Award winning documentary filmmaker Bill Maloney’s account and explanation for his ejection from BBC Question Time by David Dimbleby following the first ‘Leaders Debate’ 15 April 2010By Bill Maloney
I applied to attend the audience for Question Time as a documentary filmmaker who has been investigating institutional child abuse for the last ten years. i.e. children in care, young offenders institutions, secret family courts etc. I wanted to exercise my right to speak as a British citizen and as a victim of institutional child abuse and believe it is my democratic right to freedom of speech.
There is currently a grave mistrust of our politicians. During this election campaign I have not witnessed any lower class citizens whom I represent have their right to speak up about their social concerns. This election is not just about economics, which our politicians are willing to talk about in intricate detail whilst skipping over questions on the lower class’s social dilemmas and the prejudice that is coming from the government and many middle-class voters against the lower classes.
Dimbleby Rocked By Questions Of Paedophilia And Murder
Just moments before Question Time went live David Dimbleby introduced the panel asking each of them what they would be doing the next day. Michael Gove (Shadow Secretary of State for Children Schools and Families) said it was his wife’s birthday and Dimbleby asked if he had bought her a present to which he replied, “I actually bought her four presents”. Asked what the presents were Gove replied “A linen suit, a designer hand bag and two other presents that I’m not prepared to divulge”.
I shouted “Did we pay for them Mr Gove?” which raised a laugh from the panel and audience. Dimbleby concluded with Nigel Farage MEP of UKIP who made a sanctimonious remark to which I shouted, “I don’t know why you’re so flippant, you’re guilty of stealing expenses the same as all the rest”. Dimbleby shook his finger and shouted directly at me: “If you are going to behave like this when we go on air I will have to tell you to leave.”
I responded by shouting: “If you want me to leave David tell me to leave. Don’t talk to me like I’m a piece of shit! You’ve got an angry electorate here and you select only five questions from 150? This is a biased audience which does not represent the lower classes.
“I'm a documentary filmmaker and I investigate Institutional child abuse; the restraining techniques that are killing lower working class kids in Young Offenders Institutions; and paedophile rings in government that are fucking our kids! You don’t like talking about the children do you David?”
Security was then called. As I was led out I turned to the panel shouting, “I’m here about the children, not about the economy. I've got more bollocks than all of you! Shame on you!" My producer and wife, who accompanied me continued by shouting: "Everyone in this audience should google Hollie Greig G.R.E.I.G and realise that the government does nothing!"
The security guards didn't touch me; in fact they looked quite shocked by the questions I had asked. We were then led out by the Producer
We submitted two questions to the show which were not selected:
1. Considering the government has given £840 billion to bail out the banks, how much have they spent on getting 3.5 million children out of poverty? Give the £3.4 billion promised to get children out of poverty which ‘breeds’ crime.
2. Considering it cost Australian taxpayers 200 million Australian dollars for the Popes visit there in 2008, how much is the government spending on the Pope’s visit to the UK? And should we allow the Pope, whose Vatican City has the lowest age of sexual consent in Europe of only 12 into the country at all?
I was hoping to hear from the political representatives on the panel of their disgust at having three children a week dying in our care institutions. I wanted to debate the brutal restraining techniques that guards and carers are using against children as young as eight. i.e. nose distraction, wrist restraints, double-seated embrace etc. There are serious injuries i.e. broken bones, suffocation etc every day. I also wanted to talk to them about institutional paedophile rings that have been and are still operating in this country. For example: google ‘Hollie Greig’.
Child prisons for profit
I would have been interested in the panel’s opinions on child poverty in this country along with the privatisation of our childcare homes and institutions, baring in mind 99% of children in care come from the lower classes. In my latest documentary Adam Rickwood & The Medomsley Heroes, I highlight the case of young Adam Rickwood who five years ago at the age of 14 was found hanging in his cell after being restrained by four guards at the young offenders institution now known as Hassockfield (formerly Medomsley) – google ‘Neville Husband’. Hassockfield is run by private company Serco, who receive £178,000 per year for each child. There are 57 places for children at Hassockfield, there are other institutions that hold up to 800 offenders. The lower class children have become very profitable to companies such as Serco. Many of the child prison guards and carers come from the military, police force etc. Many of these have severe psychological drug and alcohol problems and some of the highest divorce rates. Our childcare system has become more brutal than our adult prisons.
Vulnerable children used to pay mortages
Children from babies are being taken from poverty stricken families at birth and given to middle-class couples that receive a minimum of £380 per week per child and much more if the child is an infant or has special needs. Many foster parents foster more than one child – it appears that vulnerable parents are having their children stolen by the social services and being used to pay mortgages. The private companies who foster out our children do not have to inform their local council where the children have gone if they run away or leave care. Then we could go into institutional fostering – this is a broad intricate subject, which is never allowed to be debated passionately and openly with the involvement of past victims, their families and perpetrators by the national broadcasting companies. There is a massive movement building around the globe via the Internet on these subjects. Many former victims have now become professionals, i.e. documentary filmmakers, so the children have now become strong men and women motivated by their empathy for the unfortunate that are living it now. The victims are producing their own heroes – I use the term ‘Government Funded Child Abuse’.
As far as being removed from the Question Time audience my feelings are this:
The Questions and the debate that I managed to get from David Dimbleby in the Green Room before the show and during rehearsals would not have been allowed on air. I believe if I had attempted to debate the above issue on air the BBCs security response would have shut me down. I didn’t want to be buried under a mountain of guards while trying to get my point across. So I took the decision to challenge Dimbleby and the panel during the rehearsal. There were approx 150 people in the audience.
During the rehearsal my producer and myself submitted our questions, which we were told to write down on cards. These cards were then collected from the audience. Ultimately, our questions were not selected, bearing in mind, in the green room before rehearsals David Dimbleby said the question I had asked him was a good question. That question which I had to shout from the back of the green room went as follows:
MALONEY: David! Are you telling us that out of all these people here you are only going to allow five questions to be asked in one hour – all of which are being handpicked by the BBC?
DIMBLEBY: Have you seen Question Time before?
MALONEY: Oh yes! I’ve seen Question Time before David, but as you just said in your introduction, this is an historic moment. Question Time is going out after the first ever live debate of the three main candidates who want to run our democracy. Why can’t we have an open debate? For example I would like to know when Gordon Brown is going to give the £3.4 billion that they promised to the children to get 3 million children above the poverty line, as we all know that poverty breeds crime, dysfunctional families etc bearing in mind Gordon Brown has just given £840 billion to the greedy bankers.
DIMBLEBY: Well that’s a very good question so write it down and we’ll see what we can do.
When Dimbleby left the green room I stepped forward and shook his hand I said to him “Thank you David, I’m not hear to sit and watch, I can do that at home – I just want to ask a question and open a debate.”
Dimbleby said “Good!” and walked out.
By the time we had gone through rehearsals I realised that my question had not been selected, nor that of my producer as referred to above: “Considering it cost Australian taxpayers 200 million dollars for the Popes visit there in 2008, how much is the government spending on the Pope’s visit to the UK? And should we allow the Pope, whose Vatican City has the lowest age of sexual consent in Europe of only 12 into the country at all?”
I therefore took the decision to question the panel before the show went on air. It was a very difficult decision to make on the spot and I understood the likelihood of missing out putting myself across live on air. This way I had clear straight dialogue with the panel and audience.
Being asked to leave for asking these questions did not surprise me as I had previously been asked to leave BBC Asian Network Radio a year ago for asking similar questions about child trafficking and child prostitution.
I would just like to emphasise it was David Dimbleby who gave the order for me to be ejected.
I knew I would be ejected but at least we have evidence of the lack of any intervention by any of the panel during the programme about the plight of our abused and lost children.
The case of Hollie Greig is a strong example of the cover-ups that are going on within government. The MPs expenses scandal is just the tip of the iceburg. On behalf of all abuse victims , all I wanted were our questions raised and debated as no politicians are willing to discuss these issues.
I am absolutely disgusted with the BBC, David Dimbleby and the rest of the panel. The children deserve a voice. God bless all victims.
Why Bill Maloney was thrown out of Question Time by David Dimbleby