BBC Faces Accusations of Censorship in Convicted Paedophile Court Report
The BBC has come under fire for removing LGBTQ+ references from a court report concerning a convicted paedophile. In its initial online coverage, the report mentioned Andrew Way, 61, as an ex-drag queen and organizer of Pride events.
Within 24 hours on August 25, both of these details were removed from the report. Andrew Way, who also goes by the stage name Miss Gin and appeared on TV’s Judge Rinder in 2019, had sent explicit messages and images to a fake profile of a 14-year-old child.
Toby Young from the Free Speech Union suggested that LGBTQ+ activists might have influenced the BBC’s decision to backtrack. Andrew Allison from the Freedom Association commented on the situation, stating, “This story showcases how the BBC has embraced ‘woke’ culture. The initial story was accurate.”
Andrew Way, residing in Wrexham, North Wales, was recently sentenced to 34 months in jail for attempting to engage in sexual communication with a 14-year-old child. He was exposed through an online sting operation conducted by paedophile hunters who had set up a fake profile to catch him.
The BBC responded to the controversy, saying, “An earlier version of this story included details not reported during the court proceedings and has been appropriately updated.”