BBC fury erupts as broadcaster accused of ‘stooping so low’ in new row | UK | News
BBC accused of ‘grotesquely misleading viewers’ after editing a speech by the US President Donald Trump In an episode of Panorama. The public service broadcaster has come under fire for stitching together clips from parts of Mr Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021, in which he appeared to tell supporters he would march on the US Capitol to “fight like hell”. William Yarwood, media campaign manager at Conservative pressure group TaxPayers’ Alliance, called for the company to “get back on its feet” as punishment for the mistake following “years of editorial bias”.
Mr Yarwood told the Express: “Just when you thought the BBC couldn’t bend any lower, they failed to meet even the lowest expectations.” “The Beeb has been guilty of questionable reporting practices and clear signs of editorial bias for years, but grotesquely misleading viewers like this should now be a red line.”
Mr Yarwood also called on Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to scrap the TV license fee, which costs UK households £174.50 a year.
“Lisa Nandy now needs to make clear that the BBC is expected to stand on its own in the coming years by scrapping the hated TV tax and moving the broadcaster to a privately funded model,” he said.
This prompted a committee of MPs to ask BBC chief Samir Shah Trump: Second Chance? This came after he wrote a post demanding more answers about the spliced clip aired in the documentary. a week before last year’s US election.
Downing Street said it was “reassured” that the BBC would examine impartiality issues raised by Michael Prescott, the former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee, in a memo revealing the edited clip.
Dame Caroline Dineage, Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said: “The BBC has serious questions to answer both about its editorial standards and how senior management have dealt with concerns.
“The company needs to set the standard for accurate and fair reporting, especially in a media environment where it is all too easy to find news presented in an unbiased manner.
“The committee needs to be reassured that the BBC’s most senior executives are treating these matters with the seriousness they deserve and are taking decisive action to protect the corporation’s reputation for integrity and public trust.”
The scandal followed a series of public criticism of the broadcaster after the release of the Gaza documentary narrated by the son of a Hamas official and the live screening of controversial punk band Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury set on iPlayer.
A BBC spokesman said: “We do not comment on leaked documents, but when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully.
“Michael Prescott is former counsel to a board committee on which differing views and opinions on our news are routinely discussed.”
