BBCNI is remaining tight-lipped over its policy on UVF and UDA bands appearing in Twelfth parades covered extensively on television by the corporation.
The unprecedented media attention given to the rap trio Kneecap has thrown the issue of controversial bands into sharp focus. And with BBCNI devoting considerable time and resources into covering the Kneecap story for the best part of two weeks, we asked the corporation about its annual coverage of Twelfth parades.
Every year bands named after UVF and UDA members march on the Twelfth in Belfast and elsewhere. The Twelfth parades also feature bands which are open about their support for the illegal loyalist paramilitary groups. BBCNI’s highlights package, however, is entirely positive and celebratory and bands likely to cause controversy are ignored – by the cameras and the presenters. But wider questions remain about whether BBCNI should be covering parades peppered with bands supporting illegal paramilitary organisations.
We’ve been told there’s growing unease within BBCNI over its two-week coverage of the Kneecap story. Ormeau Avenue has led an extraordinary media charge, with a torrent of stories about the band and its stance on Middle East and UK politics. The Belfast Telegraph has reported that BBCNI’s decision to interview a victim of kneecapping who’s also a former death-driver and blackmailer about his distress at the name of the band has provoked “derision” among people familiar with the man’s past. The report claims that the interviewee was a member of a criminal gang linked to the CIRA at a time when the illegal dissident republican group was carrying out ‘punishment beatings’ and kneecappings – one of which ended in a leg amputation.
We put to BBCNI a number of questions about its upcoming coverage of the Twelfth of July parades. We asked whether the corporation liaises with parade organisers to determine whether bands linked to illegal paramilitary groups will be taking part in any of the parades it will be covering in its comprehensive evening round-up of the Orange Order’s big day. We also asked whether BBCNI has any concerns about covering parades which feature bands not only open in their support for the UDA and UVF, but at times named after members of the illegal groups. And we asked whether, in the light of concerns widely aired by BBCNI over musical events featuring Kneecap, BBCNI will be making any effort this year to ensure that bands linked to the UVF and UDA do not take part in any of the parades covered by BBCNI.
A spokesman for BBCNI told us: “Our broadcast coverage of external events is made consistent with the BBC’s editorial guidelines.”
In a follow-up question we asked BBCNI to direct us to the section in the BBC’s editorial guidelines relevant to bands supporting illegal organisations appearing in events covered by BBCNI. They told us: “We’ve nothing further to add.”
A source told us: “It’s just a simple fact that the Kneecap story was done to death by the Beeb and if it was consistent it would be doing nothing but flag and band music stories all day long. And the less said about the kneecap victim interview the better. The BBC’s Twelfth coverage has always pretended that the problem bands don’t exist and pointed the cameras the other way, but if we’re going to hold a rap band to this standard then it’s probably time the BBC stopped letting on that the Twelfth is just ice-cream and cowboy hats. Sooner or later it’s going to have to get real about the Twelfth parades and what actually takes place on the ground.”
