Australian editor condemned for 'revolting' claim over Manchester terror attack

An editor of a conservative magazine in Australia has been widely condemned for a “revolting" claim that the Manchester bombing should have happened at the headquarters of the ABC, Australia's public broadcaster.

In comments that have caused a storm on social media and have been referred to the police, Roger Franklin, the online editor of Quadrant, lamented on the magazine’s website that the victims of the bombing were not panelists who had downplayed the threat of terrorism on Monday night’s Q&A programme, which aired before the Manchester attack.

If there had been a shred of justice that blast would have detonated in an Ultimo TV studio [where Q&A was recorded],” he wrote.

“Unlike those young girls in Manchester, their lives snuffed out before they could begin, none of the panel’s likely casualties would have represented the slightest reduction in humanity’s intelligence, decency, empathy or honesty.” 

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Franklin later changed the comments to insert the comment: "What if that blast had detonated in an Ultimo TV studio?"

The piece, titled "The Manchester Bomber's ABC Pals", remains on Quadrant’s website.

The comment sparked outrage on social media and was described by ABC as  “a new low in Australian public debate”.

“I am appalled at your willingness to turn an act of terrorism in the United Kingdom into a means of making a political point against those you disagree with,” said Michelle Guthrie, ABC’s managing director.

“While our staff both here and in Manchester were working long hours to provide extensive coverage of this unfolding tragedy, we were also forced to reassure worried staff … and call in our own security experts to assess any possible impact flowing from your inflammatory words.”

Critics urged Quadrant to remove the piece, with social media users describing Franklin a “despicable human being” and his comments as "disgusting, revolting, inexcusable". 

“What sort of person even thinks this, much less writes it!” said a comment on Twitter.

Franklin defended the piece and insisted he was attempting to “attack” terrorism.

“It is absurd to suggest that in the third-last paragraph I would advocate a terrorist act," he told Fairfax Media.

Franklin’s piece followed this week’s Q&A  programme on Monday night, which was filmed before the attack and featured several commentators who suggested that the terrorist threat had been overhyped.

“The chance of being killed by a foreign-born terrorist is one in 3.6 million and the chance of being killed by a foreign-born terrorist who was also a refugee is one in 3.6 billion,” Mona Chalabi, from the Guardian US, told the programme.

“But all of our perception of threat has been distorted because of the way that risk is presented to us by politicians.”

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