Full review of the programme here.

You wait years for an apocalyptic mockumentary where Nigel Farage ushers in the end of western civilisation, and then two come along at once.

Hot on the heels of Channel 4’s alarmist and liberal bias-reinforcing docudrama “UKIP: The First 100 Days” comes a new offering from the BBC, with the sober and reflective title “The Great European Disaster Movie”.

As often happens with propaganda and political hit pieces, the BBC downplays the documentary as being thought-provoking and witty, falling back on the satire defence while revealing its true bias by never attempting to satirise the opposing side of the argument:

The film includes fictional scenes, set in a post-EU future, which feature archaeologist Charles Granda (played by Angus Deayton) travelling on a flight through a menacing storm, explaining to a child passenger what the EU was. Sombre, thought-provoking and witty, the film frames Europe through the eyes of those who have most at stake – the Europeans themselves.

The Daily Mail views this latest offering with natural scepticism:

An army of Islamic State terrorists has advanced to the outskirts of Vienna, Spain has cut off routes to Gibraltar and Nigel Farage – prime minister of ‘Great England’ – has deported all immigrants who have arrived in the past ten years.

This, according to the BBC, is what the world would be like if the European Union were to collapse.

The apocalyptic vision of a continent in which social order has broken down – to be screened on BBC4 tonight at 10pm – has been condemned by Eurosceptic critics as ‘scaremongering’.

Among the issues and contradictions apparently not explored in the documentary:

1. Why European countries alone face economic ruin and civil unrest if they fail to pool their sovereignty and dilute their national identities
2. How other geographical regions such as Asia and the Americas prosper without powerful, pan-national and undemocratic institutions, while Europe would face ruin without them
3. Why UKIP would countenance the upheaval of deporting “all immigrants who arrived in the past ten years” when they have stated repeatedly and often that they favour a points-based immigration system that focuses on skills and quality
4. Why the economic disruption caused by dismantling the European Union would lead to more anarchy and chaos on the streets than the EU’s calamitous policies, one-size-fits-all monetary policy and lack of democratic accountability are already causing every day

If you sincerely believe that the age of the nation state is over, that Britain is in no way special and cannot compete in the global economy in the same way as, say, Switzerland or South Korea, then fine. But own your position and make your case accordingly from that starting point, not by masquerading as a dispassionate observer with no political bias or financial interest.

More importantly, an organisation like the BBC, in receipt of billions of taxpayer pounds and under a mandate to inform and entertain the whole nation, must recognise that acting as a shill for pro-EU propaganda is incompatible with its founding mission and charter, and renounce all public funding so that it can become a full time political pressure group.

Once the short election campaign is underway everything will become a lot more restricted, and UKIP specifically will benefit from being afforded “major party status” and given the right of rebuttal and increased coverage on broadcast television news programmes.

But until then, expect a lot more hysteria and misinformation of this type, insidious propaganda presented as “just a bit of fun”.

This blog’s full review of “The Great European Disaster Movie” can be read here.