Sky Foreign Affairs Editor praises the anti-Muslim blog Harry’s Place

It is a sad day for journalism when media professionals resort to taking their cues from blog sites that devote themselves to peddling misinformation and biased comment.

Sky News’ foreign affairs editor, Tim Marshall, writing about Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell’s disclosure that the UK Government will be seeking to open channels of communication with the political wing of Hizbullah in Lebanon, refers to the ‘excellent Harry’s Place website’ in appraising whether the government’s move is judicious.

Given that Harry’s Place has been and continues to be at the centre of several McCarthyite witch-hunts against prominent British Muslims, and uses the label ‘Islamist’ to try and smear the reputation of Muslim activists, Marshall’s glowing commendation of the site is disturbing to say the least.

The politics of Harry’s Place are no secret given its backing of the illegal invasion of Iraq, its full-blown support for Israel including during the recent heavy bombardment of Gaza in which Israeli leaders were accused of having committed war crimes, and its championing of ‘ex Islamists’, such as Ed Husain, Maajid Nawaz and Shiraz Maher.

Can Sky’s viewers trust that foreign news bulletins guided by Marshall’s editorial pen will be impartial given his professed appreciation of a blog site whose content is vehemently anti Muslim?

You can call Sky News on 0870 240 3000 or email [email protected] to lodge a complaint.