Tory murder gaffe
A senior Tory MP joked about murdering Carrie Prejean, 21, this year’s Miss California, on the BBC comedy show Have I got news for you.
Alan Duncan MP, shadow leader of the House of Commons, appeared on the programme on Friday 24 April. In a sequence about Carrie Prejean, the MP used a derisive term against her and said: ‘If you read that Miss California is murdered, you will know it was me’.
The remark drew an audible intake of breath from some of those present and Katy Brand, sharing the panel, remarked: ‘That’s a strong statement to be making on camera there, Alan’. Comedian Paul Merton added: ‘For someone planning to be Home Secretary’.
Mr Duncan’s comments were in reaction to remarks made by Miss Prejean at the Miss USA beauty pageant in April. When she was asked whether every US state should legalise homosexual marriage, she replied: ‘I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offence to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised and that’s how I think it should be’.
Mr Duncan’s comments provoked outrage, with complaints being filed with the BBC and the Broadcasting Standards Authority.
