Iain Lee leaves BBC breakfast show after labeling guest's anti-gay views as ‘bigotry’
Iain Lee is no longer presenting his BBC breakfast show after labelling a guest’s anti-gay views as ‘bigoted’.
According to reports, the 42-year-old has stepped down following a debate on homophobia and Christianity on his BBC Three Counties radio show.
The host was interviewing Christian Legal Centre lawyer Libby Powell who was on the show to defend a reverend who had read out Bible passages condemning homosexuality during a recent service at a prison.
During the interview, Lee described the passages as ‘homophobic’ and ‘bigoted’ and went on to ask Powell if she ‘supported bigotry’
His guest responded by saying that the Bible passages did not call for violence against gay people and was ‘more about the lifestyle.’
Lee later said to her: “You’ve chosen not to question it, because you’re a bigot.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <p dir="ltr" lang="und">No. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://t.co/boIEym8rPD" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3115766-https://t.co/boIEym8rPD" data-vars-event-id="c23">https://t.co/boIEym8rPD</a> — Iain Lee (@iainlee) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/iainlee/status/665364891197448192" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3115766-https://twitter.com/iainlee/status/665364891197448192" data-vars-event-id="c23">November 14, 2015</a>
Following the show, the BBC issued a statement to LGBT website Pink News, saying:
“The BBC – and Iain Lee himself – wish to apologise for any offence that may have been caused.”
The broadcaster, and Lee himself later confirmed that he would not be returning to his show.
A BBC spokesperson has said: “Iain Lee will no longer be presenting his shows on the station but we want to take this opportunity to thank him and wish him well for the future.”
Lee replied to a tweet asking whether he’d be back on the air on Monday with a simple ‘no’.
Lee’s representative has declined to comment to Evening Standard Online.
