Scottish leader pulls out of BBC conference over Bannon invitation

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has pulled out of a journalism conference co-hosted by the BBC after learning that Stephen Bannon had been invited to speak as well.

Sturgeon was expected to give a keynote address at the News Xchange event next month, but backed out after the BBC announced that it had invited the former Trump White House chief strategist, according to multiple reports.

“I believe passionately in free speech but as [first minister] I have to make balanced judgments – and I will not be part of any process that risks legitimising or normalising far right, racist views. I regret that the BBC has put me and others in this position,” Sturgeon wrote on Twitter.{mosads}

Sturgeon added that the BBC defended its decision to include Bannon in the conference in an email to her office describing him as a “powerful and influential figure … promoting an anti-elite movement.”

“This kind of language to describe views that many would describe as fascist does seem to me to run the risk of normalisation,” Sturgeon said.

The email the BBC sent to my office justifying Bannon’s inclusion described him as a ‘powerful and influential figure…promoting an anti-elite movement.’ This kind of language to describe views that many would describe as fascist does seem to me to run the risk of normalisation.

— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) October 20, 2018

The BBC in a statement defended the decision to invite Bannon, according to The Guardian.

“Good journalism in a world of fake news and disinformation is more vital than ever. Journalism is about asking tough questions and understanding what is happening in the world and why,” the BBC said.

“A conference designed to analyse the big issues impacting that world isn’t an endorsement of anyone or anything – it is a function of what journalism is.”

Bannon is still set to speak at the conference, despite backlash. The controversy comes just weeks after The New Yorker disinvited Bannon from its festival due to a similar response.

In early September, a number of comedians and other prominent media figures pulled out of the festival over Bannon’s inclusion.