NEWS FLASHING – FRIDAY 23RD OCTOBER

       1. Nick Griffin on Question Time

     In just over an hour’s worth of TV, Nick Griffin managed to hijack Winston Churchill, label homosexuals as ‘creepy’ and defend a member of the Ku Klux Klan.But even after all of this, did the programme manage to trash Griffin’s credibility, or did he actually find himself on the receiving end of publicity that money can’t buy?

• For Nick Cohen’s analysis of the BNP’s tactics, click here. 
• For Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens comment on Ken Livingstone’s plans to attend Unite Against Fascism’s protest against the BNP leader, click here.

2. Armed police to patrol streets

In what they describe as a “temporary response” to the 17% rise in gun crime in the past 6 months, the Met have announced a pilot scheme in which armed police will patrol gun crime hotspots in Tottenham, Brixton and Haringey. Will their presence deter criminals, or will it only exacerbate a problem which is already proving extremely challenging? 

• Analysis by the Times‘ crime editor and crime correspondent 

3. Pilots fall asleep at the wheel?

Officials are investigating whether two pilots flying an Airbus A320 fell asleep in the cockpit, after missing their destination of Minneapolis by over 150 miles. Ironically, they claimed to be distracted because they were in the middle of a ‘heated discussion’ about airline policy and flight safety.  

• News story on the BBC

BY FRANCES WEAVER AND ALICE COCKERELL