Alan Lester

I don’t think you’ve read it?

I don’t think you’ve read it?

The Pro-Trump Bias of the 'Neutral' Sources in the Leaked BBC 'Prescott Dossier' Byline Times’ analysis of key sources in the memo about the BBC’s alleged ‘progressive bias’ shows it relied on highly partisan right-wing, Trump-aligned organisations

The story of how an editorial blunder has provided those men of moral probity and honesty, Boris Johnson and Donald Trump with the opportunity they and right wing culture war allies have long sought to undermine independent broadcasting in the UK: bylinetimes.com/2025/11/11/p...

HSG: Two fully funded 4-year PhD positions on SNF Project on 'moral economies of racial reckoning' (m/w/d) We are looking for candidates who meet the following criteria: A completed Master's degree (MA/MSc) in anthropology, ethnology, sociology, criminology, human geography, or a closely related discipline...

Funded PhD opportunity:

jobs.unisg.ch/offene-stell...

How do Lenny Henry’s arguments for reparations for trans-Atlantic slavery stand up to Lord Biggar’s arguments against them? Head-to-head review here:

After the disasters of Brexit, Johnson & Truss, the BBC has a chance now to restore Britain’s tarnished reputation on the world stage. Esteem for the most trusted news organisation in the world will soar with an apology for that edit & a stand against Trump’s media bullying.

Want some patriotism? If you’ve ever enjoyed watching BBC programmes or listening to BBC Radio, now might be the time to begin a Great British fight back. Let’s resist the far right extremists who want to place Britons in thrall to a foreign orange dictator.

NHS staff who visit patients at home say St George’s flags can mean ‘no-go zones’ Black and Asian staff left feeling ‘deliberately intimidated’, according to chief executive of one NHS trust

Flag raisers have complained they’re misunderstood. Their real intention was the benign expression of national pride. No hint of racism. Since they’re well-intentioned I wonder how many will take them down once they know how they’re seen by NHS workers?

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

He’s on the board now!

BBC board member with Tory links ‘led charge’ in systemic bias claims, say insiders Sources say Robbie Gibb amplified criticisms of Trump, Gaza and trans rights coverage, and had ‘a lot of oxygen in the room’

It’s astonishing that a man who was director of communications for a political party & who helped set up a right wing propaganda TV channel should have ever been placed on the board of a supposedly impartial & independent broadcasting service.

www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...

Outgoing BBC director general to address staff after Trump threatens to sue for $1bn Trump says he will file legal action by Friday if the BBC does not apologise and

The power of the extreme right’s propaganda machine is nowhere more evident than in brainwashed Britons’ reaction to the BBC story. They love 99% of the Beeb’s output but are now so radicalised they’ll happily support an attack on it from foreign presidents and media moguls.

Bluesky logo: the 4 wings of a blue butterfly against a grey backgroound.

Thought for the day:

On Bluesky, it's "nice" to "Like", but it's (more) effective to Repost. Be effective. (You can also be nice).

Who’d have guessed it? The main BBC board member resisting a simple apology and reinforcing the right wing attack on the BBC from within, was a Tory government appointee and founder of GB TV. If you want impartiality, Gibb has to go. Nick Robinson on X:

2/2 The lobby will hunt down & amplify any mistakes such as a Panorama edit & force accountable organisations to admit & apologise. But when the lobby fabricates wider “lessons” from such mistakes, and when they tell outright lies, they can shrug off the criticism - because they are unaccountable.

1/2 When organisations that try to be impartial, like the BBC or universities or the National Trust, try to resist culture war attacks from a mendacious right wing lobby, they are fighting with one hand tied behind their backs.

3/3 Whether it turns out to be victory in one battle or of the culture war as a whole depends on the government’s resolve. Nandy faces a struggle that will be pivotal for democracy in this country and significant for the wider world. Will she allow the BBC to become a far right propaganda platform?

The BBC is facing a coordinated, politically motivated attack. With these resignations, it has given in | Jane Martinson The corporation should have stood up to the Telegraph, Trump and the Tories. Now, its enemies know how little it takes for it to fold, says Jane Martinson, professor of financial journalism

2/3 An edit in a single documentary that changed the detail but not the substance of Trump’s election-overthrow speech gave them new, powerful allies who could do real damage to the BBC in the USA. They’ve secured a victory.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

1/3 For years now a nexus of well funded right wing groups has been trying either to capture or undermine one of the world’s, & certainly the UK’s most effective media organisation with an impartiality ethic.

Nigel Farage's Reform a Bigger Far-Right Threat Than the BNP, Says UK’s Leading Anti-Racism Campaigner Hope not Hate's CEO Nick Lowles says Reform's rise is mainstreaming ideas that were previously taboo even on parts of the far-right

Important conversation about how vile the racist rhetoric is becoming around the mainstream Right in Britain. Absolutely white ethnostate trash.
www.bylinesupplement.com/p/nigel-fara...

The Telegraph being praised by a foreign autocrat for undermining the BBC.

I really hope you’re right Alan, and she can engineer a more impartial DG.

The DG is selected by the board …

Tim Davie and Deborah Turness resign: BBC statements in full Director general says "mistakes have been made" but "allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong".

This is really scary: even former Tory Davie, the disproportionate coverage of Reform and relentless attention to right wing anti-immigrant talking points have not been enough. Right wing networks want complete capture.

Davie and Turness resignation statements in full www.bbc.com/news/article...

Voting results from the AGM Read about the National Trust's 2025 Annual General Meeting and the results from the day.

The private company Restore Trust’s attempt to take over the @nationaltrust.org.uk failed again. Will they stop now? No, because they are part of the well-funded nexus of right wing activist organisations that’s determined to control national institutions.

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/who-we-are/a...

Bit of a visual metaphor for the Restore Trust/History reclaimed crew, given their losses in the AGM elections.

Britain’s Responsibilities to Former Colonies: A Debate Alan Lester In 1962 Britain was losing an empire and figuring out what place it might occupy on the new world stage. Decolonisation was clearly irreversible, but not all of Britain’s colonies were …

In 1962 Parliament debated Britain's responsibility for the development of its former colonies. The results were surprising. They suggest that even Conservatives might have understood @Caricom’s contemporary insistence on a reparative conversation. alanlester.co.uk/blog/britain...

I know what you mean but I like visiting National Trust properties and knowing about their histories. What concerns me more is the right wing private company Restore Trust’s attempt to stop us knowing.

3. Confidence that its Tory-packed board can select a successor even more amenable to right wing propaganda than Davie has been.

Damning dossier on Trump, Gaza and trans coverage has BBC reeling Michael Prescott, a former adviser, warned of ‘serious and systemic problems’ in a blistering attack on the corporation’s news coverage

1/2 This orchestrated right wing backlash against the BBC suggests three things:

1. Concern that mounting criticism of genocide-denying & anti-immigrant reporting might be gaining traction.

2. Fear that it’s moving on from the populist culture war over gender …

www.thetimes.com/uk/media/art...

The Traitors’ castle was built by Alexander Matheson, whose uncle Co-founded the opium smuggling firm Jardine Matheson & Co., the key instigator the Opium Wars. Finalist @davidolusoga.bsky.social happens to be hosting a great new series about Empire now on BBC 2.