BBC takes Kilroy off air after 'anti-Arab rant'

The BBC has taken Robert Kilroy-Silk's morning talkshow off air whilst it investigates comments he made in the Sunday Express at the weekend.

In a piece titled 'We owe the Arabs nothing', Kilroy-Silk - a former Labour MP - called Arabs "suicide bombers, limb-amputators, women repressors".

His article began: "We are told by some of the more hysterical critics of the war on terror that 'it is destroying the Arab world'. So? Should we be worried about that?"

He went on to question the contribution of the Arab nations to world civilisation and progress. "Apart from oil - which was discovered, is produced and is paid for by the West - what do they contribute? Can you think of anything? Anything really useful?... No, nor can I...

"We're told the the Arabs loathe us. Really?... What do they think we feel about them? That we adore them for the way they murdered more than 3,000 civilians on 11 September and then danced in the hot, dusty streets to celebrate the murders?"

His comments were immediately denounced by the Muslim Council of Britain, who described them as a "gratuitous anti-Arab rant".

In a statement this afternoon, the BBC distanced itself from the comments of Kilroy-Silk, who has yet to respond to the protests owing to his mother's funeral.

"The BBC strongly disassociates itself from the views expressed in an article by Robert Kilroy-Silk in The Sunday Express of 4 January 2004," said the statement. "We stress that these comments do not reflect the views of the BBC.

"The BBC is taking the Kilroy programme off air immediately while we investigate this matter fully."

To fill the gap, BBC Breakfast will be extended by half an hour to 9.30am beginning Monday.