An audience member on BBC’s Question Time who challenged Nigel Farage on the subject of immigration subsquently contacted europhile newspaper the New European for an article which they published, it has been revealed.
And the news prompted one commentator to ask: “How do all these plants keep slipping through?”
Speaking during the panel show on Thursday hosted by Fiona Bruce, David Hellier said: “Migrants and illegals were not responsible for Brexit. Migrants were not responsible for Liz Truss’s failure as leadership.
“And don’t forget, because those populist policies, in the 30s, a certain Adolf Hitler was elected.
“And if we follow those same rhetoric, the same blaming of migrants, we will go in the same way, and the future of that that path is very, very bleak.”
Reform UK leader and Clacton MP Mr Farage responded: “If people come legally and they work, that’s fine.
“If people come because they’re genuinely, genuinely refugees we’ve always opened our doors as a country, more than anybody in the world historically.
“Tens of thousands of undocumented young males crossing the English Channel are not refugees in any classic sense of the word.
“We must deport people who are not refugees who come to Britain illegally.”
Alistair Campbell, Downing Street’s director of communications under former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was also on the panel, subsequently shared an article written by Mr Hillier in which he set out his reasons for challenged Mr Farage.
Posting on X, Alex Armstrong, a regular guest on GB News, said: “I want to thank Alastair Campbell for pointing out this man was a plant all along.
“He writes for the New European, a UK hating pro-EU paper.
“How do all these plants keep slipping through the BBC’s net? How come they all seem to manage to get a question in?”
But it was later clarified that he does not in fact work for the organisation.
Responding to Mr Armstrong’s post, also on X, the paper’s political editor James Ball said: “As @TheNewEuropean has clarified multiple times: no, he doesn’t work for the paper or write for it. We made contact *after Question Time* and he produced one piece about the experience.
“I’m not sure quite how slowly and clearly we have to say this before some people understand.”
The BBC’s Question Time selects its audience through a detailed application process aimed at ensuring diverse representation in terms of political views, demographics, and geography.
Prospective audience members must complete a questionnaire on the BBC website, which asks for details about their political affiliations, voting history (such as how they voted in the EU referendum), and other demographic information.
Applicants are also asked whether they have participated in political events or activities, to gauge the range of experiences represented in the audience.
Express.co.uk has contacted the BBC for comment.
