BBC Trust rules Paxman ‘religious hogwash’ remark ‘offensive’
Abrasive Newsnight host Jeremy Paxman has fallen foul of the BBC after the broadcaster ruled that a remark ridiculing the Old Testament as “religious hogwash” was ‘offensive’ to some viewers.
Paxman stuck the boot into the famous book during an interview with prominent aetheist and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, adding that anyone who believed the book to be true was “stupid”.
The comments resulted in a viewer complaining of anti-Christian bias, an allegation which was rejected by both the Corporation and the BBC’s Editorial Complaints Unit.
A subsequent appeal to the BBC Trust saw the offended Christian finally win out however after they adjudged the comments to have caused harm & offence although Paxman was judged to have demonstrated impartiality in the piece.