We have somehow gone from 50 shades of grey, to none. These days, everything is black or white, extreme left or far right, leave or remain.
There’s nothing in between, no nuance. So this may seem strange, but I want to stick up for Fiona Bruce – even though I think she was wrong.
The BBC’s Question Time presenter has stepped down as an ambassador for charity Refuge after 25 years, following an outcry when she clarified that friends of Stanley Johnson had described him breaking his wife’s nose as a “one-off”. As Refuge has strongly stated, domestic violence is never a one-off.
Indeed, Stanley’s ex-wife, the late Charlotte Wahl, told biographer Tom Bower, that their marriage had been “ghastly, terrible. He hit me many times, over many years”.
Despite what lots of people believe, all media has to operate within the law, so I’m required to be fair and put across the other side, even when that other side is – ugh – Stanley Johnson’s. I don’t have a choice, I’m forced – just like Fiona was – to add that at the time of the biography’s release, Stanley Johnson’s friends said he “deeply regretted” the incident, but denied he’d been violent on any other occasion.
When I was a little kid, my mum’s friend worked on a TV show, and she once invited us to see it being made, from the gallery, where the producers and director sit.
The presenter was Russell Harty, and I was fascinated as I watched him not only say every single word that was being fed to him down his earpiece, but also move when told to, smile when told to, shrug when told to.
“He’s just like a puppet,” I apparently said to my mum, eyes wide.
Fiona Bruce would have had someone directing her in her ear that night on Question Time too. And when Stanley Johnson was referred to by panelist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown as “a wife-beater, on record” that person probably felt pressured. Whether just due to potential legal ramifications, or because of the climate of fear instilled by the right-wingers who now run the BBC, we’ll never know.
If Fiona had more than a split millisecond to think, it’s hard to believe that a Refuge ambassador of two-and-a-half decades wouldn’t have chosen her words more carefully. Perhaps she could have clarified that Johnson’s friends said he admitted one incident, rather than using a phrase that could be misinterpreted.
The next morning, Refuge issued a statement saying: “Fiona is appalled that any of her words have been understood as her minimising domestic violence.
“We continue to be appreciative of all the work Fiona does on behalf of Refuge and recognise the immense contribution she has made to our work to end domestic abuse and challenge violence against women and girls.”
Then the following day Refuge accepted her offer to stand down from her role.
Fiona Bruce acknowledged that her words were hurtful, apologised, and resigned – a rarity these days. The end result is that a charity has lost a powerful advocate and campaigner.
Stanley Johnson – unlike his wife – remains untouched. And probably still in line for a knighthood.
For complete avoidance of doubt, this is worth repeating. Domestic abuse is never a one-off. If this is your life, ring Refuge on 0808 2000 247.
