Johnson derides BBC BC/AD edict as “absolute drivel”
London Mayor Boris Johnson has wade into a row engulfing the BBC over its decision to move away from the Christian dating system of BC and AD toward a non-religious analogue.
Boris Johnson
The public service broadcaster will supplant the contentious terms with BCE and CE, ‘Before Common Era’ and ‘Common Era’, in a bid to remove references to the disputed birth of Jesus.
Johnson wrote in his Telegraph column: “You should not underestimate the influence of this verdict. What the BBC decides, all kinds of other publishers and broadcasters will decide to follow. Schools will snap into line, and if people protest they will be told that they are following best practice – it's what the BBC does, after all.
“The BBC needs to stop spending time and money on this sort of footling political correctness. Someone needs to get out down the corridor and find the individual who passed this edict and give him or her a figurative kick in the pants.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “Whilst the BBC uses BC and AD like most people as standard terminology it is also possible for individuals to use different terminology if they wish to, particularly as it is now commonly used in historical research.”