Small boat

The BBC audience included asylum seekers who arrived by small boat (Image: BBC)

Question Time viewers raged “defund the BBC” as several small boat migrants who arrived in the country illegally were invited to be part of the show’s audience. Several times during the show, host Fiona Bruce directed questions at members of the public who originally came to Britain seeking asylum, but who crossed the Channel by illegal means.

Fiona acknowledged that the asylum seekers had been invited onto the show “because everyone is talking about people like you”. She told one man who arrived in the UK from Iran and welcomed a baby daughter on British soil: “Let me ask you about your situation. Since we were talking about immigration on this programme today, we thought since we’re talking about people like you, we would see if there were two, three, four people who wanted to come along who were in that situation, and I know you are because I talked to you beforehand.

 

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“You came from Iran. I just wonder what you think of this idea, because one thing the government is talking about is if countries become safe once you have left them, in your case Iran, would you be then happy to go back?” she quizzed him.

The man responded: “There are two points we need to take care about. Physically, the regime changed in Iran, it’s safe for people like me to return to Iran.

“But the second thing we need to take care about here is, for me, I have a four-month-old daughter, she was born here. She’s growing up here, learning English. She won’t know how to read and write Farsi, or even speak it.”

Now Reform UK head of policy Zia Yusuf has insisted that the audience members were “planted” by BBC bosses, raging on X: “Incredibly, the BBC planted multiple illegal migrants in the audience of Question Time’s Immigration Special.

Fiona

Viewers raged ‘defund the BBC’ (Image: BBC)

“One said his asylum application had been rejected in SIX countries and so he came to Britain by small boat. I asked when he would be deported.”

When contacted by Express.co.uk for comment, a BBC spokesperson said: “As immigration continues to be a primary concern for people in the UK, Question Time held a special episode in Dover with panellists from across the political spectrum and a local audience with a range of views and experiences. Over 20 audience members asked questions and contributed to the debate – including two people with direct experience of the asylum system in the UK who have been granted refugee status.”

But viewers on social media were raging, with GB News star Ben Leo fuming: “This is insane. What are the BBC playing at? Illegal small boat migrants in the Question Time audience… debating our nation’s immigration policy. DEFUND THE BBC.”

Another viewer said: “The BBC are now on borrowed time…”

Someone else posted: “Illegal immigrants in the #BBCQT audience reading off their phone because they have been told what to say! The BBC is a national disgrace. Defund it!”