A dispute has erupted between senior Conservatives and the BBC after a BBC Radio 4 ‘Thought for the Day’ reflection on 13 August described comments by Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick as “xenophobia.” During the three-minute segment, theologian Dr Krish Kandiah cited a Mail on Sunday interview in which Jenrick said he did not want his daughters “to share a neighbourhood with men from backward countries who broke into Britain illegally.” Kandiah argued the remark exemplified “fear of the stranger,” adding that most crimes against children are committed by people they already know, not migrants. Jenrick swiftly rejected the characterisation. “On BBC Radio 4 this morning listeners were told that if you’re concerned about the threat of illegal migrants to your kids, you’re racist,” he wrote. “Wrong. You’re a good parent.” A Conservative Party source separately told HuffPost UK the slot had “descended into a bunch of nobodies wittering on about their mad-hat socialist ideas,” accusing the broadcaster of lacking balance. The episode deepens long-running tensions between the BBC and the Conservative Party over perceived editorial bias. The BBC has not yet responded publicly to the fresh criticism. The exchange comes as migration remains a dominant political issue and ahead of a widely expected general election campaign in which both impartiality and immigration policy are likely to feature prominently.