‘The bloody Protestants ran BBC in Northern Ireland’ in 70s, says ex-TV boss

Former BBC One controller Paul Fox says anti-Catholic prejudice was deeply embedded at the corporation during the Troubles

The British public were not told the truth about the Troubles in the 1960s and 1970s because “the bloody Protestants were running the BBC in Northern Ireland”, the then controller of BBC One has claimed.

This is the damning judgment of one of television’s most distinguished former top executives, Sir Paul Fox, who was editor of Panorama and then controller of BBC One. He firmly believes this meant that British viewers were not told the truth of what was really happening in Northern Ireland and in particular to the Catholics.