British troops could turn into rapists (and little girls learn to flirt through kissing their dads)... Germaine Greer sparks outrage on Question Time

...and a slur on a kiss for daddy

Father in the audience: 'Who's going to teach my children to flirt with me? That is an awful thing to say'

Germaine Greer was branded a disgrace yesterday after claiming British troops would rape women while at war.

The feminist outraged military leaders after she suggested highly-disciplined UK ground forces might commit acts of appalling sexual brutality if deployed to Libya.

Her remarks were made on BBC1’s Question Time as the 72-year-old cast doubt on allegations that Colonel Gaddafi had given his soldiers Viagra and ordered mass rapes as a weapon against rebels.

Germaine Greer, appearing on Question Time last night, infuriated viewers with her controversial opinions

Appalled: A father in the audience said he took exception to Greer's comment and said: 'Surely they give me a kiss because they love me?'

Miss Greer, an academic at the University of Warwick, was asked on Thursday’s show whether David Cameron should send ground troops to Libya in light of the rape threat.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the International Criminal Court’s top prosecutor, is investigating evidence Gaddafi hoped to raise Libyan soldiers’ sex drive to help them spread terror. He believes hundreds of women could have been raped by regime forces.

Miss Greer said: ‘Rape is always present where you have slaughter and you don’t have to have a government fiat [decision] to do it. One of the interesting things you might ask about what happens if we send in ground troops is how will we be sure they won’t do a bit of raping in their turn?’

She said claims Gaddafi had handed out Viagra to spur on attackers were ‘completely demented’.

‘I think in this case one of those legends is going to appear about the hated enemy,’ said the Australian women’s lib campaigner.

‘All soldiers in certain circumstances will rape regardless of whether they are ours or theirs or whoevers.’

Colonel Richard Kemp, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, said: ‘It is hard to take such patently ridiculous and ill-informed remarks seriously. But it is a disgraceful insult to our troops who are fighting and dying for their country in Afghanistan and it cannot be allowed to pass.

The flagship BBC programme was filmed in Norwich for last night's edition. Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens (far left) said her comments showed 'how sick we are as a society that people introduce sex into a goodnight kiss from a father to a daughter'

‘Our soldiers, and the soldiers of all Western armies, are highly trained and disciplined. Rather than harming civilians, they risk their lives, sometimes lose their lives, and are frequently maimed for life in order to protect the very women that Germaine Greer so disgracefully accuses them of being ready to rape.

‘This woman should immediately apologise for her poorly judged remarks which will cause great upset to our brave fighting troops and their families.’

Former Army chief Lord Dannatt said: ‘I find it incredible that anyone on mainstream television could make such baseless accusations at a time when our troops around the world are doing such a difficult and dangerous job and behaving impeccably.’

Miss Greer was accused of being ‘ignorant’ by one Tory MP, Patrick Mercer, who served for almost 25 years with the Army.



'It shows extraordinary ignorance from someone who patently has no understanding of the conduct of disciplined forces, such as the British Army, Navy and Air Force.



'For her to confuse the British forces with irregulars from other countries is not only ignorant and foolhardy from her point of view, it is also insulting.

'She should stick to things she understands. I think an apology would be very much in order.'



Colonel Stuart Tootal, who commanded 3 Para in Afghanistan, said: 'The British Army is a modern, disciplined army, and it's also a law abiding army as well.



'The British Army is a force for good, and these remarks are ill founded and not well considered.



National figure: Germaine Greer, feminist writer, has always had the ability to annoy and upset

'I don't think there are many people, given the huge respect for the British Army and what they are doing, who will treat these remarks seriously - and rightly so.'

There was caustic comment too from service personnel on the British Army Rumour Service website. One contributor wrote: ‘She is a silly deluded old-time feminist – she may have had her place in earlier years but the only way she keeps getting media attention is spouting the most outrageous drivel.’

In other remarks that triggered anger, Germaine Greer claimed young girls could be sexualised by ‘kissing their fathers goodnight’.



Responding to a question about a report by the Mothers’ Union on the issue of the sexualisation of children, she said girls had always badgered their mothers for clothes to make them look older and for Barbie dolls.



‘There’s always been this sinister culture that has gone along and it has always been sexual,’ she said.



‘The Barbie doll herself is a fetish, she’s descended from a sex toy. Little girls learn to flirt with their fathers.’ She continued: ‘You know, “Kiss daddy goodnight” – and all this sort of business.



‘And you wonder whether what’s happening in marketing is responsible or whether it is actually causing it.’

One father in the audience appeared to be immediately disgusted. He said: ‘Who’s going to teach my children to flirt with me? That is an awful thing to say.’



Greer also came under fire from fellow panellist and Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens as he commented ‘we are a sick society that people introduce sex into a goodnight kiss from a father to a daughter. It is unbelievable’.



Just minutes after she spoke about girls ‘kissing their fathers’ numerous comments were made on both Twitter and a series of online message and debating forums. One poster said: ‘I couldn’t believe what I was hearing but was glad to hear the sharp intake of breath from the audience!’



The BBC said it had received 38 complaints about the Question Time programme.



Yesterday Miss Greer – who claimed in 1995 that she had been raped at a barbecue as a 19-year-old – shrugged off growing criticism about her controversial remarks, saying: ‘Well there’s a surprise.’



At her workshop next to her home near Saffron Walden, Essex, she refused to discuss the storm over her claims.

