BBC Scotland have announced that a show giving a platform to a UKIP member who taught a dog to Nazi salute will not be broadcast.
Mark Meechan was due to appear in a new show with reality TV personality James English and Edinburgh-based dominatrix, Megara Furie, to discuss big issues without moderation.
However, following backlash, the BBC have announced that he will no longer be appearing on the programme.
In a statement issued on Twitter, BBC Scotland stated: "We have been reviewing our new late night discussion programmes The Collective during the edit process. As with all new formats, robust editorial processes apply.
"In this case we have concluded that it's not appropriate to include Mark Meechan as a contributor. The two programmes in which he featured will not be broadcast as part of any series."
BBC Scotland’s response to today’s Mail on Sunday story. pic.twitter.com/BPGW25GecQ
— BBC Scotland Corp (@bbcscotcorp) March 3, 2019
Meechan rose to alt-right fame last year after filming his girlfriend's dog doing a Sieg Heil while he chanted "Gas the Jews". The Coatbridge blogger was convicted of a hate crime and fined £800 which he is claiming he has refused to pay.
Matthew Berlow, a member of Glasgow Friends of Israel, expressed disbelief that Meechan was slated to appear on the tax-payer funded channel.
Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, he said: "It is absolutely sickening and disgusting. Anti-Semitism is a very difficult subject but we Jews know what it looks and feels like.
"I know that anti-Semitism has become very popular but I don’t think that [Meechan’s politics] can be described as a ‘view’. The Holocaust is no laughing matter."
He concluded: "We are entering a time now where the generation of Holocaust survivors is dying out. The internet is now becoming a breeding ground for idiots like this. It’s a very great shame.
"There’s a difference in making fun of Hitler and making fun of gassing six million Jews."
When approached for comment, Meechan responded with an image of someone holding a gun, with the caption "shut the f*ck up journalist".
The Nazi pug guy is approached for comment after the BBC decided to cut him from the programme. He responds by sending an image to the reporter of a character holding a gun with the words "SHUT THE FUCK UP JOURNALIST". What on earth were @BBCScotland thinking? pic.twitter.com/hdA52hoLLG
— James McEnaney (@MrMcEnaney) March 3, 2019
Earlier, the BBC said: "We had a broad range of contributors in for the recording of a new late night format in which a wide variety of issues are debated and opinions are challenged.
“The production is currently in the edit where the content of the programme will be decided, subject to the BBC’s robust editorial review and compliance procedures.
“We don’t discuss payments to individuals. When a fee is paid in relation to a production it is in line with standard industry practice.’ The show is set to air in April, and will consist of four episodes.
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