Newsreader Jon Snow rails against 'poppy fascism'

Snow, 59, who has had complaints from viewers about his decision not to wear the emblem, claimed that the pressure on news-readers to wear the Remembrance Day emblem was "poppy facism".

More here...

• Where have all the sellers gone?

• Tube bosses ban poppy seller as charity face dramatic shortage of sellers

• Duke of Edinburgh honours war dead

He said he would wear no symbols, while on air, claiming it was a matter for his private life. In the processs he criticised the BBC's decision to let Fiona Bruce wear a necklace with a cross on it.

The presenter, who made the comments on a Channel 4 blogsite, said: "I am begged to wear an Aids Ribbon, a breast cancer ribbon, a Marie Curie flower... You name it, from the Red Cross to the RNIB, they send me stuff to wear to raise awareness, and I don't. And in those terms, and those terms alone, I do not and will not wear a poppy.

"Additionally there is a rather unpleasant breed of poppy fascism out there - 'he damned well must wear a poppy!' Well I do, in my private life, but I am not going to wear it or any other symbol on air."

Snow, who admitted his stand had divided opinion, added: "I respect our armed forces, the sacrifice and the loss, and like others I remember them on Remembrance Sunday. That's the way it is.

"I won't be wearing a black tie for anyone's death - I don't for my own relatives, so why on earth would I for anyone else's?"

His comments met with outraged response from one ex-serviceman who said Snow should be more grateful to Britain's war dead by publicly supporting the commemorations.

Gulf war veteran Charles Plumridge, 66, from Romsey in Hampshire said: "The red poppy has been a symbol for so many years and he should not be interfering with it.

"It has been a symbol of remembrance to the fallen heroes and should remain so. These are the people that he should be grateful for.

"Any questioning of the poppy can only cause anguish to the people that have worn it with pride over the years, the families of those who gave their lives and those people who are still doing so."

Snow also compared his on-air appearance with that of Fiona Bruce.

He said: "Fiona Bruce is to be allowed to continue to wear a crucifix, or a cross-shaped item of jewellery. I am allowed to wear unspeakably bright ties. But there's a world of difference there that we should be assertive about.

Snow added: "My ties are abstract - I do not believe in wearing anything which represents any kind of statement.

"You may say my ties, my socks are a statement anyway. But of what? A statement of rebellion? Joy? Absurdity? You see we don't know what the statement is - if indeed there is one - and that is as it should be."

But one reader of his blog claimed that Snow conformed to wearing traditional news-readers attire by donning a shirt and tie - so why not a poppy? They said: "If you truly were a impartial and free spirit you'd tell us the news sat there in a T-shirt and Bermuda shorts..."

Former Channel 4 News presenter Sarah Smith, who now presents More4News, admitted she disagreed with Snow. She said: "I will be wearing a poppy. I agree that newscasters shouldn't wear all sorts of political or charitable adornments."

"I think poppies are different. They are so ubiquitous for the first 11 days of November that not wearing one makes more of a statement than having one one....Many assume he's (Snow) taking a stand against militarism or the Iraq war."

Stuart Gendall, Director of Corporate Communications at the Royal British Legion, said: "While we are extremely grateful for the support shown to us by all those in the public eye who wear a poppy in the two weeks leading up to Remembrance Sunday, we see this as a voluntary gesture of support and would never prescribe when and how any member of the public wears one.

"We are very thankful to all those people who do support the work of The Royal British Legion by wearing a poppy."

The BBC recently came under fire after it was revealed that bosses had agonised over whether to let Fiona Bruce wear a necklace with a cross while on air.

BBC executives feared her jewellery might cause offence by suggesting a religious affiliation and could compromise the Corporation's image of impartiality.