The left-leaning, publicly-owned Channel 4 has employed an Islamist sympathiser in its investigations unit for the flagship documentary programme Dispatches. Amandla Thomas-Johnson served as the press officer for CagePrisoners (now CAGE) which described Jihadi John, the ruthless ISIS beheader, as “a beautiful young man”. 

CAGE is also the group headed by former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg, who was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of Syria-related terror offences.

But despite Mr Thomas-Johnson’s extremist links, Channel 4 has hired the man, formerly the head of the anti-women, extremist-linked Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS), as a trainee.

The Guido Fawkes blog reports: “he was vocal in his support of Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an Egyptian Islamic theologian who is best known for his support of FGM, Hitler, and the killing of homosexuals, Israelis and apostates.”

Thomas-Johnson has said of al-Qaradawi: “[he] is a distinguished scholar whose views are respected by Muslims from around the world. It is a shame to see that yet another prominent Muslim figure is being targeted due to his religious convictions.”

A Muslim convert, Mr Thomas-Johnson has written about his wishes to convert his family to Islam. He wrote for the Guardian in 2010: “…I jettisoned my high church Chapel Royal choirboy-singing-upbringing for Islam… my embracing of Islam has given me a cause for concern, because unless my family accepts it too, I believe that they’ll go to hell.”

Mr Thomas-Johnson has not shied away from using his platforms on the Guardian, Huffington Post, and other outlets, to propagandise for Islam. He wrote for the Independent about Muslim girls who were suspended for abusing a school’s communications system, who then cried ‘Islamophobia’. He even quoted his former employer CAGE, attracting criticism from the LeftFootForward blog.

Andrew Gilligan at the Telegraph notes of CAGE and FOSIS: “Another Cage spokesman, Amandla Thomas-Johnson, was previously press officer for Fosis, the Federation of Student Islamic Societies. Fosis works closely with Cage, organising joint events, and is itself a highly problematic organisation, condemned by Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, for its “failure to fully challenge terrorist and extremist ideology”. It has hosted many of the Cage roster of favourites at its conferences, and a number of convicted terrorists have been officers of societies affiliated to Fosis.”

Channel 4 has not yet commented on the matter.