Section:GDN 1N PaGe:15 Edition Date:190830 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 29/8/2019 20:01 cYanmaGentaYellowb
Friday 30 Aug ust 2019 The Guardian •
National^15
UK police fi nd girl, 16, feared
to have been lured from US
Brand’s battery acid gag
inappropriate, rules BBC
Amy Walker
A 16-year-old girl from the US who is
thought to have been lured to the UK
by an older man has been found safe
by British police.
The teenager, from Queens, New
Jim Waterson
Media editor
Jo Brand’s joke about throwing battery
acid at politicians was inappropriate
for a Radio 4 comedy show, the BBC
has concluded, although it has dis-
missed claims from Nigel Farage that
she was inciting violence.
The comedian made the comment
on the talkshow Heres y, which sets
out to provoke and make claims that
go against the consensus. When dis-
cussing political fi gures, including
Farage, the leader of the Brexit party,
who was targeted with milkshakes
during the European elections, Brand
said: “I’m thinking: why bother with a
milkshake when you could get some
battery acid?”
She swiftly added that she was jok-
ing and insisted she did not like the
trend of throwing milkshakes over
politicians. “That’s just me. I’m not
going to do it. It’s purely a fantasy, but
I think milkshakes are pathetic, I hon-
estly do, sorry.”
Few listeners complained when the
programme was broadcast in June and
the BBC stood by Brand at fi rst. But
the comment was picked up by right-
wing blogs and pro-Brexit websites
National Crime Agency regarding
a 16-year-old US citizen who was
believed to have travelled to the UK
via Heathrow airport on Saturday
24 August,” police said. “She was
treated as a missing person and located
on Wednesday 28 August. The US
authorities have been informed.”
A man had been arrested in connec-
tion with the incident and the girl was
with police in the UK, her uncle told
the New York Post.
While the Met said it would not
be providing details about where in
the UK the girl was found, NBC News,that turned it into a row about edito-
rial standards at the BBC.
Within days Downing Street was
calling for an explanation as to why
the joke had been broadcast, the Met-
ropolitan police briefl y considered
launching an investigation, and Brand
herself said it had been a “somewhat
crass” comment. The BBC edited the
joke out of catch-up editions of the
radio programme, following hundreds
of complaints.
The BBC’s executive complaints
unit concluded that, in context, the
“wider message from the episode of
the programme was an argument for
more civility in political discourse, not
less”, and recognised that Brand’s con-
tribution was not intended to be taken
at face value. In spite of this, they still
ruled that the joke went beyond what
was appropriate for the show.
The complaints unit insisted that
“in the right context and with the right
treatment, there is no subject matter
which should be beyond the scope of
comedy” but the incident has raised
concerns among leading comedians.
Several have said they feared such
throwaway comments being taken out
of context and shared as short clips
on social media, where they could be
misinterpreted.citing US law enforcement offi cials,
reported that she had been tracked
down to Nottingham.
Her uncle told NBC that the girl’s
parents had unsuccessfully tried to
contact the teenager after her father
returned from work on Saturday
to fi nd the front door open and her
clothes gone. They had left her a mes-
sage to say they were going to contact
the police. Subsequent calls to her
mobile phone had gone to voicemail.
According to the uncle, after her
disappearance the girl’s parents had
discovered through the family’smobile phone records that she had
been searching for fl ights to London.
He said they had been concerned
she may have gone to London to meet
an “older boy” her mother had seen
her talking to online.
It is believed the girl, who was born
in the US to Polish parents, paid for her
plane ticket in cash and used her Polish
passport to board the fl ight.
Her disappearance had left her
family incredulous, her uncle said.
“She was an honour student, a very
good girl, she didn’t have boyfriends,
didn’t go out,” he said.York, boarded a fl ight at JFK airport on
Saturday. It is believed she had been
speaking to a British man online before
her disappearance.
Metropolitan police offi cers, who
ha ve been working with New York City
police to fi nd her, confi rmed that she
had been located.
“The Met was contacted by theRain, hail and thunder fails to stop play
Village cricketers in Blunham, Bedfordshire,
batted, bowled and braved the elements during
seven days of continuous play, due to fi nish at
4pm tomorrow. The club aims to raise funds for
charity and equipment and get back into the
Guinness book of records for a third time.PHOTOGRAPH:
GARY JAMES/PA WIRE
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