BBC LOOK EAST INTERVIEW – 12th Mar 2015
On Thursday 12th March when Parliament was discussing military expenditure Norwich Stop the War Convenor Frank Stone was interviewed for the BBC Look East programme that day.
Asked if military expenditure should be cut he replied that in a period of austerity the government should be prioritising cuts in warfare and not welfare.
He instanced the question of Trident replacement where its non replacement would save an initial £30 billion and possibly up to £100 billion in its lifetime.
He said Britain needed to change its foreign policy so that it no longer engaged in disastrous and costly wars such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, These wars had been costly in terms of human lives on both sides and also in the financial expenditure with no justifiable results.
When the war on terror was launched in October 2001 pro-war politicians and media told us these wars would root out terrorism, encourage democracy and protect human rights, when exactly the reverse has happened.
Responding to what could the money be spent on, Frank said the National Health Service, education and providing affordable housing should be the priorities.
The fair interview took several minutes, but the edited sound bite was over in seconds. This is what passes for balanced reporting in the BBC these days.