LBC is famous for airing divisive views from its callers, but every now and again a member of the public will ring up and voice an opinion so outrageous that everyone unites in condemning it. This is one such moment.
Over the weekend, caller John phoned up Henry Riley on his show to say he believed it was a “ridiculous idea” from Andy Burnham to appoint Wes Streeting as the Defence Secretary.
When Riley asked if this was because John thought Streeting was underqualified for the role, something that has been argued in some quarters of British politics, he was left stunned by John’s response.
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John said it was nothing to do with Streeting’s political qualifications but in fact because of the former health secretary’s sexuality.
An aghast Riley could barely believe his ears as John claimed Streeting’s “camp way of speaking” would mean that he is not taken seriously.
Riley correctly told John he is a “complete dinosaur” and an “idiot,” and finished the call by telling John to “give his head a wobble.”
The clip prompted unified condemnation online, with Riley tweeting: “Don’t be like John.”
Reacting to the clip on social media, some suggested this sort of prejudice was a result of the inflammatory rhetoric in British politics from the likes of Nigel Farage.
Meanwhile, Streeting himself wrote on X that John’s comments were “water off a duck’s back” for him.
He said: “My message to every single young person who worries about encountering this sort of thing in their lives and careers is simple: we are stronger, they are weaker, and the future is brighter.”
It was only a couple of days ago that Streeting spoke about the “unbelievable volume” of homophobia he had experienced online since becoming Defence Secretary.
Streeting said he had experienced more online homophobia since since becoming Defence Secretary than in his entire previous career.