The BBC should poke fun where it's due
Why can't the BBC make fun of the State Opening of Parliament? Why in fact can't the BBC make fun on radio or TV of any events from inside the Houses of Parliament.
Surely the goings on in the House are game for the odd laugh?
It's all due to the corporation's editorial guidelines: "We must not use any parliamentary recordings in light entertainment, fictional or drama programmes or items or programmes of political satire."
This draconian censorship was laid down when MPs agreed that television cameras could broadcast proceedings from Parliament two decades ago.
But it means that such choice moments as Gordon Brown picking his nose won't be seen on the BBC's Have I Got News For You but on scurrilous websites such as Guido Fawkes. You can watch "The Bogey Man" with a rather natty soundtrack and subtitles describing the action here.
This just can't be right. In a grown-up internet-aware democracy, pictures of MPs should be fair game. And mainstream broadcasters like the BBC should be allowed to make fun of whoever they like.
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