Robert Peston

What was we didn't hear people like that going, oh, it's just a madman.

Oh, it's it's just someone just acting totally randomly.

They say that the political culture up to that moment has contributed to that happening in all likelihood.

Now, my view would be to say that all the kind of correct that these things rarely come completely out of nowhere and every side has a responsibility.

to try and regulate that sort of politics.

But what's so depressing since Joe Cox's murder has been that that so seldom has actually happened, that when someone on your side, quote unquote, gets killed or gets hurt or gets threatened, then it's a complete outrage and politics is responsible.

When it's on the other side,

It's the other way around.

And I don't think we have adequately dealt with that at all in our politics since.

And actually, it's got far worse.

I mean, you know, when Thomas Mayer was talking about traitors, freedom for Britain, how much more, John, in that time, in these last 10 years, has that accusation of treachery or being a traitor been made?

Those sort of existential accusations.

It's so much more common now than it was even 10 years ago.

And we wonder why stuff like this happens.

I think that's completely right.

I think that the reason I fear this is going to get worse before it gets better is because of, you know, what I think about so much now is basically being a sort of deeply algorithmic politics, right?

Which is, even if you compare stuff to 2016, 2016...

You still had, well, broadcast media, traditional media, which was deeply imperfect, by the way.

I'm not saying that, you know, that was got everything right.

But the traditional media was still more powerful, more dominant.