"Calm down dear, it's only a political debate!"

From the National Union of Journalists today:

We believe the BBC is wrong to invite the BNP to appear on Question Time and will support any member who refuses to work on this week’s programme in line with the union’s code of conduct and conscience clause.

The NUJ applauds journalists in the BBC and elsewhere around the UK who are subjecting the BNP’s racist propaganda to professional scrutiny – and exposing their lies where they find them.

There is no opportunity for this sort of forensic examination in the knock-about soapbox environment of Question Time.

Interesting. I’m not here to debate the presence of the BNP on QT. Indeed, this post should stand whether I agree or disagree.

My issue is with the NUJ deciding to speak on behalf of its members without having asked them in the first place.

If public opinion polls are to be believed, the nation is around 60 per cent in favour of the BBC’s decision. Therefore, it’s likely a sizable portion of NUJ members are in favour too.

Not all, maybe not even a majority, but enough to question the NUJ’s judgment in declaring the Union as a whole is against the show.

By releasing a statement like this, its effectively putting words into its members’ mouths without asking permission.