BBC editor compares extremist with Mahatma Gandhi

London: The BBC has come under fire after one of its editors allegedly compared a British Muslim radical preacher to Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Winston Churchill.

The news corporation’s Home Affairs editor Mark Easton triggered reactions on social media after he made a reference to Anjem Choudhary, revered to as “hate preacher” in the UK, and the Indian independence leader during an analysis of a new anti-terror Bill planned by the UK government.

“It’s one thing to ban someone for inciting hatred or violence, but quite another to pass a law that silences anyone who challenges established values,” Easton said during a special report on the channel's 'News at 10' on Wednesday night. “I was at the Parliament Square on Thursday — a statue of Gandhi looking down at me who was jailed for being extremist; Mandela who was jailed for being an extremist. History tells us that extreme views are sometimes needed to challenge very established values that people at the time hold so dear,” he said.

The report led to comments on Twitter and Facebook with some viewers objecting to the reference of freedom fighters in the same breath as a radical with extremist views. The BBC, however, stressed that there was no comparison being drawn between the iconic leaders and Choudhary, who was the head of now-banned Islamist groups Al Muhajiroun and Islam4UK group.