Kilroy-Silk 'trying to defend the indefensible'

The head of the Commission for Racial Equality today accused Robert Kilroy-Silk of posing as a “24-carat martyr” and called for him to issue an apology for his article in which he called Arabs “suicide bombers, limb-amputators, women repressors”.

The head of the British Commission for Racial Equality today accused Robert Kilroy-Silk of posing as a “24-carat martyr” and called for him to issue an apology for his article in which he called Arabs “suicide bombers, limb-amputators, women repressors”.

CRE chairman Trevor Phillips said he did not believe the BBC presenter was a racist, but that he was risking his reputation by trying to “defend the indefensible”.

He said 61-year-old Mr Kilroy-Silk should “learn something about Muslims and Arabs” and use some of his “vast earnings” to support a Muslim charity as recompense for his remarks in his column in last week’s Sunday Express.

However, he said the issue over whether the presenter’s daytime discussion programme – which has been suspended from tomorrow while an investigation takes place – should be back on television, was for the BBC.

Mr Phillips told Sky News’ Sunday with Adam Boulton programme: “What I think Robert could do, because let me be clear I don’t think he is a racist, but I think that this kind of nonsense – trying to defend the indefensible – is throwing him into disrepute.

“And if we support it, if we allow it, most Muslims both here and abroad will think everything the extremists say about the British, that they are against Arabs, is true because they allow this kind of thing to be said about us.

“What Robert could do is issue a proper apology, not for the fact that people were offended, but for saying this stuff in the first place.

“Secondly he could learn something about Muslims and Arabs, they gave us maths and medicine, and thirdly he could use some of his vast earnings to support a Muslim charity.

“Then I would say he has been properly contrite – the issue about going back on television is for the BBC.”

Mr Phillips said Mr Kilroy-Silk should acknowledge that what he had said was “wrong, incorrect and very offensive”.

“Robert is now posing as a kind of 24-carat martyr,” he said. “I think it would be helpful if he just acknowledges that, first of all, he did something wrong and stupid, that doesn’t make him in a dyed-in-the-wool racist but he should at least acknowledge that this was wrong, it was incorrect and it was very offensive.

“You can’t go around saying to Muslims, ‘we want you to be British, we want you to be part of the society’ then at the same time allow people to say anything they like about Arabs and Muslims.”