Alister Jack and Gordon Brown ‘fume over BBC linking Queen’s death to indy’ – The National

THE BBCs wall-to-wall coverage of the macabre pomp and ceremony following the Queens death has angered, annoyed, bored and generally bothered most not utterly obsessed with the royal family.

Even BBC Question Time favourite and letter-writer-in-chief for the Unionist cause Jane Lax described it as dire.

But amid Nicholas Witchell pontificating on the late monarchs feelings about independence and the plainly incorrect assertion the Protestant reformer John Knox cleared the Catholics out of Scotland (a suggestion met with laughter by other presenters), there have been some moments of sanity among the coverage.

Enter Alan Little, a veteran BBC presenter who led the broadcasters controversial coverage of the 2014 independence referendum.

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To the rumouredannoyance of Gordon Brown and the Scottish Secretary, Little stated some plain facts about the political state of play.

The Telegraph reports he said on the Ten OClock News on Monday that Scotland had been diverging from the rest of the UK politically for 40 years, where support for independence is as high as its ever been.

Well, whats wrong with that? Its basically correct, isnt it?

Not if youre the former PM or Alister Union Jack who were said to be privately fizzing about the comments.

They may have become catatonic when the BBC man added that Charlies reign could be defined by the eventual dissolution of the United Kingdom itself.

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Someone who is not Brown appears to have complained to the Telegraph that Littles lines echo that of the SNP. They might also echo authoritative works on the recent political history of Scotland and the Union, but thats beside the point.

A "source close to" Alister Union Jack added: The BBC should really not be introducing the independence debate into the Queens death - theres no link.

Littles comments came amid a veritable tsunami of political interventions by BBC pundits, talking heads and hacks who wondered idly about the Queens diplomatic role (did she bring about peace in Northern Ireland?) and her apparently grave concern the country she spent her summer holidays in could become foreign.

There was significantly less noise from the Unionist press about those musings, needless to say.

Jack had sufficiently recovered himself to take on a role standing guard at the Queens coffin in Westminster today, in his role as a member of the Royal Company of Archers the monarchs Scottish bodyguard.

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Alister Jack and Gordon Brown 'fume over BBC linking Queen's death to indy' - The National