BBC defends Accused army bullying drama
A controversial BBC drama which explores bullying among British troops in Afghanistan will be broadcast tonight despite heavy criticism from senior army staff.
Part of a six-part series on the theme of crime and punishment, Accused, by Jimmy McGovern, follows a lance corporal who encourages bullying within his unit in a bid to transform them into killers. This leads to one of the young soldiers portrayed in the drama committing suicide.
Chief of the general staff General Sir Peter Wall complained to BBC director general Mark Thompson, labelling the drama “deeply offensive” and “distasteful” to serving soldiers and their families, adding that the programme was “misleading and inaccurate”.
Colonel Tim Collins also criticised the drama in an interview with the Radio Times, claiming: “there is no point to Accused except to try to shock”. He also added that he was worried “the parents and partners of soldiers serving in Afghanistan will regard this as in some way believable”.
The BBC has, however, emphasised that Accused is a work of fiction and that it did not intend to offend those serving in Afghanistan, with a spokesperson for the corporation quoted as saying: “In the promotion of this new drama series by award-winning writer Jimmy McGovern, it has been made clear that Accused is a work of fiction. It is in no way an attempt to denigrate the servicemen and women of the British army.”
Liverpudlian Jimmy McGovern is the Bafta-winning scriptwriter behind Cracker and Hillsborough and, in defence of Accused, he said: “As a dramatist I was interested in exploring how soldiers have to be of a certain mindset to kill. It is not my intention to slur British soldiers, for whom I have the greatest respect. At the heart of the drama is my belief in the sanctity of life.”