Nandy ‘confident’ BBC bosses will deal with bias allegations

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said she is “confident” BBC bosses are treating allegations of bias with “the seriousness that this demands”.

The corporation is expected to apologise on Monday following concerns about impartiality, including how a speech by US President Donald Trump was edited in an episode of Panorama.

It comes after The Telegraph reported on Tuesday that a memo by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBC’s editorial standards committee, raised concerns in the summer.

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 have complete confidence that both Samir Shah, the chair of the BBC, and (BBC director-general) Tim Davie are treating this with the seriousness that this demands.”

Since the internal memo was revealed, the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee demanded information from Mr Shah and asked what action he will take to address the concerns.

Ms Nandy added: “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 that they’re taking.”

The concerns regard clips spliced together from sections of the US president’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” in the documentary Trump: A Second Chance?, which was broadcast by the BBC the week before last year’s US election.

Ms Nandy also said the corporation has a tendency to use inconsistent language – an issue she expects Mr Davie and Mr Shah to deal with.

She said: “What tends to happen at the BBC is that decisions about editorial standards, editorial guidelines, the sort of language that is used in reporting is entirely inconsistent.

“It doesn’t always meet the highest standards. It’s not always well thought through, and often it’s left to individual journalists or newsreaders to make decisions.

“That’s something that I have discussed at length with the director-general and the chair, and something that I expect them to grip.

“My second concern about the BBC is that increasingly, they’re operating in a news media environment where news and fact is often blurred with polemic and opinion, and I think that is creating a very, very dangerous environment in this country where people can’t trust what they see.”

Following the leaked memo, a row erupted between Boris Johnson and BBC presenter Nick Robinson after the former prime minister accused the broadcaster of arrogance over claims of a political campaign to “destroy” the corporation.

The BBC Radio 4 presenter said on the Today programme there was a “genuine” concern regarding the broadcaster’s editorial standards and mistakes, however he believes there is a “political campaign by people who want to destroy the organisation”.

Mr Johnson told the Mail On Sunday: “There is a difference between trying to destroy the BBC and trying to hold it to account.

“This is just a diversionary tactic from an organisation that is too arrogant to think it might be at fault.”

Mr Robinson hit back in a post on X, saying: “Hands up all those who think (Boris Johnson) is well placed to lecture anyone else on upholding standards (and) admitting mistakes.”

The leading presenter was backed up by fellow senior BBC journalist John Simpson, who said his initial remarks had been “exactly right”.