KELVIN MACKENZIE SHOCKS RITULA SHAH AND FRIEND

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Last night's The World Tonight was a minor classic. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00r4syf
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The most consistently left-liberal of all the Radio 4 current affairs staples, it began by discussing John Venables with Harry Fletcher of the probation officers' trades union NAPO, then presenter Ritula Shah debated the issue with Kelvin MacKenzie, ex-editor of the Sun (and a very rare visitor to the programme) and Richard Garside, Guardian-writing director of Crime and Justice Studies at King's College, London - one of the programme's usual left-wing academics. I laughed out loud at Ritula's outrage at some of the things Kelvin was saying. Her interruptions started flying as Kelvin got more and more 'right-wing' in his remarks. Such things are simply not said in the very prim and proper world of The World Tonight!
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Business as usual followed with a report on Italy's political divisions over Silvio Berlusconi from the BBC's Anti-Berlusconi correspondent Duncan Kennedy. We all know whose side Duncan's on - and it ain't Silvio's. All the usual digs at his appearance were present and correct.
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We were now half way, so Ritula paused to tell us what was coming up: "In a moment David Cameron gets help on the economy for Sir James Dyson but could Lord Ashcroft stain the party's reputation?" Ah, Lord Ashcroft. Nick Robinson duly appeared.
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Still, there was Miles Templeton of the Institute of Directors. Ritula spoke for 'many' (or so she claimed) when she asked "But in your manifesto today you talk about cutting the budget deficit rather than raising taxes. Is it an either/or situation? Many people would say it isn't?" Many on the Left especially.
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