"Presenters of this kind of program have a responsibility to uphold the BBC's impartiality," said Bennett

LONDON, January 17 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Robert Kilroy-Silk, the veteran BBC television presenter, quitted from his long-running daily talk show after he had his show suspended for inflammatory remarks he made about Arabs.

In a statement released Friday, January 16, the presenter said: "I have been overwhelmed by the support from the general public, and I continue to believe that it is my right to express my views, however uncomfortable they may be," reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"However I recognize the difficulties this has caused the BBC, and I believe my decision is the right way to resolve the situation," he added.

On January 4, Kilroy-Silk questioned in his syndicated Sunday Express column,  entitled "We Owe Arabs Nothing," Arabs’ contributions to the world, other than oil.

He further lambasted Arabs as "suicide bombers, limb amputators, women repressors".

Thanks to an immediate Muslim action, the BBC suspended the presenter's morning show pending an investigation, while Kilroy-Silk, offered an apology.

He had hosted the BBC One morning chat show for 17 years.

Kilroy-Silk, 61, tried to heap the blame on his secretary, arguing the column had already been published in April 2003 and was sent for re-publication by mistake.

Welcomed   

His resignation was immediately welcomed by Iqbal Sacranie, head of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), which groups 350 Muslim associations.

Sacranie accused Kilroy-Silk of hiding "behind the noble principle of freedom of speech".

"Yet no responsible government allows unlimited freedom of speech, and especially not freedom to incite hatred of an entire people," he said.

Sacranie added that Kilroy-Silk has for a number of years now been making "extremely derogatory and xenophobic remarks about Arabs and Muslims".

The BBC agreed that the issue was not freedom of speech.

"Presenters of this kind of program have a responsibility to uphold the BBC's impartiality," said Jana Bennett, the BBC's director of television.

"This does not mean that people who express highly controversial views are not welcome on the BBC but they cannot be presenters of a news, current affairs or topical discussion program."

BBC guidelines introduced in the wake of the Hutton inquiry [into the death of British weapons expert David Kelly say that freelance writing by staff "should not bring the BBC into disrepute or undermine the integrity or impartiality of BBC programs or presenters".

According to the BBC News Online, the broadcaster and Kilroy-Silk had reached a compromise which would allow the latter's company to continue to make a similar program albeit with a different presenter.

Kilroy-Silk’s comments also had drawn flack from British lawmakers.

"The BBC needs to consider very carefully whether it's appropriate to have Mr. Kilroy-Silk presenting a program which is supposed to be objective and impartial in looking at topical issues," Labor MP Lynne Jones told BBC Radio 4's Today program.

The Independent reported Wednesday, January 14, that the BBC's suspension move had  boosted the network's viewing figures.

Audience figures released Sunday, January 13, reveal 150,000 more people were watching BBC1 on Monday morning - when Kilroy first came off the air - than tuned into the network at the same time a week earlier, the British daily said.