A commentator who sparked controversy during an appearance on Jeremy Vine’s Channel 5 show by saying: “Minorities have to be squashed”, has suggested his remarks were taken out of context.
Mike Parry made the comment during a discussion alongside Yasmin Alibhai-Brown about the ongoing protests by climate group Insulate Britain, who have been causing long queues of traffic by blocking major motorways.
In a clip circulated on social media, Parry says: “The problem in this country in all areas is that minorities always get the upper hand because we’re so tolerant, and minorities have to be squashed, like that,” before slamming his hand on the desk.
The nine-second video, which included only a portion of his comments about Insulate Britain, attracted criticism online.
Shortly after the show, Parry tweeted: “Can I explain please the context of my comment on the @JeremyVineOn5 show this morning.
“‘Minorities have to be squashed.’
“It sounds brutal in isolation but it was directly aimed at the M25 protesters and other minority groups who’ve had a disproportionate effect on life.
“Before today’s show we were discussing wind power/energy sources .. a story we covered .. and I expressed the view: ‘Fracking could have saved this country from relying on overseas energy .. but once again a tiny minority of protesters stopped it happening. Why? It’s mad.’
“I do not regard anybody who is not my religion, creed or colour as a person in a minority group. I’m not even aware that I live in a mixed race society. I just live in our society. To link my “minorities” comment to ethnicity is just silly .. I don’t think like that .”
In a since deleted tweet, Vine appeared to defend Parry and suggested the clip took his comments out of context.
He said: “This would have been totally unacceptable had Mike been referring to members of ethnic minorities.
“In fact this snippet does not make clear @mikeparry8 was actually talking about the eco-protesters who brought the M25 to a halt.
“He said they represented very few people in the UK.”
A former news journalist, Parry has presented shows on talkRadio talkSport.