Latest news with #GrahamSmith
Daily Mail
13 hours ago
- Daily Mail
A drink-fuelled party in Saudi Arabia, sex on a balcony and a cover-up that went to the heart of the British Establishment. New documentary re-examines infamous case of nurse Helen Smith and her VERY inconvenient death in the desert
On the morning of May 20, 1979, a young student named Graham Smith received an urgent message to telephone his father. 'I knew there was something wrong because he wouldn't call like that normally,' he reflects.
The National
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The National
BBC accused of 'North Korean-style censorship' in royal coverage
Trooping the Colour – the King's annual birthday parade – was covered live by the BBC at the weekend. But Graham Smith, CEO of Republic, has written to the boss of the events team at BBC Studios Productions accusing the broadcaster of 'censoring and erasing' the presence of 'highly visible' protests against the monarchy. It is the first time Republic has approached the factual entertainment and events team about its coverage and has threatened to go to people 'higher up in the BBC' if there is no response. READ MORE: Pete Wishart calls for Labour Government not to remove whip from MPs Smith – who says he has had several meetings with the BBC about their news coverage – told The National the broadcaster was being 'dishonest' in painting a picture of a 'devoted nation fawning over the royals'. 'Generally our focus has been on their news coverage [so far], but these big events are not done by their news teams, it's done by a separate events team,' he said. 'It's only been the last couple of years that we've been at those events, and we've started to notice […] how they are deliberately editing things out. 'Some of the commentary from people like Clare Balding at the weekend just presents this picture of a devoted nation fawning over the royals. It's not just about them cutting us out, it's about them misrepresenting the crowds, suggesting it's much larger than it is and suggesting it's royalists.' He went on: 'There's a bit where they are showing the carriages coming down the Mall and you can see the crowds at the barriers, and then we can see – because we know what we're looking for – we can see where we are and they zoom in and you can just about see some feet and a bit of yellow [the colour Republic uses]. (Image: Aaron Chown) 'They should be covering it as it is, not doing the royals' job as a press office. 'This is why we say it's like North Korea, it's such a dishonest representation of what is going on and how people feel about it.' At the start of last year, a Savanta poll showed support for the monarchy had fallen to just 48%. A YouGov poll that followed a few months later showed support for the monarchy in Scotland at 50% compared to 34% backing a republic. Smith cited how a few years ago, David Dimbleby revealed the level of control exerted by the royal family over broadcasters' rights for the Queen's funeral. He told the Henley Book Festival that as he broadcast from St George's Chapel in Windsor the BBC was receiving emails 'almost simultaneously' from palace officials, dictating which clips of footage could not be shown in any subsequent broadcast. 'There was this complete list of things that no broadcaster could show because the copyright belongs to Buckingham Palace. I think that's wrong, just wrong,' he said. READ MORE: BBC chief responds to landmark report exposing bias on Gaza The letter to Hannah Wyatt, managing director of factual entertainment and events at BBC Studios, claims the BBC's coverage of Trooping the Colour 'completely ignored' the protests held by Republic, even when they could be heard in the background. 'It is not going too far to suggest that you have chosen a North Korean style of coverage which censors and erases the presence of noisy, growing and highly visible protests against the monarchy,' the letter says. 'Aerial shots of the crowd showed numbers are falling, with huge swathes of empty space outside the palace and along the Mall. 'Yet still you convey a misleading image of a packed Mall full of fawning royalists, while your commentary included no input from critics of the institution. 'These protests will get bigger and louder, and they will not stop. So, I'm asking that we meet to discuss these concerns and hopefully convey to you the seriousness of this issue.' Smith said there has been a 'consistent pattern' at the BBC of editing out signs of opposition to the monarchy, as he claimed similar incidents had occurred the coronation and Commonwealth Day. The BBC has been approached for comment.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Anti-Monarchy Protesters Made Themselves Visible at Trooping The Colour
There were cheering crowds, throngs of tourists and the most ardent of royal fans who had waited for hours to catch a glimpse of the procession. However, today's Trooping the Colour also featured a small but very visible protest from anti-,monarchy group Republic who carried yellow banners and chanted 'Not my King.' This was the group's second time protesting at Trooping having been increasingly visible at royal events throughout the reign of King Charles. 'This is the iconic royal event of the year when they come out on the balcony,' Republic's CEO Graham Smith told T&C today. 'And it's that balcony moment we're really here for…The whole point with all our protests is to disrupt this idea that we are all a nation of royalists.' It is correct that not everyone in Britain is a fan of the royal family. Polling shows that around 60% of people have a positive view of them and just over 30% have a negative view, with the remaining undecided. However, the favorability drops to 44% amongst 18 to 25-year-olds with 43% of that age group having a negative view. Protester Dan, 40, told T&C that he wanted to see the UK move to a model more like Germany with an elected president in a ceremonial role. 'I think we need to head towards a fairer society,' he said. 'We're trying to promote equality on behalf of the people. We're trying to raise awareness that this is an unequal society, we've got a class system that's been entrenched for hundreds of years. There are a lot of nations now who salute the flag and swear allegiance to the flag and the people and the country, and we just need to move to that model.' There was a significant police presence around the small protest today. While it was entirely peaceful, it was clear that many in the crowd were not happy to see the protesters. As members of the public filed past them down the Mall to get to the Palace ahead of the famous balcony moment, several shouted 'God Save the King' or 'Long Live the King' in retaliation. A handful of people stuck their middle finger up at the protesters or booed them. The protesters were let onto the Mall once the flypast had already started. As the Red Arrows roared overhead, those caring the huge and vibrant 'Not My King' and 'Down With the Crown' banners weaved their way through the cheering crowd as the royals stood on the balcony Might Also Like 12 Weekend Getaway Spas For Every Type of Occasion 13 Beauty Tools to Up Your At-Home Facial Game
Daily Record
09-06-2025
- Daily Record
Wishaw outdoor group hold successful event showcasing local history
Campfire History brought people together to see their local heritage, enjoy nature and the greenspace around. Members of a Wishaw outdoor group held a successful event showcasing local history. Campfire History brought people together to see their local heritage, enjoy nature and the greenspace around and socialising with like minded individuals and sharing stories, knowledge and keeping the heritage alive. The event in and around Cambusnethan Priory was deemed a great success with 50-60 people attending across the course of the day with the age range coming from three to 81 all out exploring our natural forestry and looking at the old heritage within the area. Graham Butt, from the group, said: 'It was great meeting new faces and enjoying the company of old friends who have followed on the 'campfire history journey' from the start. 'Big shout out goes to Graham Smith of Friends of Cambusnethan Priory for delivering the tour to our Ukrainian guests who visited. The partnership working between groups really makes life easier. 'Another shout out to Morrisons in Wishaw for the donation tea and coffee. 'One of the best things out there for our wellbeing is our natural forestry. Being able to share that with like minded individuals is an excellent way to make ourselves feel better. 'To socialise, learn new skills, experience something new and different. It's all about bringing people together. 'We would like to say thanks for those who made a donation towards costs, we are a self funded group and the donations will go towards the tea, coffee and biscuits for the next one.'
The Herald Scotland
12-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Not My Scotland: what the anti-royal protesters keep getting wrong
There were similar protests in London and Cardiff at the same time; the Not My King protesters have also become a regular fixture at royal events. In 2023, I was in St Giles' Cathedral to report on the Scottish coronation service and I remember the congregation stopping for silent reflection, except it wasn't silent because you could hear the chants of the protesters outside: Not Our King, Not Our King. Part of me thought: free speech, fair enough. Another part of me thought: show some respect. The central argument the protestors advance, that we should have a republic instead of a monarchy, is perfectly reasonable; indeed, if we were starting from scratch and were given a flipchart and a sharpie and asked to come up with ideas for what the head of state should look like, we wouldn't come up with a dude in a crown. We also wouldn't come up with the idea that the head of state should be the son or daughter of the previous one. None of it's logical, which is why new countries go for elected heads of state rather than kings and queens. But old countries like the UK aren't the result of planning meetings with flipcharts and sharpies, they're they result of conflict and history and heritage and compromise and setbacks, and blood to be honest, and if you have a fairly conservative outlook – and most Scots do, whatever you say – you change what you have with care. The monarchy is not ideal. The Union is not ideal. The parliamentary system is not ideal. But before I vote for change, you're going to have to convince me that the alternatives would be better, and that the costs – financial, social, cultural, personal – wouldn't be too great. It's this realistic outlook, a sense of the country as it actually is, that the protesters on the hill, the republicans, will have to overcome if they're ever to achieve their aim, and it looks like a tall order. Graham Smith, the chief executive of Republic, was complaining, in a pretty mean-spirited way I thought, that the Royals had 'hijacked' the VE Day celebrations and made it all about them, but he also said his movement's goal was to abolish the monarchy 'in the next few decades', which sounds like someone who knows the situation is unlikely to change soon. And it's because of who we are. The conservative but realistic population of Britain says: would the alternative be better? let's just leave things as they are eh. Read more It seems to me that the Scottish protesters in particular also keep getting a fundamental point wrong in their attempts to advance their case. First of all, it doesn't help that one of their spokespeople was Maggie Chapman, whose credibility as a parliamentarian has been fatally undermined by her attack on the Supreme Court. It's also a bit rich of the protesters to complain that the monarchy is anti-democratic and remote when Ms Chapman was only saved from expulsion from the equalities committee by her own vote, cast remotely. It's this kind of stuff that people look at and think: would the alternatives to monarchy be any better? Rallies like the one on Calton Hill suffer as well from a tendency that's plagued the independence movement too: the failure to create a broad church, or even try to. Ten years ago, the Yes campaign became conflated with a whole range of left-wing causes and idealism, which was a turn-off for more conservative voters, who began to think: Not My Scotland. But it also missed the point that Yes could only win if it built a case that would appeal to people on the left and the right. A similar mistake is being made with the republican movement. As I say, there's a rational, reasonable case to be made for republicanism, just as there is for independence, but then out comes Maggie Chapman, eyes spinning, and Tommy Sheridan, teeth clenched, and it all starts to look like an extension of the irrational, extreme left. One of the speakers on Calton Hill was Jemma Campbell of Scottish Socialist Youth who epitomises how the causes are conflated. 'We have to come together to resist far-right elitism,' she said. 'We have to call for an independent socialist republic in Scotland.' (Image: Maggie Chapman at the protest) That sort of stuff is going to get them nowhere to be honest because the people who could be their potential allies in a rational case for republicanism do not meet their test: they are not left-wing enough, they are 'far-right'. To be fair, such attitudes are widespread and are part of our fractious times – them and us. But deep, profound change, like ending the union or abolishing the monarchy, will only happen when the them and the us draw together round a cause that genuinely attracts broad support. So, even though the protesters may not want to listen to this, let me mention something else that happened during the coronation service at St Giles' Cathedral. The Rt Rev Sally Foster-Fulton, Moderator at the time, delivered a sermon that seemed to directly address the problems of the fractious age. She urged people to 'chose collaboration and trust over fear-filed circling of our wagons'. 'How narrow our sight,' she went on, 'and how monochrome our understanding when we do not embrace the richness of different perspectives. We should learn to listen to each other, not just respond.' The republican protesters won't have heard the sermon – they were outside chanting 'Not Our King' – but even now they could draw a lesson from it. No one's suggesting they should ditch their republican views, but if they continue the circling of their wagons and conflate support for the monarchy with 'far-right elitism', they're going to remain a niche cause forever. They will also need to recognise, as all radicals have to in the end, that political success only comes when a movement includes the richness of different perspectives. The campaigners up on Calton Hill may dream of an independent socialist republic, but down here, we take a look and think: nah.
