Martin Daubney , the GB News presenter who famously malfunctioned while trying to report on the arrest of fugitive Daniel Khalife, has offered up another TV moment this week for social media users to ridicule - by claiming it’s “contemptible” to label people taking part in the recent riots as “racist”.
Far-right violence and disorder was seen across England earlier this month, sparked by misinformation around a stabbing in Southport which claimed the lives of three young girls.
Mosques were targeted during the rioting, far-right thugs in Middlesborough were filmed stopping cars to check if the drivers were white , and a hotel in Rotherham housing asylum seekers was set alight .
Targeting individuals based on the colour of their skin or faith is, obviously, racist – and senior politicians haven’t shied away from saying as such, with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper saying “we cannot tolerate far-right extremism, racism or Islamophobia in our country”, and her Tory counterpart James Cleverly stating rioters were “motivated by racism”.
Nevertheless, while interviewing ex-Labour adviser John McTernan, Daubney took issue with his guest’s comments that “the notion that there were any legitimate concerns being expressed by racist rioters is utterly untrue”.
McTernan continued: “Their actions should be condemned, and the notion that they represent or speak for anybody is the most condescending thing that I’ve ever heard expressed about the white working class.”
Shaking his head, Daubney replied: “I think, as a member of the white working class, who grew up a proud member of the white working class, to hear you saying that anybody who took part in those riots is racist is ultimately contemptible.
“How can you say that everybody who took part in that shared the sentiment of a tiny minority who deserve to be jailed? You would never say that about the Tottenham riots, would you? You’d never say that.”
As a reminder, the 2011 riots were sparked by the killing of a Black man, named Mark Duggan, by police.
McTernan went on to state the simple point that “if you go along to a racist riot, you’re a racist, that’s it”.
“If you’re attending a racist riot, you’re throwing rocks at the police, you’re trying to hold the police from enforcing law and order, and you’re doing that on behalf of racists who are trying to burn people alive, you’re a racist,” he said.
After Daubney branded his interviewee’s remarks “astonishing”, McTernan pointed out “there’s no such thing” as “good rioters and bad rioters”.
“People knew what they were attending; they were attending a racist riot,” he added.
McTernan went on to issue further comments on Twitter/X, in which he wrote that he was “genuinely struggling to see the problem” with stating people “who took part in racist riots are racist themselves”.
Others were also baffled by Daubney’s stance in the discussion:
And sided with McTernan, pointing out that if someone is partaking in a racist riot, then they’re a racist:
It wasn’t the only wild moment to occur during Daubney’s show on Monday night, as he also gave a cringeworthy rendition of 'Wonderwall ' amid rumours of an Oasis reunion.
Don’t worry, we won’t be sharing that clip here.
Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter
How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
Most Popular
Comments / 0