BBC plan for non-religious Thought for the Day sparks controversy

The BBC Trust is considering a non-religious Thought for the Day on Radio 4's Today programme, sparking criticism from faith leaders
13.07.09, Urmee Khan, for TELEGRAPH (UK). Mark Damazer, the channel's controller, has said that the slot on the flagship programme could "take in a wider range of voices". Secularists claim the item discriminates against non-believers and have complained to the Trust, the governing arm of the corporation, which will deliver its response in the Autumn. Mr Damazer said: "There may well be quite a strong argument for including secularists and humanists" but, he added, "it's absolutely not a cut and dried issue". Responding to listener complaints on Radio 4's Feedback programme, he said: "You should know that the BBC Trust … is currently considering this question and they will come to some kind of conclusion later on this year." The two minute slot should give a voice to a wide range of religions and a voices to those from around the UK rather than "metropolitan figures sitting in a studio in Broadcasting House or the news centre in west London", he said.