Radio 5 Live listeners slam 'arrogant' Sir Ian Botham

Radio 5 Live listeners slam 'arrogant' Sir Ian Botham

Sir Ian Botham was slammed by Radio 5 Live listeners and accused of being 'arrogant' and a 'bully' as he was quizzed on his plans to give pheasants to the poor.

The former England cricket star has pledged to donate 10,000 pheasants and partridges that are shot on his estate to food banks.

The pheasants will be turned into casseroles while the partridges are due to be made into curry. For every meal bought, one will be donated to the homeless as part of the scheme costing £40,000.

However, while discussing his plans with 5 Live's Rachel Burden this morning, Sir Ian was accused of sounding 'unpleasant' and 'pathetic' when he was questioned on shooting birds as a sport. 

During the interview, Botham regularly interrupte d Burden, accused her of 'having an agenda' and told her to 'stop listening to people like Chris Packham'. 

As the two bickered live on air, Burden's co-host Nicky Campbell intervened and praised the ex-cricket legend for the scheme. 

Sir Ian Botham (pictured today on Sky Sports) was slammed by Radio 5 Live listeners and accused of being 'arrogant' and a 'bully'

Sir Ian (left) has pledged to donate 10,000 pheasants and partridges that are shot on his estate to the poor

During the tense interview, Sir Ian explained: 'We shoot birds, the birds have a normal life, we don't shoot every bird we raise believe me, nowhere near it.'

Burden replied saying: 'I think that's where a lot of people have some trouble...with shooting as a sport. We know that millions of birds, up to 50 million birds, are bred to be shot every year as a sport.'

Interrupting her, Sir Ian said: 'And how many chickens? How many chickens are bred with a six week life?'

She said: 'I think it's the shooting for sport that some people have an issue with.'

Sir Ian then laughed and asked her 'what's the issue?' 

To this she said: 'Some people might find it hard to get their heads around killing animals for sport.'

Radio 5 Live presenter Rachel Burden pressed the cricket legend on his plans to give pheasant casserole and partridge curry to the poor 

Sir Ian continued the spat afterwards on Twitter asking Burden what she was doing to help 14 million people 

SCHEME TO PROVIDE 500,000 FREE MEALS OF GAME TO THE POOR

The former England cricket star has pledged to donate 10,000 pheasants and partridges that are shot on his estate to food banks.

The pheasants will be turned into casseroles while the partridges are due to be made into curry. For every meal bought, one will be donated to the homeless as part of the scheme costing £40,000.

It is part of a scheme by the Country Food Trust to use game birds, which are reared and shot for sport, as ingredients in half a million charity meals. 

The trust, which was set up in 2015, said it had already provided more than 20,000 meals and aimed to feed a million people over the next five years. 

Sir Ian then gave an impassioned defence of the scheme to donate game birds in an effort to provide 500,000 free meals each year.  

The meals are donated to those in need by the Country Food Trust via charities including FareShare, Veterans Aid and the Salvation Army. 

He said: 'At the end of the day we are here trying to help 14 million people in this country who go without a proper feed and every single pheasant casserole and partridge curry bought by the public, we will donate one.

'I don't actually see what your problem is with that. What's the issue?'

Burden said: 'I'm not saying I have a problem with it, I'm just discussing the issue with you.' 

She went on to raise the issue of grouse shooting and whether there was any connection between that and the decimation of the hen harrier population.

Growing increasingly frustrated, Sir Ian said: 'There's no connection. You are wrong. This is about pheasant casserole and partridge curry that we are giving. If you have a better solution, I'm ready happy to hear it.'

He added: 'You are so, so, so wrong. You must stop listening to people like Chris Packham because their facts are wrong and they were told that when they went to the House of Parliament. 

'Do me a favour and let's talk about what we are talking about. If you've got a better solution, I'm willing to listen to it. You are making a few very pungent points there.'

Sir Ian defended his scheme on Twitter asking people what they were doing to help the homeless

At that point, Burden's co-host Nicky Campbell cut in and praised the cricket legend for the scheme.

Sir Ian said: 'Thank you, at last, at last! I find it hard to understand how it can be negative.'

Burden then said: 'Can we ask you a question about the cricket?'

Botham shot back: 'No, I'm not here to talk about cricket. You came here with an agenda. What are you doing for those 14 million people?'  

Following the interview Sir Ian was criticised by listeners on Twitter, with one calling him a 'pompous odious git.'

Another said: 'Ian Botham came across as rather an arrogant a***'.

Ben Powell wrote on Twitter: 'Extraordina ry interview with Ian Botham on 5 Live this morning. Possibly the most unpleasant person I've ever heard on the radio.'

Ricky Miles added: Does Ian Botham not know how to conduct himself on air? Seems if he doesn't like what you're asking him, he talks over you?'

But Sir Ian continued to defend the initiative after the interview and tweeted Burden saying: 'Still waiting to hear what your going to do regarding 14million people who don't get a meal per day!!! Pathetic.'

He also retweeted messages of support from people who defended him and claimed he had faced a 'spiteful interrogation'.

In a previous interview the ex-cricket star said he 'failed to understand' how there was an argument against donating to the scheme. 

He added: 'If everybody out there is a vegetarian or vegan, well fine, but they are not. So smell the co ffee, try it. We are offering something that has a wild life, a good life.'  

But Philippa King, COO for the League Against Cruel Sports, was critical of his scheme.

She said: 'Sir Ian's claims that pheasants have a 'wild life and good life' is nothing short of pro-shooting propaganda. In fact pheasants are not indigenous, nor are they wild birds. They are factory farmed and reared in conditions which would be illegal to keep intensively reared chickens.

'The truth of the scheme is that donations are only made when pheasants are purchased. If Sir Ian really wanted to help those less fortunate than himself then perhaps he should donate money to the food banks directly - especially considering the health implications associated with eating meat shot with lead.'

 

 

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