BBC Finds Lord Deben Guilty Of Misleading The Public On Wind Farms
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London, 12 October: Lord Deben, Chairman of the influential Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has been found guilty by the BBC Executive Complaints Unit of misleading listeners of the Today programme.
The incident occurred on 28 June, when Deben was being interviewed by John Humphrys in advance of the CCC’s Progress Report to Parliament. During the segment, he claimed that the government was not allowing communities that wanted to build onshore wind farms to do so. He said: “What on earth is the government doing, saying that even where a community wants to have an onshore wind farm, it can’t have it. This is sheer dogma.” Yet, the opposite is true: the Government has devolved the decision to approve onshore wind turbines to local councils. Wind developers know full well that their projects are very unpopular with local people. That, and the crucial consideration that there are no more subsidies available, accounts for the fact that there are only a very small number of onshore wind projects in the planning system at present. In its ruling, Dominic Groves, Deputy Head of the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit, said Lord Deben’s claim “does not appear to be supported by the evidence”. He went on to say: “Lord Deben was presented as someone with a significant degree of expertise and knowledge in this area … I think he should have been challenged on this point to ensure listeners were not left with a materially misleading impression.” Lord Deben also claimed that onshore wind power was the “cheapest form of producing electricity today”. This is false; the substantial network costs necessary to connect wind power to the national grid and manage its intermittency, make wind energy more expensive than gas even when the cost of carbon taxes are included. Responding to these false claims, Dr Benny Peiser, director of the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF), wrote a letter of complaint to the BBC. Initially, the editors of the Today programme rejected the complaint. An appeal to the Executive Complaints Unit was successful and upheld the first part of his complaint, relating to a supposed government ban on onshore wind. The GWPF now plans to refer the second part of the complaint, relating to the cost of generating electricity, to media watchdog Ofcom. Commenting on the BBC decision, Dr Peiser said: “We welcome the BBC’s public acknowledgment of the misleading statement by Lord Deben. In light of the BBC’s recently announced policy of banning sceptical voices from their programmes, there is now a growing risk that misleading claims by green campaigners and activists will go unchallenged.”
It is bad enough, if hardly unexpected, for the BBC to allow such blatant lies to be broadcast without challenge. But how on earth can Deben be allowed to retain his position as Chair of the CCC when he either is unaware of such basic facts, or wilfully misrepresents them?
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O ! ?? I’m confused today…. Dunno what’s write n rong NE More….. heard so much rubbish and contradictions and redactions, lately – you can understand why Jo. Pub. is the way they are. ………..
Will the BBC make a public apology, through Humphrys or other, for that ? In hope ……
O/T GuardianLand just visited Brigg with the local Google roadshow, local MP and a promised big anti-fracking protest in front of him.
Not many showed up.
And anyway the Marie Antoinette’s posters are nutty cos the Wressle site in NOT fracking, but rather conventional.
+ 15 miles away we have nodding donkeys almost unnoticed behind the bushes.
+ across the area we have pipelines, stations, and tunnel projects for the country’s main gas route.
The BBC connection is the free pre-promotion they gave this in morning’s 5 minute news bulletins on both BBC Radio Humberside and BBC Radio Lincolnshire. Both saying
“Protesters who will be protesting later in Brigg have revealed that the local MP supports their cause about the government taking away the right of local councils to stop fracking”
…
The protesters have posted their own photos on Drill or Drop; 8 women + 1 man.
(5 days ago the new Quick Start Centrica Gas power station opened 1 mile away)
But note how the BBC deters and rebuffs all but the most persistent complainers.
“Wind developers know full well that their projects are very unpopular with local people.’
Especially green NIMBYs
I don’t think anyone should be surprised that Gummer has continued his lifelong practice of spouting nonsense and propaganda. He has received his gongs and has been well rewarded financially by the long-suffering tax-payer. It’s no wonder that those of limited abilities follow the easy political path to fame and fortune.
“This is sheer dogma.”
He should know about that
oldbrew is right ! John Selwyn Bummer, aka ‘Lord Deben’ demonstrates serious deficiencies in his mental faculties, if he cannot see his devotion to the global warming religion is nothing but dogma. As all devotees of notalotofpeoplekmowthat know, the whole thing is a financial scam of the most mammoth order, and his snout is deeply in the trough with all the others. I wonder if we can hope that the Beeb will stop giving him air time, enabling him to spread yet more of his lies ?
Cor! thatsa bummer, ainit? thocht he was Gummer – a’wise bummin is gums aboot fermin , staunin aroon in is gumboots – didna the fermers weekly no write such stuff?
“Lord Deben” eh? I wonder why he took that name? ……. I remember now! or do I recall? better not redact….. Gummer by name, bummer by….. when he was the Agric minster, – just a PITB. Farmers didn’t like him then, what kind of a legacy did he leave? just leaves a bad taste…. Any Historians around to elucidate?
Gummer, the idiot who fed his young daughter a beef burger at the height of the BSE scare. I wonder if she has forgiven him risking her life.
Yep. Gummer – Bummer. Same thing. But I wonder if he knows how all those local to the beautiful River Deben loathe and detest his taking of its name for his, hugely undeserved, title ?!
Generally. Lord Deben generally misleads the public. He does this because he personally gains from it.
Absolutely correct. It really is that simple. He makes much moolah from pedalling these lies. It has got to be pretty bad for the BBC to call him out !