The European Tribune is a forum for thoughtful dialogue of European and international issues. You are invited to post comments and your own articles.
Please REGISTER to post.
Film producer David Puttnam has announced his retirement from the House of Lords, citing the "pig-ignorance" of some British legislators about Ireland among his reasons for leaving. Lord Puttnam (80), who has lived in West Cork since 1998, said he watched Conservative ministers "malevolently twist, turn and posture in parading their prejudices", during the Brexit debates. "In discussions regarding the Republic of Ireland, and the complexity of finding sustainable post-Brexit solutions, I was staggered at the display of pig-ignorance towards the fundamentals of Irish history, let alone sensitivity towards the reality of cross-border relationships. "Had they really become so disconnected from the ghastly history of what we euphemistically call `the Troubles'?" he said on Friday evening in a lecture in honour of the late Labour and Liberal Democrat politician Shirley Williams. "As someone who lives just across the Ilen River from the site of what is probably the largest and most recent mass famine-grave on these islands, I may well be ultra-sensitive to these issues, but with a few notable exceptions, the level of empathy and understanding on display in both Houses was truly shocking." Lord Puttnam's films include Chariots of Fire, which won an Oscar for Best Picture in 1981, Midnight Express, The Killing Fields, The Mission and Local Hero. A member of the British Labour party, he was nominated to the House of Lords by Tony Blair in 1997 and has been active on committees, focusing particularly on regulation of broadcasting and digital communications. <snip> "Mirroring the anxieties of many of those angry Brexiteers in 2016, I feel I've had my country of birth, and the values I believed it to represent, stolen from me. "It's worse than that, I find myself embarrassed by what, on an almost daily basis, I see it becoming - my old enemy Rupert Murdoch's dream made real. He never liked Britain, and he's kind of won; he's helped remake it in his own malevolent image," he said
Lord Puttnam (80), who has lived in West Cork since 1998, said he watched Conservative ministers "malevolently twist, turn and posture in parading their prejudices", during the Brexit debates.
"In discussions regarding the Republic of Ireland, and the complexity of finding sustainable post-Brexit solutions, I was staggered at the display of pig-ignorance towards the fundamentals of Irish history, let alone sensitivity towards the reality of cross-border relationships.
"Had they really become so disconnected from the ghastly history of what we euphemistically call `the Troubles'?" he said on Friday evening in a lecture in honour of the late Labour and Liberal Democrat politician Shirley Williams.
"As someone who lives just across the Ilen River from the site of what is probably the largest and most recent mass famine-grave on these islands, I may well be ultra-sensitive to these issues, but with a few notable exceptions, the level of empathy and understanding on display in both Houses was truly shocking."
Lord Puttnam's films include Chariots of Fire, which won an Oscar for Best Picture in 1981, Midnight Express, The Killing Fields, The Mission and Local Hero. A member of the British Labour party, he was nominated to the House of Lords by Tony Blair in 1997 and has been active on committees, focusing particularly on regulation of broadcasting and digital communications.
<snip>
"Mirroring the anxieties of many of those angry Brexiteers in 2016, I feel I've had my country of birth, and the values I believed it to represent, stolen from me.
"It's worse than that, I find myself embarrassed by what, on an almost daily basis, I see it becoming - my old enemy Rupert Murdoch's dream made real. He never liked Britain, and he's kind of won; he's helped remake it in his own malevolent image," he said
by Oui - Dec 5 9 comments
by gmoke - Nov 28
by Oui - Dec 9
by Oui - Dec 95 comments
by Oui - Dec 814 comments
by Oui - Dec 620 comments
by Oui - Dec 612 comments
by Oui - Dec 59 comments
by Oui - Dec 44 comments
by Oui - Dec 21 comment
by Oui - Dec 168 comments
by Oui - Dec 16 comments
by gmoke - Nov 303 comments
by Oui - Nov 3012 comments
by Oui - Nov 2838 comments
by Oui - Nov 2713 comments
by Oui - Nov 2511 comments
by Oui - Nov 243 comments
by Oui - Nov 221 comment
by Oui - Nov 22
by Oui - Nov 2119 comments