Tables turned on C4’s Undercover Mosque
The BBC reports that the Crown Prosecution Service will not press charges against three speakers filmed in the Channel 4 Dispatches documentary Undercover Mosque. Instead, the West Midlands Police have complained to Ofcom about the programme itself.
CPS lawyer Bethan David said:
The splicing together of extracts from longer speeches appears to have completely distorted what the speakers were saying.
The CPS has demonstrated it will not hesitate to prosecute those responsible for criminal incitement.
But in this case we have been dealing with a heavily edited television programme, apparently taking out of context aspects of speeches which in their totality could never provide a realistic prospect of any convictions.
The programme is still available on YouTube.
The investigation initially focused on the speakers, but eventually turned on to the documentary itself. ACC Anil Patani for West Midlands Police said:
As a result of our initial findings, the investigation was then extended to include issues relating to the editing and portrayal of the documentary.
The priority for West Midlands Police has been to investigate the documentary and it’s [sic] making with as much rigour as the extremism the programme sought to portray.
According to the Press Release the West Midlands Police wanted to charge Channel 4 with stirring up racial hatred (which is odd considering Islam is not a race), but were advised by the CPS that this is not possible. So they have filed an official complaint with Ofcom, where details of the alleged distortions will emerge.
MWW will keep you informed.
UPDATE (14:55): Channel 4 has responded:
We believe the offensive views expressed by the people revealed in the programme speak for themselves.
We didn’t put these words into people’s mouths and all extracts were carefully contextualised.
The West Midlands Police have provided no evidence whatsoever to support their allegations.
Can’t prove it, of course, but one wonders whether the Muslim element within the police force has brought pressure to bear and, further, just what political correctness is going on. I realise I’m not impartial, being a secularist and nontheist, but I saw the programme and I fail to see how certain things could be made not to be those things by being taken out of context for the sake of programme brevity and conciseness. If somebody says queers shoould die, then there doesn’t seem to be much of another interpretation one can put on that (I don’t know that anyone did, but there were certainly some pretty nasty things said).
The police were acting on to complaints.
http://the-daily-pundit.blogspot.com/2007/01/muslim-groups-organised-campaign-to.html
Im glad the CPS dropped it. But im keener to find out what the MPs who requested an investigation into the mosque itself, ended up pursuing or not. Would you trust this police force to investigate thoroughly?
Hardcash have issued a very robust statement. Good for them.
Well, the West Midlands police should know a thing or two about distorting the evidence, given that its serious crime squad was responsible for dozens of frame-ups in the 1970s and 1980s.
This incident reminds me of what happened when Donal McIntyre reported undercover on abuse on care homes in Kent – although it was obvious abuse was going on, the Kent Police found insufficient evidence for a prosecution, so they accused McIntyre of wasting police time. He sued them for libel, and won – perhaps the Dispatches people might follow suit?
We already have politicised security services; looks like we now have a politicised police force. Scary stuff.
Shooting the Messenger…
After all, how much more hate can you find than this?:No one loves the kafir. No one loves the kafir! Not a single person here from the Muslims, love the kafir. Whether those kafir are from the UK, or from the US – We love the peope of Islam, and we …..
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