Peter Horrocks, the editor of BBC's Newsnight, has defended his decision to pull a report on extremist literature in mosques, after being accused of a 'disastrous editorial misjudgement' by Policy Exchange's Dean Godson. The think tank's report, 'The Hijacking of British Islam', claimed that a quarter of 100 mosques visited by researchers were selling hate literature.
Horrocks explained that the planned broadcast was halted after reporter Richard Watson raised concerns about a receipt provided by Policy Exchange. The receipt, supposedly from the Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre in London, was denied by the mosque. Further investigation revealed five of the 25 receipts appeared suspicious, with signs of being created on a home computer and containing errors.
Forensic analysis later confirmed that all five receipts were printed on an inkjet printer, suggesting they were computer-generated. Two receipts showed 'strong evidence' of being written by the same person, and one was written while resting on another receipt from a mosque 40 miles away. Horrocks stated he stands by his decision not to run the report, as the evidence could not be trusted.
Godson accused Horrocks of 'appalling stewardship' and 'bottling' the story, but Horrocks countered that Godson's attitude was 'disgraceful', suggesting it would not matter if the receipts were faked. Horrocks argued that if the receipts were forged, the entire Policy Exchange report becomes unreliable.
The decision has drawn mixed reactions from the public, with some praising the BBC for checking facts before broadcasting, while others criticised the think tank's methods. Horrocks concluded that the BBC's thorough investigation was necessary to maintain journalistic integrity.
