I turned on the BBC this morning, only to discover that our national broadcaster believes that one of the biggest stories in the world right now is the latest series of anti-migrant, anti-British comments, by the billionaire tax exile Jim Ratcliffe.
Ratcliffe’s comments, in which he claimed the UK is “on the slide” due to high taxes and immigration, came just months after he was widely condemned for suggesting that the UK has been “colonised” by migrants.
Yet this latter fact was not even stated until the very last line of the BBC’s online news report of their interview.
Also featured prominently in the BBC’s coverage was Ratcliffe’s criticism of the UK Government for “failing to invest further in North Sea oil and gas,” which he described as “insanity”.
Less prominent in their coverage, however, was the fact that Ratcliffe made his fortune as the founder and CEO of a major petrochemicals company, before leaving the UK for tax purposes some six years ago.
So why did the BBC decide that Ratcliffe’s latest bigoted and self-interested views were worthy of being given such a sizeable platform?
Here’s what’s really going on.