Establishment Canonisation of Former Labour MP Jo Cox

We are all sadly aware that although the Syrian Government and people have made great gains in recent months in liberating their country, the war still continues. There have been several suicide bombs in Damascus in recent weeks, including a massive one in Damascus Old Town yesterday which killed many people. It's no surprise that the Western mainstream media have said very little about these atrocities. It's important that we take note of the terrible crimes committed against Syria by the West in supporting terrorism there.

We will remember the frantic attempts by some British MPs to prolong the war by sending British places into Syria using the smokescreen of "creating a no-fly zone". Creating a no-fly zone is an act of war as it means shooting down aeroplanes belonging to the attacked nation as well as attacking ground-based air defences. Hilary Clinton made it clear before the Presidential Election that she wanted to create a no-fly zone and everyone knew what that meant. The All Party Parliamentary Group on Syria had (I don't know if it still exists) two co-chairs. One was Andrew Mitchell and he was the lead campaigner for a "no-fly zone". The other co-chair was Jo Cox. She also made it clear that she supported the White Helmets and we all know who they are. I mention these facts because the pro-war lobby in the UK has not yet given up. It seems it's seeking to organise a national campaign purportedly to venerate Jo Cox. Of course, it's main campaign is to support what she stood for. Her widower, Brendan Cox, was given a great deal of time on BBC Radio 4 to launch this enterprise. I complained about that to the BBC and my email of complaint, together with a reply from the BBC, is below.

Readers might wish to make their own points to the BBC.

YOUR COMPLAINT:

Complaint Summary: Depiction of propaganda as news.

Full Complaint: On 22 February, the Today programme devoted much time to an 
interview with Brendan Cox, the widower of Jo Cox. Her tragic murder was given 
great coverage on the BBC at the time and subsequently. It made strenuous 
efforts to link the murder with the Referendum result which was extremely 
distasteful. Who was Jo Cox? The BBC knows more than I do but is not telling us. 
I do know that she described herself as "an aid worker for Syria". That 
description normally pertains to people interfering in the internal affairs of 
other countries. I suspect that she was aiding the terrorist forces in Syria 
which, of course, was and still is UK foreign policy. We do know that she was 
very active in the campaign to promote war against Syria. She was co-Chairman of 
the All Party Parliamentary Group on Syria whose other co-Chairman was Andrew 
Mitchell MP. The raison d'etre of that Group was to encourage the UK Government 
to use military action in Syria especially in creating a "no-fly zone". This is 
a euphemism for invading a country and attacking its territory and its defences. 
We know that Jo Cox promoted the group that calls itself White Helmets which is 
a particularly vicious terrorist group. It is hugely funded by the governments 
of the US, UK and France. I believe Ms Cox put forward the White Helmets as a 
candidate for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. Although that prize has been awarded 
to many unpleasant people and organisations, it appears that dimwitted 
Norwegians thought that was a bit too far. However, the promoters of the White 
Helmets are still active and they succeeded in getting awarded some kind of 
prize in the Oscars last night under the heading of Short Documentary. That film 
is by no means a documentary. The makers admit that it was made in Turkey and 
those portrayed in it are clearly actors. I've just heard PM today (27 February 
2017) who described WH as a "civil defence organisation". It is nothing of the 
sort. Syria has a well-establish civil defence force.

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Dear Mr Bennett

Reference CAS-4247723-WTPC4S

Thank you for contacting us regarding 'Today' on 22 February.

I understand you are unhappy with our section with Brendan Cox.

Brendan Cox was on the programme to talk about the community event that is being 
organised to mark the 1st anniversary of the death of his wife. This event will 
involve many organisations, and the plan is for it to involve millions of people 
across the country. We believe that the magnitude of this planned event merited 
he coverage that we gave it.

Your feedback is important to us and your concerns have been placed on an 
overnight report which is made available to senior management and the 'Today' 
production team. This report can be used to inform future broadcasting and 
policy decisions, so please be assured that your complaint has been sent to the 
right people.

Thanks again for getting in touch.

Kind regards

David Currie

BBC Complaints Team

www.bbc.co.uk/complaints