Question Time British National Party controversy is the flagship BBC Television political panel show, which began in 1979. The weekly show, hosted by David Dimbleby since 1994, takes place at locations around the country. Questions from a local audience are directed to a panel of invited guests, usually consisting of British politicians, alongside other public figures. The topics for debate during the programme are loosely defined by "set-piece" questions from pre-selected audience members. For each topic, the question is answered by each panel member in turn, followed by supplementary questions on the topic, time permitting. The show is pre-recorded a few hours before being broadcast, and
Question Time British National Party controversy called the BBC decision "profoundly wrong" and noted that "no previous BBC Director General made such a judgement and that neither Martin Webster, who polled 16 percent of the vote in the West Bromwich by-election in 1973, John Tyndall, Colin Jordan or Oswald Mosley were treated in the same way". The decision by the BBC to invite Griffin on to "Question Time" caused widespread controversy. In an editorial on 15 October 2009, "The Guardian" said: "The BNP is no normal party – yet by inviting it on to "Question Time", the BBC runs the risk of normalising it". It also