Gloves Off

I remember a BBC documentary about Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, broadcast in the last century. It was deferential and dull.

Sheikh Mohammed camel racing in the desert, at Ascot, flying birds of prey, etc. I suppose there was a big arms deal cooking and it was hoped this might tip the balance.

The BBC seemed to make these programmes to promote things like recruitment to the army, navy and airforce. They were a small part of the BBC output and it was tacitly understood these programmes were helpful even if not impartial.

What a difference a century makes. A recent Panorama programme about Sheikh Mohammed is most disobliging. I hope the Arabists at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, as it’s known, if there are any left, can smooth some ruffled feathers – not just on the Sheikh’s falcons.

The “Special Relationship” with the United States is prized in the United Kingdom. It’s bunk; the relationship is of mutual self-interest and UK is under-dog. There have been high points in two World Wars and in the Falklands War. I will cast a veil over the lowest point this century in case it puts Tony Blair off his lunch.

The Trump Show on BBC TWO, the TV channel, is unmissable. It portrays former President Trump in a most unfavourable light. All the White House ex-insiders interviewed were sacked and only too happy to air grievances. It’s a reality version of The Thick of It. It’s the BBC putting the boot in again. The Corporation is beleaguered by intense competition from successful, upstart international providers of high-quality content. The TV Licence subsidy is dwindling. Edgy documentaries are cheap to make and for now it’s a space it can exploit, while amply demonstrating that the BBC is not a government propaganda channel.