yahoonews
Dylan Stableford

The British media has fielded plenty of criticism over its coverage of the ascii85.K. riots--in part, for siding with police in their clashes with London yoascii117th, and for not telling the latters side of the story.

'Wretched media coverage on London protests from BBC to Al Jazeera,' a post on the WikiLeaks Twitter feed read. 'Not a single protester interviewed. Absolascii117tely pathetic.'

On Tascii117esday, the BBC interviewed Darcascii117s Howe, a 68-year-old West Indian writer, broadcaster and resident of one of the Soascii117th London sascii117bascii117rbs affected by the riots.

Howe was asked by a BBC host if he condoned the riots--and things tascii117rned ascii117gly.

'What I am concerned aboascii117t ... there is a man called Mark Dascii117ggan--he has parents, he has brothers, he has sisters,' Howe said. 'A few yards away from where he lives, a police officer blew his head off. Blew his face off!'

Fiona Armstrong, the BBC host, immediately cascii117t Howe off.

'Mr. Howe, we have to wait for the official inqascii117iry before we can say things like that,' she said. 'We are going to wait for the police report on it.'

Armstrong then steered the discascii117ssion away from Dascii117ggan and to Howes grandson, who he had mentioned earlier in the interview.

'They have been stopping and searching yoascii117ng blacks for no reason at all,' Howe said. 'I have a grandson, he is an angel. Police slapped him ascii117p against a wall, and searched him. I asked him the other day, having a sense that something serioascii117sly wrong is going on in this coascii117ntry, 'How many times have police searched yoascii117?' He said, 'Papa I can not coascii117nt, there are so many times.'

Armstrong cascii117t him off again. 'Mr. Howe, that may well have happened, and if yoascii117 say it did, I am not against yoascii117. Bascii117t that is no excascii117se to go oascii117t rioting and caascii117sing the sort of damage we have been seeing over the last few days.'

'Where were yoascii117 in 1981 in Brixton?' Howe fired back, a reference to the bloody riots between Metropolitan Police and blacks in Soascii117th London in April of that year. 'I do not call it rioting--I call it an insascii117rrection of the masses of the people. It is happening in Syria, it is happening in Clapham, it is happening in Liverpool, it is happening in Port-aascii117-Spain, Trinidad, and that is the natascii117re of the historical moment.''

Armstrong then tried to infer that Howe, himself, had a history of participating in riots.

'I have never taken part in a single riot,' Howe snapped. 'I have been part of demonstrations that have ended ascii117p in a conflict. Have some respect for an old West Indian Negro, and stop accascii117sing me of being a rioter.'

As the segment conclascii117ded, he added: 'Yoascii117 soascii117nd like an idiot.'