BEN Shapiro has come under fire for saying Andrew Neil must be "honest" about being "on the left".
In a Politics Live interview, Shapiro said he speaks in response to the "radical leftist point of view in the media".
Andrew Neil said the Conservatives in America have "run out of ideas" as all the new policies like medicare for all, the green new deal and a $15 dollar minimum wage are all "coming from the left and they're popular".
Shapiro, who supports a ban on abortion even in cases of incest and rape, was then asked if such laws would be “taking us back to the Middle Ages”.
He replied: “You purport to be an objective journalist. The BBC purports to be an objective, down the middle network. It obviously is not and it never has been.
“And you as a journalist are proceeding to call one side of the political spectrum ignorant, barbaric and sending us back to the dark ages.
“Why don’t you just say that you’re on the left? Why can’t you just be honest.”
This response was met with a guffaw from Neil: “Mr Shapiro, if you only knew how ridiculous that statement is you wouldn’t had said it, so let’s move on.”
Neil is the chairman of the right-leaning magazine The Spectator.
Shapiro later apologised, saying he misinterpreted Neil's "antagonism as political leftism".
Just pre-taped an interview with BBC’s @afneil. As I’m not familiar with him or his work, I misinterpreted his antagonism as political Leftism (he termed the pro-life position in America “barbaric”) – and that was apparently inaccurate. For that, I apologize.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) May 9, 2019
Shapiro's conservative views on abortion have recently led to a number of sponsors dropping him after he spoke at an anti-abortion rally in which he mulled over the philosophical dilemma of killing “baby Hitler”.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel