The difficulty of sticking to the emotionally unsatisfying demands of classical liberalism explains why the most intelligent journalists, and in some respects the most admirable journalists, that the BBC hires are the least suited to work for the corporation, why campaigning lawyers rarely make good judges and why Amnesty has disgraced itself.  

Its history is a history of sliding away from its original self-denying ordinances. Freedom of expression is now merely one concern among many, as Amnesty indulges itself by campaigning against the arms trade, environmental degradation, torture, "prisoners of poverty", the Iraq war, Guantánamo Bay and a hotchpotch of other causes which appeal more to its supporters than freedom of expression. Its flight from the demands of rigid impartiality explains why Amnesty has ended up in the grotesque position of embracing racists and misogynists. It lacked the breadth of intellect to condemn the crimes of the Bush administration while also condemning the crimes of its totalitarian enemies. Amnesty had abandoned the old principles that might have helped it to stay true to its mission too long ago.

There is no doubt that millions of supporters approve of Amnesty's decision to turn itself from a specialist campaign group into a hypermarket for liberal causes. There is no doubt either that Amnesty retains the services of good and honourable people. It is hard to criticise these people, but journalists must report on the tensions that are threatening Amnesty's once irreproachable status if they are to deliver honest reports. 

By this measure, BBC 4's Storyville documentary on Amnesty's 50th anniversary was not honest journalism. It glossed over how far Amnesty has strayed from its original purpose and could not spare the time to interview Gita Sahgal or ask how an organisation that was once the pride of the liberal world has ended up preferring Islamists to feminists. You cannot blame suppressio veri or indeed suggestio falsi on BBC bias. BBC Radio 4 produced a documentary on Amnesty's 50th anniversary which reported even-handedly on the dangers of mission creep, and contrasted its indulgent treatment of Cageprisoners with its dismissal of Sahgal.    

I suspect that like many Amnesty members and officials, the documentary makers found the demands of impartiality too heavy for their weak frames to bear. They wanted to praise the men and women who had secured the release of thousands of political prisoners — and who could blame them for that? With the best of intentions and the worst of journalistic instincts they therefore decided that impartial reporting of serious criticisms would be a kind of treason. And so BBC television gave Amnesty a birthday gift that, to its shame, it needs more than any other: a work of propaganda.