Climate Denier Rod Liddle Considered For Editor Position at The Independent

onJan 11, 2010 @ 11:07 PST

The Independent, one of the only progressive papers in the UK, especially when it comes to climate change coverage, is considering appointing a climate denier as its new editor.

The Independent’s likely new owner, Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev, is apparently considering whether to make outspoken columnist Rod Liddle the new editor of the paper.

Reader backlash against this decision is growing, and for good reason.

A Facebook group set up by outraged Independent readers, entitled ‘If Rod Liddle becomes editor of The Independent, I will not buy it again,’ has accumulated over 2,100 followers in just a few days.

The group page lists some of Liddle’s recent atrocious behavior on his blog at ‘The Spectator’:

Liddle has lately been using his blog at ‘The Spectator’ to indulge in the use of yawn-inducing, attention-seeking derogatory terms to insult ethnic minorities including decrying “Muslim Savages” here.

…and falsely accusing black men of being behind the majority of crimes in London while mocking the entire Black British community for contributing nothing but “rap music” and “goat curry”.

And just this weekend, Liddle had these choice words in his Spectator column: “F*** off back to where you’re from, then, you Muslims.”

Liddle’s penchant for racist and sexist remarks isn’t the only reason for concern though.

He’s also a climate change denier.

The Facebook group page notes that:

“While the ‘Independent’ has made a name for itself with its reporting on global warming and the environment, Liddle ignorantly denies the evidence for Anthropogenic Global Warming Theory with the same-old debunked falsehoods deniers always rely on.”

Disgusted with the prospect of Liddle taking the helm as editor, Independent readers are organizing the backlash “to ensure that progressive voices and quality reporting in Britain don’t get further squeezed and marginalised and that there is at least some balance in our national conversation.”

Appointing Liddle to the editor position would be a big step backwards, to say the least.

By Brendan DeMelle

Brendan is Executive Director of DeSmog. He is also a freelance writer and researcher specializing in media, politics, climate change and energy. His work has appeared in Vanity Fair, The Huffington Post, Grist, The Washington Times and other outlets.