Cat Lewis said that singing about how Britons would ‘never be slaves’ during Rule Britannia was akin to Nazis shouting about how they would ‘never be forced into a gas chamber’
A Conservative MP has called for the producers of the BBC’s Songs of Praise to be sacked after its boss compared Rule Britannia to Nazis singing about gas chambers.
Richard Holden, MP for North West Durham, has claimed the show’s executive producer Cat Lewis needs to ‘get on the programme’ or face the axe after her outburst on social media.
Ms Lewis, 55, said singing the anthem was similar to neo-Nazis shouting they ‘will never be forced into a gas chamber’.
She also called for centuries-old Rule Britannia and Land of Hope of Glory to be rewritten, saying that ‘slavery was Britain’s Holocaust’.
It comes after the BBC announced it would drop singing of the patriotic songs from the Last Night of the Proms this year.
Mr Holden said the BBC’s decision was ‘crackers’ and branded it ‘bizarre’ that corporation bosses even discussed the matter.
Ms Lewis – CEO of company Nine Lives Media which produces Songs of Praise – ‘clearly misjudged the mood of the country’ with her comments, Mr Holden added.
Mr Holden said: ‘I just find it bizarre that this is even a debate. Why would we do this? It seems crackers to me. It’s just such a normal part of national life. It seems so weird, that’s my view.’
He added: ‘This production company have clearly misjudged the mood of the country. They need to get onto the programme or [the BBC should] get something new.’
The MP’s remarks come as:
- Friends of a Finnish conductor caught up in a row over the Last Night of the Proms insist she is not responsible for axing Rule Britannia
- The BBC’s head of comedy reveals that the corporation’s bosses discuss diversity in ‘every conversation’ about new programmes
- BBC Newsnight editor Katie Razzall apologises for being a white woman chairing ‘racism in the newsroom’ talk and says it shows ‘the challenges we are all facing’
- Jamaica’s foreign minister Kamina Johnson-Smith criticised a clip from the BBC Three show Famalam as ‘outrageous and offensive’
The BBC prompted a fresh row after announcing that traditional favourites such as Land Of Hope And Glory will be performed without lyrics at the Proms (pictured in 2014)
Tory MP Richard Holden has claimed Cat Lewis needs to ‘get on the programme’ or face the axe after her outburst on social media
Cat Lewis tweeted: ‘Do those Brits who believe it’s OK to sing an 18th Century song about never being enslaved, written when the UK was enslaving and killing millions of innocents, also believe it’s appropriate for neo-Nazis to shout, ”We will never be forced into a gas chamber.” ‘
Ms Lewis said if she was producing the Proms, she would suggest a national competition to find new lyrics for Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory to find ‘words which celebrate and unify our fantastic country, because the music to both is undoubtedly fabulous’
Critics say Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory are racist because of their supposed links to slavery and colonialism.
Finnish conductor of the Proms ‘did NOT axe Rule Britannia’
BBC sources had reportedly claimed Dalia Stasevska, 35, demanded the patriotic anthem, along with Land of Hope and Glory, be pulled from the performance due to their links to British imperialism
A Finnish conductor caught up in a row over the Last Night of the Proms is not responsible for axing Rule Britannia and would never have been ‘arrogant’ enough to suggest it, her friends say.
BBC sources had reportedly claimed Dalia Stasevska, 35, demanded the patriotic anthem, along with Land of Hope and Glory, be pulled from the performance due to their links to British imperialism.
But friends last night insisted that BBC bosses made the decision to not have the songs sung, adding that Ms Stasevska would not have had the ‘arrogance’ to insist on such a change.
A source close to Ms Stasevska told The Telegraph: ‘From Dalia’s point of view there has been a lot of unpleasantness and some of the stuff that has been written is heart-breaking.
‘It is frightening, unpleasant, scary stuff and she can’t say anything as she can’t be a part of any of that.’
Ms Stasevska, who has voiced her support for Black Lives Matter, was swept up in controversy following reports that she had concerns about the words to the songs.
The source insisted that she was not responsible for the decision, adding that conductors do not ‘have the power to say I want to do this I want to do that’.
Traditionally, both songs are performed at London’s Royal Albert Hall to a flag-waving crowd at the Last Night of the Proms.
Earlier this week, Ms Lewis blasted the lyrics of Rule Britannia and declared the nation shouldn’t ‘gloat’ about its history as the BBC Proms row intensified.
Ms Lewis tweeted: ‘Do those Brits who believe it’s OK to sing an 18th Century song about never being enslaved, written when the UK was enslaving and killing millions of innocents, also believe it’s appropriate for neo-Nazis to shout, ‘we will never be forced into a gas chamber’.
She later added to her comments and said she would launch a national contest to find new lyrics for the songs if she were producing The Proms.
She tweeted: ‘I believe slavery was Britain’s holocaust.
‘We should apologise for it properly and yet at the moment, we have no memorial to enslaved people in the UK. We should not celebrate slave owners.
‘And we should not sing in a gloating way that Britons will never be enslaved, when we were responsible for enslaving so many.
‘We should have anthems which celebrate what is truly great about the UK, which we can all sing and this will help unite our country.
‘If I was producing the Proms, I’d suggest launching a national competition to find new lyrics for Rule Britannia and Land Of Hope And Glory – words which celebrate and unify our fantastic country, because the music to both is undoubtedly fabulous.’
Bafta-winning producer Ms Lewis began her career as a BBC production trainee in 1988 before working as a reporter and moving on to Granada television.
The TV industry veteran later launched her own company, based in Manchester – which she says has a £3 million turnover.
The continuing row over Ms Lewis’ comments comes amid revelations that BBC bosses discuss diversity in ‘every conversation’ about new programmes and the issue is ‘non-negotiable’, according to the outlet’s head of comedy.
The corporation has said it will spend £100million of its content budget on diverse programming over three years, following protests from Black Lives Matter activists this summer.
Shane Allen, who is responsible for the commissioning of all scripted comedy programmes to BBC channels, says director of content Charlotte Moore has been constantly telling staff not to forget to factor in diversity, The Guardian reports.
He said: ‘I’ve been part of regimes where you have to be seen to do something. With Charlotte it’s non-negotiable, it’s a thing that underpins every conversation: what’s the diverse element to this? And can it not be set in London?’
Shane Allen (pictured), who is responsible for the commissioning of all scripted comedy programmes to BBC channels, says director of content Charlotte Moore has been constantly telling staff not to forget to factor in diversity
It comes amid a new race row as Jamaica’s foreign minister Kamina Johnson-Smith criticised a clip from the BBC Three show Famalam (pictured)
The hiring of June Sarpong and Miranda Wayland to advise the corporation means there are now ‘really powerful voices in the room’ speaking about diversity, Mr Allen told the Edinburgh television festival.
He also defended sketch show Famalam, which has been branded ‘outrageous and offensive’ by Jamaica’s foreign minister.
‘Don’t diss my beloved Famalam,’ he said. ‘To be relevant in comedy at a time when things can feel more anodyne, and in this woke culture where things are getting a little bit more sensitive.
‘If you’re going to do something about tricky topics it’s got to be from those people and from those communities who’ve got that voice. To me, that’s what a sketch show looks like in 2020. I’ll back them to the hilt.’
Jamaica’s foreign minister Kamina Johnson-Smith criticised a clip from the BBC Three show, depicting a Jamaican version of Channel 4 show Countdown, complete with a steel drum version of the show’s theme tune.
Ms Johnson-Smith tweeted: ‘This is outrageous and offensive to the incredible country which I am proud to represent along with every Jamaican at home and within our #Diaspora. I will immediately be writing formally on this! #StopThisShow.’
The BBC defended Famalm, with channel controller Fiona Campbell saying it was not ‘malicious’, adding: ‘We stand by the creator’s brand of humour.’
She told the Edinburgh TV Festival: ‘Famalam is now in its third series and it is very successful.
‘It is not malicious humour and I think if you followed on social, the creators themselves said they are poking fun at all stereotypes.
‘There isn’t malice in the type of content.’
A BBC spokesman said: ‘Famalam… now in its third series, has an established brand of humour in line with audience expectations and is well known for confronting issues.’