Tom on January 9th, 2004
Why is Robert Kilroy-Silk not allowed to voice his own views? He didn't air them on 'Kilroy' so why has his show been taken off air? Repressing opinions will cause a resurgence in support for extremist political groups such as the British National Party. People are now reluctant to voice their opinions for fear of upsetting someone, and the only way they will feel safe about doing so is if they have the support of the majority - expressed through the ballot box.
thms on January 9th, 2004
i honestly can't stand this rude, arrogant and opinionated man. how dare he stereotype millions of arabs with his sweeping generalisation? The bbc are right to distance themselves from his racist views i fully support free speech but please remember free speech has many colours
M Gosling on January 9th, 2004
No he shouldn't be sacked it's about time someone spoke up about overruling, murderous Arabs.
SA on January 9th, 2004
Oh dear. The arguments in support of Kilroy fall into two categories: 1 - "he has the right of free speech": well, yes we all do, but if i say that all blacks are dirty rapists who carry knives and abuse children then i lose my right to free speech because i am, basically, slandering a whole people based on the colour of their skin. 2 - "everything he said was right": if you truly believe that then you know nothing about the Arab world and the people of the Arab world. How many Arabs are Christian, for example? Well 10% of Egyptian Arabs are Christian (yes, thats right, read the sentence again if it helps), in Lebanon its even higher: over 40% of Lebanese are Christian.
Matt Brennan on January 9th, 2004
Amazing, this was the same loud-mouthed Kilroy-Silk, that was castigated for saying in the 1980s that Ireland was a nation of 'priests, publicans and pixies' Now that was offensive, obviously the foul-mouthed bigot didn't learn his lesson then. It turned out that he had never been to Ireland. The right decision was to sack the bigot!
SA on January 9th, 2004
Its racism, pure and simple. If we are going to allow a racist to host a chat show about social issues, we are taking ourselves back to the dark ages. Interesting to note that he has been referred to the police for inciting racial hatred. His vitriolic, and highly inaccurate, rant could provide the bullet for an agressive bigot looking for a punch-bag. Goodbye Kilroy.
Neal Coady on January 9th, 2004
I think Kilroy should be sacked immediately. He has abused his position as a BBC presenter (by clearly being racist) as his comments wouldn't have been published if they came from a member of the general public. I agree with the free speech ideal, and he can rant as much as he likes from the dole queue.
phelings on January 9th, 2004
RKS was simply saying out loud what a lot of UK citizens think. But of course, free speech is a thing of the past over here
Julia Anthony on January 9th, 2004
Kilroy has in recent years lost the plot. He's run out of ideas to discuss and so seemingly wants to be seen as controversial, craving media attention perhaps. Whilst people should be entitled to have opinions, to use a national paper to attrack a whole race regardless of one's views is unforgiveable.
Dave on January 9th, 2004
Kilroy should not be sacked its ok for arabs & muslims to say they hate us because of our involvement in the war on terror & our support for the u.s i think the pc idiots have gone 2 far this time. What a waste of police resources if they have 2 get involved in this one. What the hell happened to freedom of speech?
iain smith on January 9th, 2004
I think he probably made the comments owing to stress over his mothers death and therefore after a brief suspension the matter should be forgotten and he should be allowed to return to his show, as i'm sure he will express regret for what he said. That having been said, it is certainly the case that a lot could and should be done in the Arab world to improve democracy/human rights etc,a nd i would like to think Arab people themselves would be the first to demand those progressive changes, and I would also hope that they would start to be more vocal in their denunciation of criminals like Osama Bin Laden, who after all do more to destroy the reputation of Arab and Muslim people than anything else.
kilroy lover on January 9th, 2004
NO !!!!! He should not be sacked, besides how do you sack a man who owns his own production company and the BBC buy his programs. GO ON KILROY MY SON TELL EM! leave kilroy alone you bullies he only speaks from a collective view.
Robert Alexander on January 9th, 2004
Here here Mr Kilroy!! If only more people had his courage and sense.
Herb on January 9th, 2004
Of course Kilroy should NOT be sacked for his comments. Have any of the ranting do gooders even read the article? Free speech...What a laugh! Name one thing that was untrue in Kilroy's article? Political Correctness now rules the world and anyone going against the grain of the suppressors is dealt with as you see what has happened to Kilroy. Big Brother is WATCHING. As a sidelight, read Pat Buchanan's book DEATH OF THE WEST.
Jonny on January 9th, 2004
Way to go robert! Its about time someone had the guts to say what millions of us think. Rather than being sacked he should be applauded for his comments as this country and its citizens should stop trying to be so bloody PC and careful all the time.
Graham Terry on January 9th, 2004
Should he be sacked. NO! We all saw the pictures on television. So good on yer Robert. See you again on the box real soon...
jp on January 9th, 2004
free speech needs to be exercised, scour the daily broadsheets or tabloids and you'll find someone ranting about something, I don't think what he saud was accurate and I don't agree but maybe someone should check if his viewing figures have been dropping lately! Sacking him would be a bit much, maybe dedicate a weeks worth of his shows to the debate!!!!!!
Henry W on January 9th, 2004
He should not be sacked. We see numerous comments in the press from people who say The West is destroying the Middle East yet none of these commentators are sacked from their main jobs. The point being raised is that Saddam Hussein is/was not the only dictator in that part of the world who is/was in charge of an oppressive regime. Is the oppression and brutality of one regime more or less acceptable than another? And how does that acceptability relate to oil production? He spoke his mind. Yes, he over-generalised, but doesn't everybody?
scabby on January 9th, 2004
no, I think he has a right to express his own opinions in his own column. We should be allowed freedom of speech. He doesn't incite anyone to act against these nations, but he does provoke thought and hopefully debate about what people really think or would say if they were not bound up by political correctness. Had he said this about China, or certain African nations there may not have been such a reaction.
Just a guy on January 9th, 2004
It's true that we are entitled to our opinions and we have freedom of speach, however what most of you are forgetting is that we also have a responsibility to that right. Clearly Kilroy didn't take any responsibility while making that rant he just felt angry and typed whatever he had on his mind, not bothering with the proper research required of journalist.
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