
As the scandal erupted, the BBC rushed to social media to apologise to viewers and listeners.
Nicky Campbell tweeted: “I would like to apologise. We had the Imam from the BBC Tory leadership debate on our programme this morning.
“His social media comments have been extremely disturbing. We should have checked. We didn’t. I’m sorry.”
The corporation said that “background research” was carried out on the social media profiles of all “questioners”.
A spokesperson added: “Had we been aware of the views he expressed there he would not have been selected.”
The Board of Deputies of British Jews, the community’s representative organisation, issued a scathing response to the BBC’s apology.
Vice President, Amanda Bowman said: “Nicky Campbell is correct in saying that the BBC should have made checks before allowing a man who has made antisemitic statements on social media to appear on the Conservative leadership debate and on BBC Five Live.
“We appreciate his apology and hope the BBC will ensure that racists like this do not receive a platform in future.”
Mr Patel’s mosque said it had “chosen to give him some time away” while it investigated.
Following his appearance on the debate Mr Patel ranted that the Tory candidates did not care about Islamophobia.
He wrote on Twitter: “I have received numerous incident reports of blatant racism against members of my community, from spitting and swearing at Muslim women to asking students coming to my mosque if they had bombs in their bags.
“The hate is real, and it’s a shame our leaders can’t see it from their high towers.
“I wanted the candidates to admit that they’ve played a role in peddling this hate, and that things would change.
“What I got as a response was nothing short of disappointing and deluded.”
During the broadcast all of the five candidates committed to commissioning an independent prove into the Islamophobia in the Conservative Party.
The Tories have been accused of ignoring Islamophobia after a number of activists were accused of spreading hate online.
Theresa May vowed to stamp out anti-Muslim bigotry in April after London Mayor Sadiq Khan wrote a letter calling for an official crack down.
But last week the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), the country’s largest Muslim organisation, slammed the party for its “fundamental failures” to address the abuse.
The MCB claimed it had documented “hundreds of cases” showing abuse from Tory members or activists.
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