Powell misunderstood, says Hurt

VETERAN actor John Hurt told yesterday how he believed Enoch Powell’s views on immigration were misunderstood.

Powell caused a storm in the 1960s with his famous "rivers of blood" speech in which he warned of racial tensions in Britain.

But in an interview published in the Radio Times, Hurt famed for films such as Alien and The Elephant Man said he did not believe the politician was being "racist".