Lisa Nandy today gave Labour’s backing to BBC bosses despite saying there were ‘very serious allegations’ about the broadcaster’s reporting.
The Culture Secretary said she had ‘confidence’ in BBC director general Tim Davie and BBC chairman Samir Shah as she was quizzed over an ongoing row.
Ms Nandy spoke ahead of an expected apology by the BBC for the way in which a speech by US President Donald Trump was edited in an episode of Panorama.
An internal memo on impartiality by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee, is reported to have claimed viewers were misled by the programme.
The concerns regard clips spliced together from sections of Mr Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021 to make it appear he told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to ‘fight like hell’.
The documentary ‘Trump: A Second Chance?’ was broadcast by the BBC the week before last year’s US election. Mr Trump’s White House has since accused the BBC of ‘100 per cent fake news’.
After the Telegraph revealed the internal memo, the House of Commons’ Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee demanded information from Mr Shah and asked what actions he will take to address the concerns.
Ms Nandy said she had spoken to Mr Shah and he would be reporting back to the committee on Monday.
Lisa Nandy gave Labour’s backing to BBC bosses despite saying there were ‘very serious allegations’ about the broadcaster’s reporting
Ms Nandy said she had spoken to BBC chairman Samir Shah and he would be reporting back to a House of Commons committee on Monday
The Culture Secretary said she had ‘confidence’ in BBC director general Tim Davie and Mr Shah as she was quizzed over an ongoing row
The Culture Secretary told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show: ‘I have discussed the range of issues that were raised in the email that was leaked to the BBC.
‘It isn’t just about the Panorama programme, although that is incredibly serious. There are a series of very serious allegations made, the most serious of which is that there is systemic bias in the way that difficult issues are reported at the BBC.
‘I’ve spoken to the chairman this week. I am confident that he is treating this with the seriousness that that demands. I understand he will be reporting back to the select committee on Monday.’
Mr Davie has been accused of ‘hiding’ amid the row after the internal report accused him of ‘inaction’ against alleged breaches of impartiality.
Asked if she was confident Mr Davie could get a grip on the growing scandal, Ms Nandy replied: ‘I have complete confidence that both Samir Shah and Tim Davie are treating this with the seriousness this demands.
‘I do want to see that response to the select committee and I will of course consider it and have further conversations with them about the action they are taking.’
Tory MP Dame Caroline Dinenage, the chair of the Commons committee, said: ‘The BBC clearly has serious questions to answer regarding both its editorial standards and the way in which concerns are handled by senior management.
‘The corporation must set the benchmark for accurate and fair reporting, especially in a media landscape where it is all too easy to find news presented in a less than impartial way.
‘The committee needs to be reassured that those at the very top of the BBC are treating these issues with the seriousness they deserve and taking decisive steps to uphold the corporation’s reputation for integrity and public trust.’
A BBC spokesperson said: ‘The BBC chairman will provide a full response to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Monday.’
Mr Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in the first comments by the White House on the row, told the Telegraph: ‘This purposefully dishonestly, selectively edited clip by the BBC is further evidence that they are total, 100 per cent fake news that should no longer be worth the time on the television screens of the great people of the United Kingdom.’
