In recent years, along with other journalists, I have been targeted by members of the far right. Yet we’re failing to address dangerous radicalisation
As soon as Nicholas Watt, the BBC Newsnight political editor, was identified by anti-lockdown protesters who had assembled in Westminster on Monday afternoon, he was chased and subjected to howling verbal abuse. As Watt ran, probably concerned about his safety, nearby police officers stood back, perhaps too busy enjoying the Mediterranean weather.
Watt’s treatment provoked justified outrage among his peers. “These sorts of encounters are becoming commonplace for reporters in #ageofrage,” was how Sky News’ presenter Adam Boulton put it. While he is right to be concerned, to contextualise the event as part of a generalised “age of rage” is misplaced. There is a difference between irritating online debate on all sides of the political spectrum, and physical harassment of journalists carried out by the far right.
