Maggie's Militant Tendency
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This article outlines, in chronological order, the various controversies surrounding or involving the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
.


Early years


1926 general strike

In 1926, the
General Council of the Trades Union Congress The General Council of the Trades Union Congress is an elected body which is responsible for carrying out the policies agreed at the annual British Trades Union Congresses (TUC). Organisation The council has 56 members, all of whom must be proposed ...
(TUC) called a
General Strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...
to prevent wage reductions and worsening conditions for 1.2 million locked-out coal miners. Labour Party politicians such as party leader
Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...
and
Philip Snowden Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden, PC (; 18 July 1864 – 15 May 1937) was a British politician. A strong speaker, he became popular in trade union circles for his denunciation of capitalism as unethical and his promise of a socialist utop ...
criticised the BBC for being "biased" and "misleading the public" during the strike. Prime Minister
Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (3 August 186714 December 1947), was a British statesman and Conservative politician who was prominent in the political leadership of the United Kingdom between the world wars. He was prime ministe ...
was coached by John Reith during a national broadcast about the strike which he made from Reith's house. When Ramsay MacDonald asked to make a broadcast in reply, Reith supported the request. However, Baldwin was "quite against MacDonald broadcasting" and Reith refused the request. Baldwin's government blocked the BBC from broadcasting statements about the strike by the Labour Party and TUC leaders. When
Philip Snowden Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden, PC (; 18 July 1864 – 15 May 1937) was a British politician. A strong speaker, he became popular in trade union circles for his denunciation of capitalism as unethical and his promise of a socialist utop ...
, the former Labour
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...
, wrote to the ''
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...
'' to complain about the BBC's treatment of the unions, Reith wrote that the BBC was not totally independent from the government, which had imposed some constraints on what the BBC could do.
Randall Davidson Randall Thomas Davidson, 1st Baron Davidson of Lambeth, (7 April 1848 – 25 May 1930) was an Anglican bishop who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1903 to 1928. He was the longest-serving holder of the office since the English Reformation, Re ...
, Archbishop of Canterbury, wished to broadcast a "peace appeal" to call for an immediate end to the strike, renewal of government subsidies to the coal industry and no cuts in miners' wages. Reith denied his request because he believed such a speech would be used by
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
to take over the BBC. Churchill wanted to use the BBC as a government tool during the strike. Reith wrote in his diary that the government "know they can trust us not to be really impartial". A post-strike analysis carried out by the BBC's Programme Correspondence Department reported that of those polled, 3,696 commended the BBC's coverage, whilst 176 were critical.


Between the wars

Since 1927, there have been arguments over impartiality at the BBC. In 1927, under a Royal Charter, the BBC became a public entity for the first time – with requirements including the need for impartiality and for staff not to express opinions on controversial subject matters. Prior to World War II,
Sir John Reith John Charles Walsham Reith, 1st Baron Reith (; 20 July 1889 – 16 June 1971) was a Scottish broadcasting executive who established the tradition of independent public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom. In 1922, he was employed by the B ...
excluded Winston Churchill from the BBC airwaves.Nick Robinson,
Winston Churchill's bitter battle with the BBC
, ''The Daily Telegraph'' (14 October 2012). Retrieved 24 February 2018.
At the time of the
Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...
of 1938, Churchill "complained that he had been very badly treated...and that he was always muzzled by the BBC".


1930s to Cold War: MI5 vetting

From the late 1930s until the end of the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
,
MI5 MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), officially the Security Service, is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Gov ...
had an officer at the BBC vetting editorial applicants. During World War II 'subversives', particularly suspected
communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...
such as the folk singer
Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a British folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as o ...
, were banned from the BBC. The personnel records of anyone suspicious were stamped with a distinctively shaped green tag, or "Christmas tree;" only a handful of BBC personnel staff knew what the 'Christmas trees' meant.


1930s: Commercial radio controversy

Because the BBC had become both a monopoly and a non-commercial entity, it soon faced controversial competition from British subjects who were operating leased transmitters on the continent of Europe before World War II, to broadcast commercial radio programmes into the United Kingdom. John Reith, who had been given powers to dictate the cultural output of the BBC, retaliated by leading the opposition to these commercial stations. Controversy spilled over into the press when the British government attempted to censor the printing of their programme information. The pressure was created by the success of these stations.


1930s onwards: Broadcasting jazz

In her biography of her father, ''My Father: Reith of the BBC'', John Reith's daughter
Marista Leishman Marista Muriel Leishman (née Reith; 10 April 1932 – 3 November 2019) was an author and educator. She was the daughter and biographer of John Reith, the first Director-General of the BBC. Early life Leishman was born in 1932 in Beaconsfie ...
said that he banned the playing of
jazz music Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, hymns, m ...
on the BBC and that he wrote in his diary that " Germany has banned hot jazz and I'm sorry that we should be behind in dealing with this filthy product of modernity."


Post-war


1950s: Claimed involvement in Iranian coup d'état

A BBC Radio 4 documentary in 2005 claimed that it had evidence that a radio newsreader inserted the word "exactly" into a midnight timecheck one summer night in 1953, as "It is now exactly midnight". This was said to be a code word to
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...
, the
Shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...
of Iran, that Britain supported his plans for a coup. The Shah had selected the word, the documentary said, and the BBC broadcast the word at the request of the government. Officially, the BBC has never acknowledged the code word plot. The BBC spokesman declined to comment on a possible connection.


1950s: Independent television controversy

Winston Churchill's government passed the
Television Act 1954 The Television Act 1954 ( 2 & 3 Eliz. 2. c. 55) was a British law which permitted the creation of the first commercial television network in the United Kingdom, ITV. Until the early 1950s, the only television service in Britain was operated ...
that permitted the creation of the first commercial television network in Britain, ITV. This was criticised in the House of Lords by, among others, Lord Reith. Churchill explained to his doctor, Lord Moran: "I am against the monopoly enjoyed by the BBC. For eleven years they kept me off the air. They prevented me from expressing views which have proved to be right. Their behaviour has been tyrannical. They are honeycombed with Socialists—probably with Communists".


1964: "Clean Up TV campaign"

Mary Whitehouse Constance Mary Whitehouse (; 13 June 1910 – 23 November 2001) was a British teacher and conservative activist. She campaigned against social liberalism and the mainstream British media, both of which she accused of encouraging a more permis ...
launched her 'Clean Up TV campaign' in April 1964. In her view,
Hugh Greene Sir Hugh Carleton Greene (15 November 1910 – 19 February 1987) was a British television executive and journalist. He was director-general of the BBC from 1960 to 1969. After working for newspapers in the 1930s, Greene spent most of his lat ...
as BBC Director General was "more than anybody else ... responsible for the moral collapse in this country." The campaign of Whitehouse and her supporters soon became the
National Viewers' and Listeners' Association Mediawatch-UK, formerly known as the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association (National VALA or NVLA), was an advocacy group in the United Kingdom, which campaigned against the publication and broadcast of media content that it viewed as har ...
; Mrs Whitehouse was opposed to the policies of liberalisation pursued by Greene and largely sustained by his successors at the Corporation. Whitehouse's campaign focused much more on the BBC than on ITV, and she had a high public profile for several decades. The tabloid press also criticised the BBC for what it perceived as lapses in programming quality.


1965: ''The War Game''

''
The War Game ''The War Game'' is a 1966 British pseudo-documentary film that depicts a nuclear war and its aftermath. Written, directed and produced by Peter Watkins for the BBC, it caused dismay within the BBC and within government, and was withdrawn bef ...
'', directed by
Peter Watkins Peter Watkins (born 29 October 1935) is an English filmmaker, documentarian, writer, and Film theory, film theorist. He is known as a pioneer of the docudrama and the mockumentary genres, typically with heavy political content. His films presen ...
, is a
pseudo-documentary A pseudo-documentary or fake documentary is a film or video production that takes the form or style of a documentary film but does not portray real events. Rather, scripted and fictional elements are used to tell the story. The pseudo-documentary, ...
recounting the aftermath of a fictional attack on London with a one-megaton nuclear bomb. Intended for the twentieth anniversary on 6 August 1965 of the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima, ''The War Game'' was banned by the BBC, which said it was "too horrifying for the medium of broadcasting". The chairman of the BBC board of governors, Lord Normanbrook, wrote in a secret letter to the cabinet secretary, Burke Trend, that "The showing of the film on television might have a significant effect on public attitudes towards the policy of the nuclear deterrent". Although given a limited cinema release by the
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
(BFI), and awarded an Oscar as Best Documentary, the film was not screened by the BBC until 1985. In 2012,
John Pilger John Richard Pilger (; 9 October 1939 – 30 December 2023) was an Australian journalist, writer, scholar and documentary filmmaker. From 1962, he was based mainly in Britain. He was also a visiting professor at Cornell University in New York. ...
wrote that, in banning Watkins' film, the BBC was performing "the function of the state broadcaster as a cornerstone of Britain's ruling elite".


1969: Enhanced subscriptions

In 1969,
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
agreed to open a reporting service in the Middle East as part of a
British Foreign Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign an ...
plan to influence the international media. In order to protect the reputation of Reuters, which may have been damaged if the funding from the British government became known, the BBC paid Reuters "enhanced subscriptions" for access to its news service, and was in turn compensated by the British government for the extra expense. The BBC paid Reuters £350,000 over four years under the plan.


1971: ''Yesterday's Men''

'' Yesterday's Men'' is a BBC documentary first broadcast in June 1971 about the former ministers of
Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...
's Labour government who were now experiencing opposition. The approach of the programme makers, who included reporter
David Dimbleby David Dimbleby (born 28 October 1938) is an English journalist and former presenter of current affairs and political programmes, best known for having presented the BBC topical debate programme '' Question Time''. He is the son of broadcaster ...
, angered Wilson and the Labour Party who saw it as displaying explicit Conservative bias. According to the official History of the BBC web page on the incident, the Labour politicians were "effectively tricked into taking part in a programme that would ridicule them". During his own interview Wilson was asked by Dimbleby, in an untransmitted section of their encounter, about the money he had made from his memoirs, a question which led to a furious exchange between them. Wilson wanted the programme shelved, but it was broadcast with minor changes.


1979–2000


1979: The Troubles / ''Panorama''

In November 1979, ''Panorama'' showed masked IRA men manning a roadblock in
Carrickmore Carrickmore () is a small town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the historic barony of Omagh East, the civil parish of Termonmaguirk and the Roman Catholic Parish of Termonmaguirc between Cookstown, Dungannon and O ...
. The Army and the
Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the ...
withdrew their cooperation immediately and the Unionist leader
James Molyneaux James Henry Molyneaux, Baron Molyneaux of Killead, KBE, PC (27 August 1920 – 9 March 2015), often known as Jim Molyneaux, was a unionist politician from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1979 to ...
claimed that the filming was "at least a treasonable activity". The BBC governors issued a statement which blamed the ''Panorama'' team and admitted that the filming of the IRA roadblock "would appear to be a clear breach of standing instructions in relation to filming in Ireland". In the House of Commons the Conservative MP
Tim Eggar Timothy John Crommelin Eggar (born 19 December 1951) is a British businessman and former politician. He holds positions on the boards of multiple organisations including Shiplake College and Cape plc, and was the Conservative MP for Enfield ...
requested that the Prime Minister,
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
, "contact the governors of the BBC to express extreme concern about the way in which the ''Panorama'' team seems to have encouraged the IRA to break the law in Northern Ireland".HC Deb 08 November 1979 vol 973 cc606-13
/ref> Thatcher replied that the government contacted the BBC about the programme: "My hon. Friend will know that this is not the first time that we have had occasion to raise similar matters with the BBC. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and I think that it is time that the BBC put its house in order".


1982: Falklands War

During the
Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
, the Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
and some Conservative MPs believed that the BBC was excessively even-handed between Britain and Argentina, referring to "the British" and "the Argentines" instead of "our forces" and "the enemy".HC Deb 06 May 1982 vol 23 cc278-82
/ref> On 2 May, during a report for ''
Newsnight ''Newsnight'' is the BBC's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. It is broadcast weeknights at 10:30 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel; it is also avail ...
'',
Peter Snow Peter John Snow (born 20 April 1938) is a British radio and television presenter and historian. Between 1969 and 2005, he was an analyst of general election results, first on ITV and later for the BBC. He presented ''Newsnight'' from its lau ...
remarked: "Until the British are demonstrated either to be deceiving us or to be concealing losses, we can only tend to give a lot more credence to the British version of events". The Conservative MP John Page complained that the programme was "totally offensive and almost treasonable". Answering a question from Page on 6 May, Thatcher said that "many people are very concerned indeed that the case for our British forces is not being put over fully and effectively. I understand that there are times when it seems that we and the Argentines are being treated almost as equals and almost on a neutral basis. I understand that there are occasions when some commentators will say that the Argentines did something and then "the British" did something. I can only say that if this is so it gives offence and causes great emotion among many people". ''The Sun'' newspaper published an editorial on 7 May titled "Dare Call it Treason: There are Traitors in Our Midst" which criticised Snow. The ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
'' came to Snow's defence in an editorial titled 'The Harlot of Fleet Street', calling ''The Sun'' "coarse and demented" and that it had "fallen from the gutter to the sewer...The Sun today is to journalism what Dr Joseph Goebbels was to truth". The 10 May edition of ''Panorama'' (titled "Can We Avoid War?") also provoked outrage. The day after it was broadcast, the Conservative MP Sally Oppenheim asked Thatcher in the Commons: "Is she aware that for the most part, but not all, it was an odious, subversive, travesty in which
Michael Cockerell Michael Roger Lewis Cockerell (born 26 August 1940) is a British broadcaster and journalist. He is the BBC's most established political documentary maker, with a long, Emmy award-winning career of political programmes spanning television and ra ...
and other BBC reporters dishonoured the right to freedom of speech in this country?"HC Deb 11 May 1982 vol 23 cc596-602
/ref> Thatcher responded: "I share the deep concern that has been expressed on many sides, particularly about the content of yesterday evening's "Panorama" programme. I know how strongly many people feel that the case for our country is not being put with sufficient vigour on certain—I do not say all—BBC programmes. The chairman of the BBC has assured us, and has said in vigorous terms, that the BBC is not neutral on this point, and I hope that his words will be heeded by the many who have responsibilities for standing up for our task force, our boys, our people and the cause of democracy". According to the commander of the British Naval Task Force,
Sandy Woodward Admiral Sir John Forster "Sandy" Woodward, (1 May 1932 – 4 August 2013) was a senior Royal Navy officer who commanded the Task Force of the Falklands War. Early life Woodward was born on 1 May 1932 at Marazion, near Penzance, Cornwall, to a ...
, while the British were preparing to land on San Carlos the BBC World Service broadcast that the Battle Group and Amphibious Group of the Task Force had joined up. Woodward later wrote: "I had hoped that this particular rendezvous at least could have remained a military secret until after the actual landing, but as ever the British media were more interested in the truth than in the consequences for our own people. We were infuriated". Some on the Task Force said that "if we got hit on the way and lost a lot of men, the Director General of the BBC should be charged with treason".Woodward, p. 342. Shortly before the attack on Goose Green, the BBC broadcast that an attack was imminent and that the 2 Para regiment were within five miles of Darwin. According to Woodward, there "are still some who believe that BBC report was directly responsible for the Argentinian 'ambush' in which Colonel Jones and many others died. Standing in the Ops Room of ''
Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...
'' on the day the BBC effectively informed the Args of our position and bearing, I am sure we all felt the same". Thatcher later wrote: "Many of the public (including us) did not like the attitude f the mediaparticularly the BBC...My concern was always the safety of our forces. Theirs was news". She was also angry about the BBC's disclosure of 2 Para's position: "Can there ever have been an army which had to fight its battles against media reporting like that?"


1984: "Maggie's Militant Tendency" controversy

In January 1984 the BBC programme ''Panorama'' broadcast "Maggie's Militant Tendency" which claimed that a number of
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
MPs including ( Neil Hamilton,
Harvey Proctor Keith Harvey Proctor (born 16 January 1947) is a British former Conservative Member of Parliament. A member of the Monday Club, he represented Basildon from 1979 to 1983 and Billericay from 1983 to 1987. Proctor became embroiled in a scandal ...
and
Gerald Howarth Sir James Gerald Douglas Howarth (born 12 September 1947) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Aldershot (UK Parliament constituency), ...
) had links to far-right organisations both in Britain and on the Continent. The programme was based on an internal Conservative Party report compiled by Phil Pedley, Chairman of the Young Conservatives. ''Panorama'' confirmed its status with a senior Conservative Party vice chairman. The report was formally presented to the party in the week before the programme was aired. During the making of the programme, attempts to contact some of the named MPs for comment were unsuccessful. (Hamilton's wife Christine later described how "Neil and I had devised a method for making sure that ''Panorama'' personnel would not be in a position to say that Neil had refused to speak.") The programme was vetted prior to transmission by the BBC's lawyers, by the Head of Currents Affairs Television, and by the Chief Assistant to the Director General, Margaret Douglas Two of the MPs named in the programme (Hamilton and Howarth) sued the BBC and the programme-makers. The Director-General,
Alasdair Milne Alasdair David Gordon Milne (8 October 19308 January 2013) was a British television producer and executive. He had a long career at the BBC, where he was eventually promoted to Director-General, and was described by ''The Independent'' as "one ...
, reviewed the BBC's own legal advice, and that of his Chief Assistant, and declared the programme to be 'rock solid'. The Board of Governors (Chairman Stuart Young) also gave its backing for the programme to be defended in court. Stuart Young died in August 1986, two months before the libel case against ''Panorama'' came to trial. A new chairman, Marmaduke Hussey, had been appointed, but had not formally arrived at the BBC when the trial opened on 13 October 1986. Hussey nevertheless spoke with the BBC's barrister, Charles Grey. Hussey says in his memoirs that 'Grey thought it unlikely the BBC would win.' Sir Charles Grey disputes this statement, saying that 'my junior and I both thought the case was winnable'. The first four days of the trial were given over to opening statements from Hamilton and Howarth and their lawyers, which received wide press coverage. On the evening of the fourth day the BBC's Assistant DG Alan Protheroe informed the BBC's legal team and the named defendants that the Governors now wished to settle the case immediately. This prevented the BBC's defence from being put to the court, or known to the public. Hamilton and Howarth were each awarded £25,000 in damages. Costs amounted to £240,000. They dropped their case against Phil Pedley. There was controversy over the editing of one part of the programme which juxtaposed shots of Howarth wearing a train driver's uniform at a steam railway enthusiasts' rally with the claim that he had attended a fascist meeting in Italy, implying that the uniform he was wearing was a fascist one. This issue was also not dealt with in court.


1984: Falsified coverage of miners' strike

Footage of the so-called "Battle of Orgreave" on 18 June 1984 had been filmed by a crew from the BBC. When this appeared on that evening's BBC news bulletins, it was edited and broadcast out of chronological sequence, falsely showing pickets throwing stones at the police and the police subsequently carrying out a mounted charge.


1985: The Troubles / Ban of McGuiness interview

In 1985, the government made an 'unprecedented' public request to stop the broadcast of a programme on extremism in Northern Ireland, in particular it included an interview with Martin McGuiness, then reputedly a member of the IRA—but also of the Ulster National Assembly, the provincial legislature approved by London. The Home Secretary at the time,
Leon Brittan Leon Brittan, Baron Brittan of Spennithorne, (25 September 193921 January 2015) was a British Conservative politician and barrister who served as a European Commissioner from 1989 to 1999. As a member of Parliament from 1974 to 1988, he ser ...
wrote in a letter to the Board of Governors that the program was "against the national interest" elaborating: The whole of the BBC's staff protested against the decision. This saw mass-resignations of senior management and a 24-hour strike that forced news bulletins on the home services to be read by management and saw the
World Service The BBC World Service is a British public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcasts radio news, speec ...
, broadcasting in 36 languages at the time, shut down completely for the first time. All that would be broadcast on the foreign services was the repeat of a statement, an excerpt of which reads as: "in protest against the decision by the BBC board of Governors to withdraw a television documentary about extremism in Northern Ireland following a request by the British government", followed by music.


1986: Libyan raid controversy

The ''
BBC News at Six The ''BBC News at Six'' is the BBC's evening news programme on British television channels BBC One and BBC News (British TV channel), BBC News (UK feed), broadcast weeknights at 6:00pm and produced by BBC News. It is normally broadcast for 30 ...
'' reporting of the American bombing raid on Libya outraged Thatcher and Conservative Party Chairman
Norman Tebbit Norman Beresford Tebbit, Baron Tebbit, (born 29 March 1931) is a British retired politician. A member of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet from 1981 to 1987 as Secretary of State for Employment (1981–1 ...
because they believed it accepted the Libyan government's propaganda about civilian casualties and because it gave no airtime to American or British spokesmen to explain their governments' stances. Tebbit ordered
Conservative Central Office The Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), formerly known as Conservative Central Office (CCO), is the headquarters of the British Conservative Party, housing its central staff and committee members, including campaign coordinators and man ...
to compile a dossier on the BBC's reporting and then to hand it to the lawyer
Lord Goodman Arnold Abraham Goodman, Baron Goodman, CH (21 August 191312 May 1995) was a British lawyer and political advisor. Life Arnold Goodman was born at Hackney, London, son of Jewish parents Joseph Goodman (1879/80–1940), a master draper, and ...
for a critique. Goodman's critique largely agreed with the dossier's findings and on 30 October Tebbit submitted it to Lord Barnett, saying that the BBC's coverage was "a mixture of news, views, speculations, error and uncritical carriage of Libyan propaganda which does serious damage to the reputation of the BBC". The BBC rejected its findings.


1986: ''Secret Society'' controversy

In 1986, BBC journalists went on strike to protest against police raids in search of evidence that a BBC television series in production, ''Secret Society'', had endangered national security. The police searched the BBC studios in
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, Scotland, the London home of investigative journalist Duncan Campbell, and the ''
New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...
'' offices. On 12 June 1985, the controller of
BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...
,
Graeme MacDonald Graeme Patrick David MacDonald (30 July 1930 – 30 September 1997), sometimes credited as Graeme McDonald or Graham McDonald, was a British television producer and executive. Early life MacDonald was educated at St Paul's School, London an ...
, was offered a series of documentaries by the BBC studios in Scotland in conjunction with an offer to them by Duncan Campbell whose work had previously appeared in the ''New Statesman'' magazine. The programmes were six half-hour films by Duncan Campbell (researched and presented by Campbell and produced according to BBC standards), which illuminated "hidden truths of major public concern". The six programmes were: * One: ''The Secret Constitution'' about a small, secret Cabinet committee that was in reality the Establishment that ruled the United Kingdom. * Two: ''In Time of Crisis'' about secret preparations for war that began in 1982 within every
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
country. This programme revealed what Britain would do. * Three: ''A Gap In Our Defences'' about bungling defence manufacturers and incompetent military planners who have botched every new
radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
system that Britain has installed since World War II. * Four: ''We're All Data Now'' about the
Data Protection Act 1984 The Data Protection Act 1998 (c. 29) (DPA) was an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom designed to protect personal data stored on computers or in an organised paper filing system. It enacted provisions from the European Union (EU) Data Pro ...
. * Five: Unfinished – about the
Association of Chief Police Officers The Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (ACPO) was a not-for-profit private limited company that for many years led the development of policing practices in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Established ...
and how government policy and actions are determined in the fields of law and order. * Six: Unfinished – about communications with particular reference to satellites. Work began on the series. In April 1986 Alan Protheroe, acting on behalf of BBC Director General
Alasdair Milne Alasdair David Gordon Milne (8 October 19308 January 2013) was a British television producer and executive. He had a long career at the BBC, where he was eventually promoted to Director-General, and was described by ''The Independent'' as "one ...
was asked for permission to bug a private detective who said he could access a
Criminal Records Office In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Cane ...
computer. Permission was granted and filming took place. The police were informed and the man was subsequently charged under Section 2 of the
Official Secrets Act 1911 The Official Secrets Act 1911 ( 1 & 2 Geo. 5. c. 28) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It replaced the Official Secrets Act 1889 ( 52 & 53 Vict. c. 52). The act was introduced in response to public alarm at reports of wide- ...
. The sixth programme would have revealed details of a top secret spy satellite and Alisdair Milne had already decided to cut it from the line-up when ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' newspaper broke the story on 18 January 1987 with the headline: "BBC gag on £500M defence secret". Combined with this story was a report that the
Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...
intended to restrict the
broadcast receiver licence A television licence or broadcast receiving licence is a payment required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts or the possession of a television set. In some countries, a licence is also required to own a radio or rece ...
fee, the implication being that the government had decided to censor BBC investigative journalism. Soon afterwards, a series of programmes on BBC Radio Four called ''My Country Right or Wrong'' was banned by the government because it might have revealed sensitive secrets. The series was censored only a few hours before it was due to start because it dealt with similar issues to the television series concerning the British "secret state". However, it was eventually broadcast uncut, after the government decided that it did not breach any laws or interfere with national security.


1987: Sacked director general controversy

On 29 January 1987, Alasdair Milne was sacked by the newly appointed chairman of the BBC Board of Governors, Marmaduke Hussey. He was replaced by a senior BBC accountant,
Michael Checkland Sir Michael Checkland (born 13 March 1936) is a retired British television executive, who was Director-General of the BBC from 1987 to 1992, being appointed after the forced resignation of Alasdair Milne. Early life Michael Checkland was ed ...
. Milne later wrote his account of this affair in ''The Memoirs of a British Broadcaster''.


1988–1994: The Troubles / voice restrictions

On 19 October 1988, Conservative
Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...
Douglas Hurd Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, (born 8 March 1930) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1979 to 1995. A career diplomat and ...
under Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
issued a notice under clause 13(4) of the BBC Licence and Agreement to the BBC and under section 29(3) of the Broadcasting Act 1981 to the
Independent Broadcasting Authority The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television ( ITV and Channel 4 and limited satellite television regulation – cable television was the responsibility of the Cable Author ...
prohibiting the broadcast of direct statements by representatives or supporters of eleven Irish political and military organisations. The ban lasted until 1994, and denied the UK news media the right to broadcast the voices, though not the words, of all
Irish republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...
and loyalist paramilitaries, while the ban was targeted primarily at
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
. Government intimidation and laws before the ban had already resulted in forms of
self-censorship Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own discourse, typically out of fear or deference to the perceived preferences, sensibilities, or infallibility of others, and often without overt external pressure. Self-censorship is c ...
. An INLA interview in July 1979 on BBC's ''Tonight'' caused a controversy involving Prime Minister Thatcher and was the last time such an interview was heard on British television. The 1979 ''Panorama'' film of the IRA on patrol in
Carrickmore Carrickmore () is a small town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the historic barony of Omagh East, the civil parish of Termonmaguirk and the Roman Catholic Parish of Termonmaguirc between Cookstown, Dungannon and O ...
was seized by police under the
Prevention of Terrorism Acts The Prevention of Terrorism Acts were a series of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1974 to 1989 that conferred emergency powers upon police forces where they suspected terrorism. The direct ancestor of the bill was the Prev ...
in 1980 following an outcry in parliament and the press. In 1985 an edition of BBC's ''Real Lives'' series ("At the Edge of the Union") was temporarily withdrawn under government pressure. BBC governors found themselves in conflict with management and the corporation's journalists went on strike for a day. The programme was later transmitted with minor changes. Coverage of Sinn Féin by the BBC before the ban was minimal. In 1988 Sinn Féin was only heard or seen on television 93 times, had only 17 of the 633 formal BBC interviews as compared to 121 interviews with the Conservative Party and 172 with the
Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the ...
and the civil service, and were never interviewed in the studio like many other participants. However, after the ban there was a steep decline in coverage of Sinn Féin and republican viewpoints, with television appearances being reduced to 34 times in the following year, and the delays and uncertainties caused by ambiguities, voice-overs and subtitles often lead to coverage and films being dropped entirely. The BBC's Head of Editorial Policy,
Richard Ayre Richard James Ayre is a media regulator, former BBC journalist and former member of the BBC Trust, the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation until its abolition in 2016. He is a former member for England of the Ofcom Content Boa ...
, looked for ways to allow the continuation of news reporting on the subject, during a time when '
The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
' in Northern Ireland were a matter of great importance and interest. He established that the ban could not prevent the BBC's use of actors to speak Adams' and other Republicans' words. The net effect of the ban was to increase publicity. The restrictions were lifted on 16 September 1994, two weeks after the first Provisional Irish Republican Army ceasefire (declared on 31 August 1994).


1998: Richard Bacon cocaine controversy

On 18 October 1998, a presenter of the children's television programme ''
Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC ...
'',
Richard Bacon Richard Bacon may refer to: People * Sir Richard Bacon, 7th Baronet (Redgrave), 8th Baronet (Mildenhall) (1695–1773), see Bacon baronets * Sir Richard Bacon, 3rd Baronet (c. 1663–1685), see Bacon baronets * Richard Bacon (politician) (born ...
, was in the headlines when it emerged he had taken
cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
. He was released from his BBC contract immediately.


2001–2010


2003–2004: Intelligence on Iraq and the death of David Kelly

In 2003, the BBC aired allegations of the government ordering the falsification of an intelligence report on
weapons of mass destruction in Iraq Iraq actively researched weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and used chemical weapons from 1962 to 1991, after which it destroyed its chemical weapons stockpile and halted its biological and nuclear weapon programs as required by the United Nation ...
. The government strongly denied the accusation. The following battle between government and broadcaster saw the BBC's source of information Dr David Kelly commit suicide, and, in the subsequent
Hutton Inquiry The Hutton Inquiry was a 2003 judicial inquiry in the UK chaired by Brian Hutton, Baron Hutton, Lord Hutton, who was appointed by the Labour Party (UK), Labour government to investigate the controversial circumstances surrounding the death of Dav ...
, the resignation of the prime minister's director of communications during the inquiry, then, upon publication of its findings, the resignation of both the Chair of the BBC as well as its Director-General and, eventually, the resignation of the accuser himself. The BBC's online history of itself describes it as "one of the most damaging episodes in the BBC's history". On 29 May 2003,
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
's defence correspondent
Andrew Gilligan Andrew Paul Gilligan (born 22 November 1968) is a British policy adviser and ex-journalist. He served as a special adviser to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, having previously worked as a transport adviser to Boris Johnson both as Mayor of London ...
quoted a government official, later revealed to be Dr David Kelly, on the ''Today'' programme to have said that the British government had "sexed up" a dossier concerning
weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a Biological agent, biological, chemical weapon, chemical, Radiological weapon, radiological, nuclear weapon, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill or significantly harm many people or cause great dam ...
in Iraq, against the wishes of the intelligence services. In a follow-up article Gillain wrote for
The Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. Founded in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first published i ...
he further claimed that
Alastair Campbell Alastair John Campbell (born 25 May 1957) is a British journalist, author, strategist, broadcaster, and activist, who is known for his political roles during Tony Blair's leadership of the Labour Party. Campbell worked as Blair's spokesman an ...
(the Prime Minister's Director of Communications and Strategy), was responsible. Later, Dr David Kelly, a
Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
scientist, was named as the source of the news item, which led to official sources suggesting that Dr Kelly was not a credible source. The subsequent suicide of Dr Kelly resulted in an escalation of the conflict between the government and the BBC, during which both sides received severe criticism for their roles in the matter. The row saw the BBC publish pieces such as ''Campbell wanted source revealed'', detailing forcefully written diary entries made available in the Hutton Inquiry, leading to Campbell's resignation. In concert with their coverage of the resignation, the BBC but the boot in, publishing a poorly authored profile on Campbell, which featured suggestions of his success stemming from having given up alcohol, other less than relevant details and most unflattering photographs. None of the following inquiries would find cases of wrongdoing going beyond 'mistakes' on Campbell's behalf. The January 2004 findings of the
Hutton Inquiry The Hutton Inquiry was a 2003 judicial inquiry in the UK chaired by Brian Hutton, Baron Hutton, Lord Hutton, who was appointed by the Labour Party (UK), Labour government to investigate the controversial circumstances surrounding the death of Dav ...
into Dr Kelly's death were extremely critical of
Andrew Gilligan Andrew Paul Gilligan (born 22 November 1968) is a British policy adviser and ex-journalist. He served as a special adviser to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, having previously worked as a transport adviser to Boris Johnson both as Mayor of London ...
as well as of the corporation's management processes and standards of journalism. In the aftermath, both the chairman of the BBC
Gavyn Davies Gavyn Davies, (born 27 November 1950) is a former Goldman Sachs partner who was the chairman of the BBC from 2001 until 2004. On 28 January 2004 he announced that he was resigning his BBC post following the publication of the Hutton Inquiry r ...
and the Director-General
Greg Dyke Gregory Dyke (born 20 May 1947) is a British media executive, football administrator, journalist and broadcaster. Since the 1960s, Dyke has had a long career in the UK in print and then broadcast journalism. He is credited with introducing " t ...
resigned, followed by Gilligan himself. Following the release, Lord Hutton was accused of failing to take account the imperfections inherent in journalism, while giving the government the benefit of the doubt. Large parts of the media at the time branded the report a
whitewash Whitewash, calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, asbestis or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk (calcium carbonate, CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes ...
. Upon publication of a second review by Lord Butler several months later
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
, in an article that carefully holds on to a healthy amount of scepticism, gave voice to Mr Gillian and Mr Dyke who held on to saying they had done the right thing in publishing and defending the initial story. The
Butler Review The Review of Intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction, widely known as the Butler Review after its chairman Robin Butler, Baron Butler of Brockwell, was announced on 3 February 2004 by the British Government and published on 14 July 2004. It ...
, among other findings on the intelligence on weapons of mass destruction as presented in the
September Dossier ''Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Assessment of the British Government'', also known as the ''September Dossier'', was a document published by the British government on 24 September 2002. Parliament was recalled on the same day to dis ...
, had given a rather vague statement regarding the production of the
Iraq Dossier ''Iraq – Its Infrastructure of Concealment, Deception and Intimidation'' (more commonly known as the ''Iraq Dossier'', the ''February Dossier'' From pages 35–42 o"The Decision to go to War in Iraq: Ninth Report of Session 2002–03" (PDF). or ...
:
"... the fact that the reference o the 45 minute claimin the classified assessment was repeated in the dossier later led to suspicions that it had been included because of its eye-catching character."
Scott, in 2004, suggested that an accessible explanation for the incident can be found by examining the parties' differing professional cultures. Kelly sought to communicate scientific truth, Gillain sought to communicate the government's lacking argument, and Campbell sought to communicate the case for war in the most convincing way available.


2004–2012: Balen Report

In 2012 the BBC won a year-long legal battle over the release of the Balen Report under the Freedom of Information Act of 2000 (FOI). It began in 2007 when the BBC decided to fight the Information Tribunal's initial decision to have the report released. It is a report on the BBC's Middle East coverage written in 2004, and was commissioned by former BBC Director of News,
Richard Sambrook Richard Sambrook is a British journalist, academic and a former BBC executive. He is emeritus professor in the School of Journalism, Media and Culture at Cardiff University. For 30 years, until February 2010, he was a BBC journalist and later, ...
, following persistent complaints from the public and the Israeli government of allegations of anti-Israel bias. In August 2012, the politics website ''
The Commentator Ibn Rushd (14 April 112611 December 1198), archaically Latinized as Averroes, was an Arab Muslim polymath and jurist from Al-Andalus who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astronomy, physics, psychology, math ...
'' reported a Freedom of Information request they had made which indicated that the BBC had spent £330,000 in legal costs. This figure does not include BBC in-house legal staff time or
Value Added Tax A value-added tax (VAT or goods and services tax (GST), general consumption tax (GCT)) is a consumption tax that is levied on the value added at each stage of a product's production and distribution. VAT is similar to, and is often compared wi ...
.Rocker, Simon (30 August 2012}
spent £330,000 suppressing Balen report"
''
The Jewish Chronicle ''The Jewish Chronicle'' (''The JC'') is a London-based Jewish weekly newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world. Its editor () is Daniel Schwammenthal. The newspaper is published every Fri ...
''. Retrieved 23 January 2023.


2004–2011: Siemens outsourcing

In 2004, the
BBC Governors The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current state ...
approved a deal to
outsource Outsourcing is a business practice in which company, companies use external providers to carry out business processes that would otherwise be handled internally. Outsourcing sometimes involves transferring employees and assets from one firm to ...
the BBC's IT,
telephony Telephony ( ) is the field of technology involving the development, application, and deployment of telecommunications services for the purpose of electronic transmission of voice, fax, or data, between distant parties. The history of telephony is ...
and
broadcast technology Broadcast engineering or radio engineering is the field of electrical engineering, and now to some extent computer engineering and information technology, which deals with radio and television broadcasting. Audio engineering and RF engineering a ...
(which had previously been run by the corporation's internal BBC technology division) to the German engineering and electronics company
Siemens IT Solutions and Services Atos Information Technology Incorporated is a service provider which is owned by Atos. Atos Information Technology Incorporated provides a wide range of information technology services such as consulting, systems integration, and IT management. At ...
(SIS). It was claimed that the sale of BBC Technology would deliver over £30 million of savings to the BBC. In June 2007, a report published by the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
Public Accounts Committee A public accounts committee (PAC) is a committee within a legislature whose role is to study public audits, invite ministers, permanent secretaries or other ministry officials to the committee for questioning, and report on their findings subseque ...
was critical of the deal, claiming that BBC management had omitted £60 million' worth of hidden costs in its application to the Board of Governors and that the profits to Siemens had not been taken into account. Recorded savings to the BBC had amounted to £22m, 38% lower than the BBC's original forecast. The BBC's partnership with Siemens underwent some high-profile difficulties, including issues with the corporation-wide switchover to an
IP telephony Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also known as IP telephony, is a set of technologies used primarily for voice communication sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. VoIP enables voice calls to be transmitted as ...
system in 2009; a major outage of the
BBC website BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...
in 2011; and Siemens was the original technology partner in the
Digital Media Initiative The Digital Media Initiative (DMI) was a British broadcast engineering project launched by the BBC in 2008. It aimed to modernise the Corporation's production and archiving methods by using connected digital production and media asset management ...
until its contract was terminated in 2009 (see below). In December 2010, SIS was acquired from Siemens by the French company
Atos Atos SE is a European multinational information technology (IT) service and consulting company with headquarters in Bezons suburb of Paris, France, and offices worldwide. It specialises in hi-tech transactional services, unified communicat ...
and BBC IT, broadcast and website systems are now managed by Atos.


March 2007: ''Blue Peter'' phone-in

A phone-in competition supporting
Unicef UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...
, held by the children's programme ''
Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC ...
'' in November 2006, was revealed to have been rigged. The winning caller in the competition was actually a visitor to the set who pretended to be calling from an outside line to select a prize. The competition was rigged because of a technical problem with receiving the calls. The controversy was the beginning of a wider controversy in which other broadcasters were fined for faking telephone competitions.


March 2007: BBC Jam

In 2006, the BBC launched a free educational website for children,
BBC Jam BBC Jam (formerly known as BBC Digital Curriculum) was an online educational service operated by the BBC from January 2006 to 20 March 2007. The service was available free across the United Kingdom offering multi-media educational resources. Ja ...
, which cost £150 million. Following complaints by a number of commercial suppliers of educational software that the BBC was engaging in
anti-competitive practices Anti-competitive practices are business or government practices that prevent or reduce Competition (economics), competition in a market. Competition law, Antitrust laws ensure businesses do not engage in competitive practices that harm other, u ...
by providing this service for free, the BBC Trust announced that the website would be suspended pending a review. The following year it was decided that the service would not be relaunched and it was closed permanently.


July 2007: ''A Year with the Queen''

In early 2007, the BBC commissioned RDF Media to make a behind-the-scenes film about the monarchy, titled '' Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work'', for BBC One. A 60-second trailer was shown at the BBC1 autumn launch in London on 11 July. The trailer showed two clips of
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
; one in which she tells photographer
Annie Leibovitz Anna-Lou Leibovitz ( ; born October 2, 1949) is an American Portrait photography, portrait photographer best known for her portraits, particularly of celebrities, which often feature subjects in intimate settings and poses. Leibovitz's Polaroid ...
that she will not remove her crown to make the scene look "less dressy", and another in which the Queen says "I'm not changing anything. I've done enough dressing like this". The shots in the trailer were edited out of sequence, making it appear as if the Queen had abruptly left the photo shoot, when in fact, the second shot showed her ''entering'' the shoot. BBC 1 Controller
Peter Fincham Peter Arthur Fincham (born 26 July 1956) is a British television producer and executive. From 2008 until 2016, he was the director of television for the ITV network. He was also formerly the controller of BBC One, the primary television chann ...
told journalists at the launch that it showed the monarch "losing it a bit and walking out in a huff". The next day, newspapers and other media sources ran headlines stating that the Queen had stormed out during the session. On 12 July, the BBC released a formal apology to both the Queen and Leibovitz. On 16 July, RDF Media admitted it was "guilty of a serious error of judgement"; Fincham and RDF Media chief creative officer Stephen Lambert both resigned. In October 2007, the BBC released the report of its investigation into the incident. The investigation concluded that nobody at the BBC "consciously set out to defame or misrepresent the Queen" and that there was never a possibility "that the misleading sequence could have been included in the finished documentary to be broadcast by the BBC" but that nonetheless "the incident reveal dmisjudgements, poor practice and ineffective systems as well, of course, as the usual helping of bad luck that often accompanies such sorry affairs."


September 2007: The ''Blue Peter'' cat

When the children's programme ''Blue Peter'' acquired a pet cat in January 2007, it held an internet vote to choose a name for the animal. In September of that year, it was revealed that viewers had selected the name
Cookie A cookie is a sweet biscuit with high sugar and fat content. Cookie dough is softer than that used for other types of biscuit, and they are cooked longer at lower temperatures. The dough typically contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of ...
, but producers changed the result to
Socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the Calf (leg), calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. ...
instead, leading to accusations of breach of audience trust. An apology to viewers was subsequently made on the programme.


2008: ''The Russell Brand Show'' prank telephone calls row

In a show recorded on 16 October 2008 and broadcast two days later, Brand made several phone calls – along with guest
Jonathan Ross Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show '' Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s and early 2010s, hosted his ow ...
– to the home of actor
Andrew Sachs Andreas Siegfried Sachs (7 April 1930 – 23 November 2016), known professionally as Andrew Sachs, was a German-born British actor. He made his name on British television and found his greatest fame for his portrayal of the comical Spanish waite ...
, claiming that Brand had sexual relations with his granddaughter
Georgina Baillie Georgina Baillie (born 7 July 1985) is an English actress, artist, post-punk singer, songwriter, and formerly a burlesque performer. Her stage names have included Voluptua and Georgie Girl. From 2010 to 2013 she worked as a backing vocalist for ...
, along with further apparently lewd suggestions. Later coverage in the ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...
'' newspaper led to number of complaints, and ultimately Ross left the corporation.


2009: Refusal to broadcast Gaza DEC Appeal

On 22 January 2009, the BBC declined a request from the
Disasters Emergency Committee The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is an umbrella group of UK charities which coordinates and launches collective appeals to raise funds to provide emergency aid and rapid relief to people caught up in disasters and humanitarian crises aroun ...
(DEC) to screen an aid appeal intended to raise money to aid the relief effort following then recent hostilities in the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
. Explanations cited by Mark Thompson, the BBC's then Director General raised doubts about the possibility of delivering aid in a volatile situation and highlighted the need to avoid any risk of compromising public confidence in the BBC's impartiality in the context of an ongoing news story. Because of a lack of consensus among UK broadcasters, with
British Sky Broadcasting Sky UK Limited (formerly British Sky Broadcasting Limited (BSkyB)), trading as Sky, is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television, broadband internet, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers a ...
announcing it would follow the BBC's view, TV channels in the UK initially decided not to broadcast the appeal. A public demonstration occurred outside Broadcasting House on 24 January with former
cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...
Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and political activist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabine ...
attacking the decision in an interview on
BBC News 24 The BBC News channel is a British free-to-air Public broadcasting, public broadcast television news channel owned and operated by the BBC. The channel is based at and broadcasts from Broadcasting House in the West End of London, West End of ...
during which he read out the appeal address, and alleging that the Israeli government was preventing the appeal from being broadcast. ''The Guardian'' reported that the BBC faced a revolt from its journalists over the issue, and that they had been threatened with dismissal if they spoke out. In an editorial, the paper described the refusal to broadcast the appeal as 'taking a partisan stance' and a
error of judgement
Four days after the BBC refusal, ITV,
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
and
Five 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...
broadcast the appeal intact on 26 January. The BBC also broadcast substantial extracts from the appeal in its TV news programmes. The BBC's decision came in for criticism across the political spectrum including from senior politicians such as
Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. H ...
,
Douglas Alexander Douglas Garven Alexander (born 26 October 1967) is a British politician who has served as Minister of State for Trade Policy and Economic Security since 2024, having previously held the role from 2004 to 2005. He has also served as Minister o ...
and
Hazel Blears Hazel Anne Blears (born 14 May 1956) is a British former Labour Party politician, who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) successively for the constituencies of Salford and Salford and Eccles between 1997 and 2015. One of 101 female ...
and public figures like the Archbishops of York and Canterbury, although it was supported by other commentators such as
Dominic Lawson Dominic Ralph Campden Lawson (born 17 December 1956) is a British journalist. Background Lawson was born to a Jewish family, the elder son of Conservative politician Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby and his first wife, socialite Vanessa Sa ...
. On 25 January 2009, then Secretary of State for International Development
Douglas Alexander Douglas Garven Alexander (born 26 October 1967) is a British politician who has served as Minister of State for Trade Policy and Economic Security since 2024, having previously held the role from 2004 to 2005. He has also served as Minister o ...
supported the appeal telling Sky News: "My appeal is a much more straight forward one. People are suffering right now, many hundreds of thousands of people are without the basic necessities of life. That for me is a very straight forward case and I sincerely hope that the British people respond with characteristic generosity." MP
Richard Burden Richard Haines Burden (born 1 September 1954) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Northfield from 1992 to 2019. He served as a Shadow Transport Minister from 2013 to 2016 and again from 201 ...
put forward an
early day motion In the Westminster parliamentary system, an early day motion (EDM) is a motion, expressed as a single sentence, tabled by a member of Parliament, which the Government (in charge of parliamentary business) has not yet scheduled for debate. Hi ...
calling on the BBC to screen the appeal which received the support of 112 MPs. Meanwhile, another Labour MP,
Gerald Kaufman Sir Gerald Bernard Kaufman (21 June 1930 – 26 February 2017) was a British politician and author who served as a minister throughout the Labour government of 1974 to 1979. Elected as a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member of parliame ...
, complained about "nasty pressure" on the BBC from Israeli lobbyists. However, Mark Thompson, the
Director-General of the BBC The director-general of the British Broadcasting Corporation is chief executive and (from 1994) editor-in-chief of the BBC. The post-holder was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC (for the period 1927 to 2007) and then the ...
, denied that the decision was due to Israeli pressure. Complaints to the BBC about the decision were directed to Mark Thompson's blog. BBC's ''
Newsnight ''Newsnight'' is the BBC's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. It is broadcast weeknights at 10:30 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel; it is also avail ...
'' programme reported that the BBC had received over 15,000 complaints as well as 200 letters of support. After the appeal was broadcast on Channel 4 on 26 January 2009, Niaz Alam resigned as an external member of th
BBC's Appeals Advisory Committee
in protest at the BBC's explanation of its refusal to broadcast the appeal, after news coverage gave the impression the whole of this committee had been party to the decision. A version of his resignation letter, was published in ''
Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...
'', defending the impartiality of the
Disasters Emergency Committee The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is an umbrella group of UK charities which coordinates and launches collective appeals to raise funds to provide emergency aid and rapid relief to people caught up in disasters and humanitarian crises aroun ...
's recommendation and criticising the BBC's refusal to broadcast the appeal. The letter also disputed the logic of the justification to block the appeal on grounds of impartiality by pointing out that 'the ultimate logic of a policy of avoiding appeals arising out of politically controversial conflicts would be for the BBC to ignore major humanitarian crises.' Journalist and broadcaster
Peter Oborne Peter Alan Oborne (; born 11 July 1957) is a British journalist and broadcaster. He is the former chief political commentator of ''The Daily Telegraph'', from which he resigned in early 2015. He is author of ''The Rise of Political Lying'' (2005 ...
wrote and presented an edition of Channel 4's '' Dispatches'' titled "Inside Britain's Israel Lobby, " in which this controversy was featured as one small part towards the end, when he discussed the BBC's refusal to broadcast the 2009 DEC Gaza appeal with Niaz Alam. The BBC Trust reported in its 'Decision of the BBC Trust' document on the appeal that, 'the BBC Executive had received about 40,000 complaints about the Director General's decision'. The BBC's chief operating officer,
Caroline Thomson Caroline Agnes Morgan Thomson, Lady Liddle (born 15 May 1954) was chair of the charity Oxfam until October 2020. She is a former BBC executive and was the Corporation's chief operating officer, from 2006 to 2012 and she stood in for Mark Thomps ...
, affirmed the need to broadcast "without affecting and impinging on the audience's perception of our impartiality" and that in this case, it was a "real issue." The 2009 Gaza appeal is the only occasion on which the BBC is known to have refused an appeal broadcast request from the DEC. It is reported the 2009 DEC Gaza appeal screened only by Channel 4 and ITV raised £8.3m. In August 2014, the BBC broadcast a new DEC aid appeal for people in Gaza, without similar controversy, which raised £16m over two years.


2009: BNP ''Question Time'' appearance

Following the improved performance of the
British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a Far-right politics, far-right, British fascism, fascist list of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and is led by Adam ...
in the 2009 European elections, the BBC controversially changed its stance on the appearance of the BNP on the flagship current affairs talk show, '' Question Time'', and invited party leader
Nick Griffin Nicholas John Griffin (born 1 March 1959) is a British far-right politician who was chairman of the British National Party (BNP) from 1999 to 2014, and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for North West England from 2009 to 2014. Follow ...
to appear on its edition of 22 October 2009. The BBC was also obliged to transmit
party political broadcast A party political broadcast (also known, in pre-election campaigning periods, as a party election broadcast) is a television or radio broadcast made by a political party. In the United Kingdom the Communications Act 2003 prohibits (and previou ...
s by the BNP.


2008–2013: Digital Media Initiative

In 2008, the BBC launched the Digital Media Initiative (DMI), a technology programme intended to streamline broadcast operations by moving to a fully digital, tapeless production workflow at a cost of £81.7 million. It was forecast to deliver cost savings to the BBC of around £18 million. DMI was contracted out to the technology services provider
Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...
with consulting by
Deloitte Deloitte is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of employees, and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, along wi ...
. Costs of the project rose after a number of technical problems and delays, and in 2009 the BBC terminated the contract with Siemens. BBC losses were estimated to be £38.2m, partially offset by a £27.5m settlement paid by Siemens, leaving a loss of £10.7m to the BBC. The BBC was criticised by the UK National Audit Office in 2011 for its handling of the project. In 2009, the BBC brought the DMI project in-house and started work on a digital system to be known as ''Fabric''. Lord Hall, the BBC's Director General, announced in late May 2013 that the project was to be abandoned after costs reached £98 million.


2009–2012: Denis Avey Claims

On 29 November 2009, BBC News Channel broadcast claims by
Denis Avey Denis Avey (11 January 1919 – 16 July 2015) was a British veteran of the Second World War who was held as a prisoner of war at E715, a subcamp of Auschwitz. While there he saved the life of a Jewish prisoner, Ernst Lobethal, by smuggling cigar ...
that he smuggled himself into
Monowitz Monowitz (also known as Monowitz-Buna, Buna and Auschwitz III) was a Nazi concentration camp and labor camp (''Arbeitslager'') run by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland from 1942–1945, during World War II and the Holocaust. For most of its existe ...
concentration camp in 1944. These claims were presented as fact on the BBC website and became the subject of the best-selling book ''
The Man Who Broke into Auschwitz ''The Man Who Broke Into Auschwitz'' is the title of a claimed autobiographical, but later classified as semi-autobiographical and semi-fictional book by Denis Avey, who is a recipient of a British Hero of the Holocaust award. The book was writte ...
'', co-authored by Avey and BBC journalist Rob Broomby. Avey's claims generated considerable controversy, and were questioned in a number of newspapers. The BBC came under criticism for having broadcast these and for promoting the book. The BBC subsequently acknowledged the controversy in a subsequent programme.


2009–2014: Women in panel shows

In 2009, the actress and comedian
Victoria Wood Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, musician, screenwriter, and director. Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over several decades, and her live comedy act ...
stated that BBC
panel show A panel show or panel game is a radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participate. Celebrity panelists may compete with each other, such as on '' The News Quiz''; facilitate play by non-celebrity contestants, such as on ' ...
s were too male-dominated, and involved "a lot of men topping each other". In February 2014, the television executive Danny Cohen said that there would no longer be any all male comedy panel shows on the BBC and all shows must contain a woman. The journalist
Caitlin Moran Catherine Elizabeth Moran ( ; born 5 April 1975) is an English journalist, broadcaster, and author at ''The Times'', where she writes two columns a week: one for the Saturday Magazine, and the satirical Friday column "Celebrity Watch". Moran w ...
referred to
tokenism In sociology, tokenism is the social practice of making a perfunctory and symbolic effort towards the equitable inclusion of members of a minority group, especially by recruiting people from under-represented social-minority groups in order for th ...
already existing on such shows.
Dara Ó Briain Dara Ó Briain ( , ; born 4 February 1972) is an Irish comedian and television presenter based in the United Kingdom. He is noted for performing stand-up comedy shows all over the world and for hosting topical panel shows such as ''Mock the Wee ...
, host of BBC Two panel show ''
Mock the Week ''Mock the Week'' is a topical satirical celebrity panel show, created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson. It was produced by Angst Productions for BBC Two, and was broadcast from 5 June 2005 to 4 November 2022. Presenter Dara Ó Briain and pan ...
'', also referred to tokenism and "token woman" speaking against this idea. Comedian
Milton Jones Milton Hywel Jones (born 16 May 1964) is an English comedian. His style of humour is based on one-liners involving puns delivered in a deadpan and slightly neurotic style. Career Jones has had various shows on BBC Radio 4 and was a recurrin ...
called it "counterproductive". Journalist Deborah Orr, although she also considered it "tokenistic", wrote in favour of the plan: "The issue of gender representation on panel games is comparatively trivial. But the fact is this: if comparatively trivial contemporary manifestations of long-standing disadvantage cannot be seen for what they are, and dealt with, but instead become bemired in trenchant opposition, what hope is there in tackling the vast, brutal and comprehensive ones."


2010–2019


2010: Weapons claims offend Bob Geldof, Ethiopia and Africa

In March 2010
Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part ...
confronted
Andrew Marr Andrew William Stevenson Marr (born 31 July 1959) is a British journalist, author, broadcaster and presenter. Beginning his career as a political commentator at ''The Scotsman,'' he subsequently edited ''The Independent'' newspaper from 1996 to ...
on a BBC report claiming the Ethiopian government used money raised for the famine to pay for weapons. Geldof and the
Band Aid Trust Band Aid is a charity supergroup featuring mainly British and Irish musicians and recording artists. It was founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for anti-famine efforts in Ethiopia by releasing the song "Do They Know It ...
reported the BBC to
Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-rang ...
over the incident. Development agency
Christian Aid Christian Aid is a relief and development charity of 41 Christian (Protestant and Orthodox) churches in Great Britain and Ireland, and works to support sustainable development, eradicate poverty, support civil society and provide disaster rel ...
announced it too would make a complaint to the BBC Trust. The Ethiopian ambassador to the UK
Berhanu Kebede Berhanu Kebede (born 11 April 1956) is an Ethiopian diplomat who is the current Chief of Staff at RJMEC – Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission for the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Suda ...
called it a "disgrace" and a "ridiculous report" and said the BBC had "destroyed its credibility in Africa" by making such claims. Geldof said it would be a "tragedy" if British people refused to donate money due to the BBC claims. The BBC initially announced that it was standing by its report and claimed to have evidence to back up its stance. The BBC was forced to broadcast a series of apologies in November 2010 after realising that it did not have enough evidence that any money was spent on weapons, basing much of the claims on a CIA report it had failed to question. It also apologised to Geldof for claiming that he had refused to respond to its fabricated story, with Geldof saying that much damage had been caused by the BBC to charity campaigns. Mr. Geldof also said "appalling damage" had been caused to the Band Aid Trust by the BBC.


2007–2011: Accusations of ageism and sexism

The BBC was accused of ageism and sexism when news presenter
Moira Stuart Moira Clare Ruby Stuart (born 2 September 1949) is an English TV presenter and broadcaster. She was the first female newsreader of Caribbean heritage to appear on British national television, having worked on BBC News since 1981.Countryfile ''Countryfile'' is a British television programme which airs weekly on BBC One and reports on rural, agricultural, and environmental issues. The programme is currently presented by John Craven, Adam Henson, Matt Baker, Tom Heap, Ellie Har ...
'' presenters (
Michaela Strachan Michaela Evelyn Ann Strachan (, born 7 April 1966) is an English television presenter and singer. After beginning her career in theatre, she ventured into presenting and fronted the children's television shows '' Wide Awake Club'' (1986–1989 ...
, Charlotte Smith, Miriam O'Reilly and
Juliet Morris Juliet Morris (born 26 April 1965) is a British television presenter. Early life Morris was educated at Lady Eleanor Holles School, an independent school for girls in Hampton in West London, where she recalled the difficulties of being left-h ...
), all in their 40s and 50s, were dismissed from the show. The issue returned in July 2009, when former theatre choreographer
Arlene Phillips Dame Arlene Phillips (born 22 May 1943) is an English choreographer, theatre director, talent scout, former television judge, presenter, and dancer. She reached mainstream fame on television as a judge on ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (2004-2008) a ...
(66) was replaced on the ''
Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...
'' panel by
Alesha Dixon Alesha Anjanette Dixon (born 7 October 1978) is an English singer, rapper, dancer, television personality, and author. She rose to prominence in the early 2000s as a member of the R&B / UK Garage group Mis-Teeq, who had seven UK top 10 hits, ...
, a pop-star half her age. The male presenters on the show were
Len Goodman Leonard Gordon Goodman (25 April 1944 – 22 April 2023) was an English professional ballroom dancer, dance teacher, and dance competition adjudicator. He appeared as head judge on the UK television programme ''Strictly Come Dancing'' – in w ...
(65),
Bruno Tonioli Bruno Tonioli (; born 25 November 1955) is a British-Italian television personality, choreographer and dancer. He has judged on the British television talent shows ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (2004–2019), ''DanceX'' (2007) and ''Britain's Got Ta ...
(53),
Craig Revel Horwood Craig Revel Horwood (born 4 January 1965) is an Australian-British author, dancer, choreographer, conductor, theatre director, and former drag queen in the United Kingdom. He is also a patron of the Royal Osteoporosis Society. Horwood is a jud ...
(44), and
Bruce Forsyth Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was an English entertainer and television presenter whose career spanned more than 75 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the Associated Te ...
(81). Former ''Countryfile'' presenter Miriam O'Reilly claimed she was "warned about wrinkles", and won an employment tribunal against the corporation on the grounds of ageism and victimisation – but not sexism. With other older women also dropped by the BBC,
Joan Bakewell Joan Dawson Bakewell, Baroness Bakewell (''née'' Rowlands; born 16 April 1933), is an English journalist, television presenter and Labour Party peer. Baroness Bakewell is president of Birkbeck, University of London; she is also an author and ...
claimed the BBC's policy was "damaging the position of older women in society", whilst former Liberal Democrat leader
Menzies Campbell Walter Menzies Campbell, Baron Campbell of Pittenweem, (; born 22 May 1941), often known as Ming Campbell, is a Scottish politician, advocate and former athlete. A member of the Liberal Democrats, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for North ...
said that the BBC was obsessed with youth culture and was shallow thinking.


2010–2011: ''QI'' and Tsutomu Yamaguchi

In December 2010, the BBC broadcast an episode of its TV quiz show '' QI'' in which panellists made jokes during a discussion about Tsutomu Yamaguchi, who survived both
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, during World War II. The aerial bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civili ...
in August 1945. Yamaguchi had died only earlier that year. The Japanese embassy in London wrote a letter of complaint to the BBC about the content of its quiz show after being alerted to the offensive content when viewers in Japan contacted diplomatic staff. Yamaguchi's daughter also made known how upset she was as a result of the comments broadcast on the BBC. She said that Britain, as a nuclear power, had no right to "look down" on her father. In January 2011, the BBC issued an apology for "any offence caused" to Japan by the incident, recognising "the sensitivity of the subject matter for Japanese viewers". In February 2011, the BBC blamed a "strength of feeling" in Japan following its atomic bomb joke broadcast for the cancellation of the filming of part of its ''
Planet Word Planet Word is a language arts museum that opened in Washington, DC, in October 2020. The museum is described as "The museum where language comes to life" and features interactive exhibits dedicated to topics such as the history of the English La ...
'' documentary in Japan. The documentary was due to be presented by
Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...
, the host of ''QI''.


2011: ''Top Gear'' comments on Mexico

On 30 January 2011, the BBC broadcast an episode of its motoring TV show ''
Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the ori ...
'' during which presenters referred to Mexicans as both "lazy" and "feckless" and Mexican food as "refried sick". The broadcast caused many complaints in Mexico, including in newspapers and websites, while a motion of censure was considered in the Mexican senate and the BBC Spanish-language website
BBC Mundo BBC Mundo (Spanish for ''BBC World''), previously known as the BBC Latin American Service, is part of the BBC World Service's foreign language output, one of 40 languages it provides. History The first BBC broadcast in Spanish took place o ...
received protests.
Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English television presenter, journalist, farmer, and author who specialises in Driving, motoring. He is best known for hosting the television programmes ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), T ...
, one of the presenters, expressed doubt that there would be any complaints against them as, he joked, the Mexican ambassador would be asleep. British MPs described the comments as "ignorant, derogatory and racist" and called on the BBC to say it was sorry. Mexico's ambassador in London also requested that the BBC say it was sorry for the "offensive, xenophobic and humiliating" comments. The BBC then offered an apology, though it claimed there was no "vindictiveness" in the remarks and that they were just part of the stereotype-based comedy the organisation espoused, such as when it "make jokes about the Italians being disorganised and over dramatic, the French being arrogant and the Germans being over-organised"."BBC offers apology for Top Gear comments on Mexico"
BBC News. 4 February 2011.
Trevor Phillips Sir Mark Trevor Phillips (born 31 December 1953) is a British writer, broadcaster and former politician who served as Chair of the London Assembly from 2000 to 2001 and from 2002 to 2003. He presented ''Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Trevor Phillips ...
, head of the
Equality and Human Rights Commission The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is a non-departmental public body in Great Britain, established by the Equality Act 2006 with effect from 1 October 2007. The Commission has responsibility for the promotion and enforcement of e ...
, told ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'' that he was "not going to get hot under the collar about schoolboy provocation which frankly is organised so that we can get into a ruck and sell more DVDs for Jeremy Clarkson – Jeremy is rich enough".


Fake child labour footage in Bangalore

The BBC's then nearly 60-year-old flagship weekly current affairs programme ''
Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...
'' had aired a documentary claiming that Bangalore-based suppliers of
Primark Primark Limited (; trading as Penneys in Ireland) is an Irish multinational fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with outlets across Europe and in the United States. The original ''Penneys'' brand is not used outside of Irel ...
, a hugely successful retailer with 220 stores across Europe, were using child labour in their production in 2008. The claim has been found to be untrue and the BBC apologised to Primark admitting its mistake. Responding to Primark's protest, the BBC conceded in a 49-page report that footage of three boys engaged in completing garments for Primark was "more likely than not" to have been "not genuine" after a three-year internal inquiry.


UEFA Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine

During the
UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...
football tournament in Poland and Ukraine, the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
current affairs programme ''
Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...
'' aired ''Euro 2012: Stadiums of Hate'', which discussed racism in the sport. It included recent footage of supporters chanting various xenophobic slogans and displays of
white power White pride and white power are expressions primarily used by white separatist, white nationalist, fascist, neo-Nazi, and white supremacist organizations in order to signal racist or racialist viewpoints. It is also a slogan used by the promi ...
symbols and banners in Poland, as well as Nazi salutes and the beating of a few South Asians in Ukraine. The documentary was widely commented in the British press, but later criticised for being one-sided, sensationalist and unethical. The critics included other British media outlets, Polish anti-racism campaigners and black and Jewish community leaders in Poland. Polish and Ukrainian politicians and journalists, British fans visiting Poland and Ukraine and
Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker ( ; born 30 November 1960) is an English Sports broadcasting, sports broadcaster and former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Lineker is the only player t ...
also voiced similar concerns about the broadcast. The executive director of the Jewish Community Centre of
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
, Jonathan Ornstein, a Jewish source used in the film said: "I am furious at the way the BBC has exploited me as a source. The organization used me and others to manipulate the serious subject of anti-Semitism for its own sensationalist agenda... the BBC knowingly cheated its own audience – the British people – by concocting a false horror story about Poland. In doing so, the BBC has spread fear, ignorance, prejudice and hatred. I am profoundly disturbed by this unethical form of journalism." ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' reported: "Other sources have come forward to say that an interview with a Jewish Israeli player was also cut from the programme because he failed to confirm Panorama's "anti-semitism" thesis. The BBC interviewed midfielder Aviram Baruchian, who plays for the Polish team
Polonia Warsaw Polonia Warsaw (, ), founded on 19 November 1911, is the oldest existing sports club in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, best known for its Association football, football and basketball teams. It also has track and field, Swimming (sport), swimm ...
. One source who was present said the Panorama journalists had complained afterwards that the interview was "useless". Panorama strongly denies this. Despite the BBC warning, Poland and Ukraine fans were not exhibiting racist attitudes. By the end of the tournament however, four other nations were fined by UEFA for the racist activities of their fans: Germany, Spain,
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
and Russia.


June 2012: Diamond Jubilee coverage

The BBC's live television coverage of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee River Thames Pageant on 3 June 2012 attracted some criticism in the media, and the corporation reportedly received over 4500 complaints from members of the public about the broadcast. Criticism centred on the "informal" style of presentation which was perceived by some commentators to be too lowbrow for a royal occasion. Some reviewers thought that the BBC presenters had concentrated too much on interviewing
celebrities Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...
and that they were insufficiently prepared to add depth to the TV commentary. The actor and writer
Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...
was of the opinion that the coverage was "mind-numbingly tedious", and BBC radio presenter
Sue MacGregor Susan Katriona MacGregor (born 30 August 1941) is a British broadcaster. She is best known as a former presenter of BBC Radio 4's ''Woman's Hour'' and later the ''Today'' programme. Early life MacGregor was born in Oxford. Her parents were Sc ...
expressed disappointment that the coverage had failed to provide sufficient historical context to viewers. Poet Laureate
Carol Ann Duffy Dame Carol Ann Duffy (born 23 December 1955) is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is a professor of contemporary poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Poet Laureate in May 2009, and her term expired in 2019. She wa ...
and composer
Gavin Greenaway Gavin Greenaway (born 15 June 1964) is an English music composer and conductor. He is the son of Roger Greenaway. Early life and career Educated at Strode's College and Trinity College of Music, Greenaway started working with his father be ...
publicly criticised the lack of television coverage given to the music which had been specially commissioned for the event. BBC creative director
Alan Yentob Alan Yentob (11 March 1947 – 24 May 2025) was an English television executive and presenter. He held senior roles at the BBC, including head of music and arts, controller of BBC1 and BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadca ...
defended the BBC's coverage, citing high audience approval ratings, and
Director-General of the BBC The director-general of the British Broadcasting Corporation is chief executive and (from 1994) editor-in-chief of the BBC. The post-holder was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC (for the period 1927 to 2007) and then the ...
Mark Thompson congratulated BBC staff for their work on the broadcast.


October 2012: Jimmy Savile abuse scandal

In early October 2012, it was found that a Newsnight investigation to allegations of sexual abuse by the late Jimmy Savile had been shelved shortly before it was due to be broadcast. On 11 October George Entwistle, the
Director-General of the BBC The director-general of the British Broadcasting Corporation is chief executive and (from 1994) editor-in-chief of the BBC. The post-holder was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC (for the period 1927 to 2007) and then the ...
, directed the head of BBC Scotland, Ken MacQuarrie, to commence an investigation into why this program was cancelled, He also announced an investigation into the BBC's child protection policy, and another into the prevalent culture within the department, particularly at the time of Savile's employment. On 23 October 2012, Entwistle appeared before the
Culture, Media and Sport Committee The Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, formerly the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, is one of the Select committee (United Kingdom), select committees of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, es ...
to answer questions following revelations that Savile had abused children on BBC property while working for the BBC. When asked by committee chairman
John Whittingdale Sir John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale (born 16 October 1959) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Maldon (and its predecessors) since 1992 and Shadow Minister for Health and Social Care sin ...
if the BBC's reputation for trust and integrity was in jeopardy, Entwistle stated that allegations of child abuse at the BBC were a "very, very grave matter". A ''
Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...
'' investigation reported on what they considered to have been a paedophile ring that might have operated for at least 20 years, and possibly as long as 40 years, and BBC World Affairs editor John Simpson described it as the BBC's "biggest crisis for over 50 years". On 12 November, the BBC announced that its director of news
Helen Boaden Helen Boaden (born 1 March 1956) is a British former broadcasting executive who spent more than 30 years working for the BBC, including as Director of Radio between February 2013 and September 2016.Tom Harpe"BBC news head Helen Boaden moved to ...
was "stepping aside", together with her deputy Steve Mitchell, prior to the outcome of an investigation into the Savile child abuse claims. Nick Pollard's report into the shelving of a ''Newsnight'' report on Savile in 2011 was published on 19 December 2012. It concluded that the decision to drop the original report was "flawed", but that it had not been done to protect programmes prepared as tributes to Savile. Pollard's report criticised George Entwistle for apparently failing to read emails warning him of Savile's "dark side", and stated that, after the allegations against Savile eventually became public, the BBC fell into a "level of chaos and confusion
hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
was even greater than was apparent at the time". The BBC announced that ''Newsnight'' editor
Peter Rippon Peter William Rippon (born 22 August 1965) is a British broadcasting executive. He is the editor of the BBC Online Archive. He was previously the editor of BBC Television's current affairs programme ''Newsnight'', but he departed due to the co ...
and deputy editor Liz Gibbons would be replaced, and that deputy director of news Steve Mitchell had resigned, but that Helen Boaden would return to her role. On 21 January 2013, the BBC News website ran a story revealing that the BBC had received 216 complaints for their children's channel
CBeebies CBeebies is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content targeted for children aged six year ...
having shown a repeat of a cancelled children's programme called ''
Tweenies ''Tweenies'' is a British live action puppet children's television series created by Will Brenton and Iain Lauchlan, and produced by Tell-Tale Productions and the BBC. The programme was focused on four preschool-aged characters, known as the ...
'' the previous day, that showed a character impersonating Jimmy Savile by wearing a blonde wig, mimicking Savile's accent and using Savile's catchphrase "Now then, guys and gals". Government communications industry regulatory body
Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-rang ...
said it had received "tens" of complaints as well. The episode had been produced in 2001, over a decade before the scandal came to light, and the programme had ended production entirely in 2003. The BBC responded with the following: "This morning CBeebies broadcast a repeat of an episode of the ''Tweenies'', originally made in 2001, featuring a character dressed as a DJ impersonating Jimmy Savile. This programme will not be repeated and we are very sorry for any offence caused."


November 2012: Lord McAlpine falsely implicated in child abuse scandal

In the aftermath of the Jimmy Savile scandal, ''Newsnight'' investigated the
North Wales child abuse scandal The North Wales child abuse scandal was the subject of a three-year, £13 million investigation into the physical and sexual abuse of children in care homes in the counties of Clwyd and Gwynedd, in North Wales, including the Bryn Estyn chil ...
. On 2 November 2012, a former resident of the Bryn Estyn children's home was reported on ''Newsnight'' claiming that a prominent, but unnamed, former Conservative politician had sexually abused him during the 1970s. The rumour was spread by users of
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
and other social media which identified the politician. After ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' reported a possible case of mistaken identity,
Lord McAlpine Robert Alistair McAlpine, Baron McAlpine of West Green (14 May 1942 – 17 January 2014) was a British businessman, politician and author who was an advisor to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. McAlpine was descended from the McAlpine baronet ...
issued a strong denial that he was in any way involved, asserting that the allegations were wholly false and seriously defamatory. The accuser unreservedly apologised, admitting that, as soon as he saw a photograph of the individual, he realised he had been mistaken. The BBC also apologised. However McAlpine about whom the claims were made, began legal proceedings against the broadcasters who made allegations about him, eventually settling for £185,000 from the BBC and £125,000 from ITV. In a subsequent libel case,
Sally Bercow Sally Kate Bercow (''née'' Illman; born 22 November 1969) is a British public personality and the wife of the former Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow. Early life The daughter of Ronald Illman, of Hindhead, Surrey, Bercow attend ...
, wife of
John Bercow John Simon Bercow (; born 19 January 1963) is a British former politician who served as Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speaker of the House of Commons from 2009 to 2019, and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Pa ...
,
Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...
, was prosecuted for libel regarding her Twitter posting which named McAlpine. Following a High Court verdict in favour of the plaintiff, where Bercow's comment was found to have been defamatory, she paid undisclosed damages to McAlpine. The decision to broadcast the ''Newsnight'' report without contacting its subject led to further criticism of the BBC, and the resignation of its Director-General, George Entwistle on 10 November. It was later announced that Entwistle's severance package was in excess of £1.3 million.
Harriet Harman Harriet Ruth Harman, Baroness Harman, (born 30 July 1950), is a British politician and solicitor who served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Chair of the Labour Party (UK), Chair of the Labour Pa ...
, Labour's Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, declared that Entwistle had been rewarded for 'failure'.


July 2013: Executive payoffs

The large severance payments given to departing BBC executives came to widespread media attention in 2013 when the National Audit Office conducted an investigation into BBC senior management pay. The practice had been going on for a number of years. Senior executives whose payments were criticised included: chief operating officer
Caroline Thomson Caroline Agnes Morgan Thomson, Lady Liddle (born 15 May 1954) was chair of the charity Oxfam until October 2020. She is a former BBC executive and was the Corporation's chief operating officer, from 2006 to 2012 and she stood in for Mark Thomps ...
, who received a total of £680,400 on her departure in 2011; Deputy Director-General Mark Byford who also left the BBC in 2011, taking £949,000; CEO of
BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetised BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...
John Smith who was paid a total of £1,031,000 in 2011 (he later returned £205,000); George Entwistle who left the Director-General job after only 54 days following the Savile crisis, and received a payment of £511,500; and
Roly Keating Sir Roland Francis Kester Keating (born 5 August 1961) is a British executive who was chief executive of the British Library from September 2012 to December 2024. Early life and education Keating was born on 5 August 1961 to Donald Norman Keati ...
, the head of
BBC Archives The BBC Archives are collections documenting the BBC's broadcasting history, including copies of television and radio broadcasts, internal documents, photographs, online content, sheet music, commercially available music, BBC products (includ ...
, who received a £375,000 severance payment in 2012 (which he later repaid in full).
Margaret Hodge Margaret Eve Hodge, Baroness Hodge of Barking (, formerly Watson; born 8 September 1944), is a British politician and life peer, who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Barking from 1994 to 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she was p ...
, chair of the
Public Accounts Committee A public accounts committee (PAC) is a committee within a legislature whose role is to study public audits, invite ministers, permanent secretaries or other ministry officials to the committee for questioning, and report on their findings subseque ...
, criticised the practice, calling it an "outrageous waste of licence fee payers' money." Following his appointment as Director General, Lord Hall introduced a £150,000 cap on severance payments. Mark Thompson stated to the PAC that the payments had been fully approved by the BBC Trust.


November 2013: ''Generation War''

BBC plans to broadcast the German
ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...
film ''Generation War'' upset certain British residents of Polish origin, as the film had already been accused of slandering the Polish anti-Nazi underground Armia Krajowa as anti-Semites, and of portraying false stereotypes of Poles and Germans during the period of occupation. In Germany, after ambassador Jerzy Marganski sent a letter of complaint to ZDF, the broadcaster provided corrective actions producing and broadcasting film 'Kampf ums Überleben'.


August 2014: Coverage of Cliff Richard's property search

On 14 August 2014, Sir
Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...
's apartment in Berkshire was searched by
South Yorkshire Police South Yorkshire Police (SYP) is the territorial police force responsible for policing South Yorkshire in England. The force is led by Chief Constable Lauren Poultney. Oversight is conducted by Mayor Oliver Coppard. History The force was fo ...
in relation to an alleged historical sexual assault on a boy aged under 16. After police tipped off BBC journalist Dan Johnson, BBC reporters were on the scene as police arrived, and a BBC helicopter covered the raid as it happened. Richard, who was in Portugal at the time, released a statement asserting that the allegation was "completely false" and complained that the press appeared to have been given advance notice of the search – whereas he had not been. The BBC's home affairs correspondent, Danny Shaw, stated that the media presence at Richard's home "was highly unusual – it appears to be a deliberate attempt by police to ensure maximum coverage", but added: "That's not illegal – but there are strict guidelines." South Yorkshire Police initially denied leaking details of the property search, but later confirmed that they had been "working with a media outlet" about the investigation. By 19 August, the BBC claimed to have received up to 594 complaints regarding the coverage. Barrister and broadcaster
Geoffrey Robertson Geoffrey Ronald Robertson (born 30 September 1946) is an Australian-British barrister, academic, author and broadcaster. Robertson is a founder and joint head of Doughty Street Chambers. He serves as a Master of the Bench at the Middle T ...
questioned the legality of the search and called for an independent inquiry into the police operation and the prior leaking to media of the property search. Former Attorney General
Dominic Grieve Dominic Charles Roberts Grieve (born 24 May 1956) is a British barrister and former politician who served as Shadow Home Secretary from 2008 to 2009 and Attorney General for England and Wales from 2010 to 2014. He served as the Member of Parl ...
accused the police of having a "collusive relationship" with the BBC, claiming that the decision to tip off the BBC "seems quite extraordinary." Officials from the BBC and South Yorkshire Police were called before the
Home Affairs Select Committee The Home Affairs Select Committee is a departmental select committee of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Remit The Home Affairs Committee is one of the House of Commons Select ...
on 2 September. There, the chief constable of South Yorkshire Police accused the BBC of "extortion"; however, MPs dismissed this, with chairman
Keith Vaz Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz (born 26 November 1956) is a British politician who served as the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester East for 32 years, from 1987 Unit ...
stating that the BBC had "acted perfectly properly" in its coverage of the raid. After being told he would not be charged in June 2016, Richard said that he was considering suing the BBC. The BBC apologised for "distress" caused by its coverage but stood by the story as it believed it was in the public interest. Richard sued the BBC and was awarded £210,000 in damages in July 2018 after London's High Court ruled that the broadcaster had infringed his right to privacy.


September 2014: Coverage of Scottish independence campaign

Throughout the campaign preceding the
Scottish independence referendum A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side won ...
held on 18 September 2014, there were accusations claiming that the BBC was neither neutral nor impartial. On 14 September 2014, thousands of protesters demonstrated outside BBC Scotland's headquarters in Glasgow accusing the corporation and its political editor Nick Robinson of broadcasting "lies" and of being "biased" against the
Yes Scotland Yes Scotland was the organisation representing the parties, organisations, and individuals campaigning for a ''Yes'' vote in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. It was launched on 25 May 2012 and dissolved in late 2014 after Scotland vot ...
campaign. The demonstrators demanded that Robinson be dismissed. The 'Yes' campaign was not itself involved in the demonstration. The protestors also later complained that coverage about the demonstration was not broadcast by the BBC.
Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond ( ; 31 December 1954 – 12 October 2024) was a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement, he was Leader of the Sc ...
, Scotland's First Minister and leader of the
Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...
, agreed with the view that the BBC was biased in favour of retaining the union. However, in an interview given after his clash with Robinson, he said he believed it was the fault of the BBC's London-based staff rather than
BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...
itself. Professor John Robertson and a team at the
University of the West of Scotland The University of the West of Scotland (), formerly the University of Paisley, is a public university with four campuses in south-western Scotland, in the towns of Paisley, Blantyre, Dumfries and Ayr, as well as a campus in London, England. T ...
monitored news broadcasts of the BBC and ITV until September 2013 for their study ''Fairness in the First Year''. The report found that the BBC was biased against the 'Yes' campaign in matters of airtime, sequencing of news items, prevalence of "bad news" items, and misleading presentation of sources as impartial. John Boothman, BBC Scotland's head of news and current affairs, rejected Robertson's accusation that the BBC had suppressed coverage of the report, while Ken MacQuarrie, director of BBC Scotland, rejected the report's allegations.


January 2015: ''The Secret World of Lewis Carroll'' and contributors

The BBC commissioned documentary by Swan Films, "The Secret World of Lewis Carroll" aired on
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
at 9pm on 31 January 2015. 2015 itself marked the 150th Anniversary year of the publication of
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...
by
Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...
, which the documentary was commissioned to celebrate. A press release, issued a week prior to broadcast, stated:  "To mark the 150th anniversary of its publication, this documentary explores the life and the imagination of the man who wrote it, the Reverend Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll. Broadcaster and journalist
Martha Kearney Martha Catherine Kearney (born 8 October 1957) is a British-Irish journalist and broadcaster. She was the main presenter of BBC Radio 4's lunchtime news programme '' The World at One'' for 11 years. In April 2018, Kearney joined the presenting ...
delves into the biographies of both Carroll and of the young girl Alice Liddell, who inspired his most famous creation." Upon broadcast, an amount of airtime was given over to speculation over a nude photo of a young girl, which the documentary pushed as being by Carroll. The views given were by a forensic consultancy for image analysis, and a photo conservationist. On 4 February, one of the contributors to the programme, biographer Jenny Woolf, claimed to not have been told the documentary would be featuring this photo, and that she did not have time to provide counterclaims. "They had people with no relevant expertise in photographic history or knowledge of Carroll's life, whose entirely personal hunches were offered airtime…. on the other hand they didn't tell their own relevant experts anything about the image, so their opposing views were not given airtime or discussion." Another contributor, Edward Wakeling, claimed in June 2015 that "
he BBC He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
broke their code of conduct. When they had a controversial subject like this they should have checked it out." Later that year, the documentary was reprimanded by the
BBC Trust The BBC Trust was the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) between 2007 and 2017. It was operationally independent of BBC management and external bodies, and its stated aim was to make decisions in the best interests of ...
for failing to give contributors notice of the changed content of the programme. "The image of the naked girl was a prominent feature of the programme and its discovery had meant that the nature of the programme had changed significantly from the original commission. … The Trustees recognised that the BBC had made some effort at a late stage to inform the contributors of the programme's changes … The programme should have gone back to the contributors at an earlier stage to inform them about the new image and to give them adequate time to consider whether they were content with their contributions"


January 2015: Tim Willcox antisemitism allegation

While covering a unity rally after the antisemitic massacre at a Hypercacher kosher supermarket in Paris and ''Charlie Hebdo'' terror attack, on 11 January 2015, the BBC's
Tim Willcox Timothy Melton Willcox (born 28 May 1963 in Wellington, Somerset, Wellington, Somerset) is a British journalist who formerly worked as a presenter for BBC News. He presents news programmes on BBC World News and the BBC News Channel. He is proba ...
interrupted the daughter of a
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
survivor discussing antisemitism in France by saying: "Many critics though, of Israel's policy would suggest that the Palestinians suffer hugely at Jewish hands as well". After widespread criticism from the Jewish community for appearing to impute responsibility for Israel's actions to all Jews as a whole (in his use of the phrase "Jewish hands") and to justify the antisemitic massacre, Willcox apologised; Willcox had also received criticism months before for appearing to claim that many Jews disliked
Ed Miliband Edward Samuel Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since July 2024. He has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for D ...
because of "mansion tax" he had proposed. The
BBC Trust The BBC Trust was the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) between 2007 and 2017. It was operationally independent of BBC management and external bodies, and its stated aim was to make decisions in the best interests of ...
ruled that Willcox's behaviour did not violate its editorial guidelines.


March 2015: Jeremy Clarkson's contract

On 11 March 2015, the BBC suspended
Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English television presenter, journalist, farmer, and author who specialises in Driving, motoring. He is best known for hosting the television programmes ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), T ...
after a reported physical altercation with a producer. It was later established that Clarkson, in a "fracas", had punched producer Oisín Tymon during an argument over catering arrangements at the ''
Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the ori ...
'' production crew's hotel. A petition on
change.org Change.org is a website which allows users to create and sign petitions in an attempt to advance various social causes by raising awareness and influencing decision-makers. The site is a US-based for-profit company and claims to have 551 million ...
to reinstate Clarkson gained over one million signatures before it was delivered to the BBC. On 25 March 2015, the BBC announced that
Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English television presenter, journalist, farmer, and author who specialises in Driving, motoring. He is best known for hosting the television programmes ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), T ...
's ''Top Gear'' contract would not be renewed and that he would be dropped from the programme. After an internal investigation, the final decision had been taken by Tony Hall, director general of the BBC. This development led the other ''Top Gear'' presenters,
Richard Hammond Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English journalist, television presenter, and author. He co-hosted the BBC Two motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and James Ma ...
and
James May James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter, alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, of the motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' fr ...
, to support Clarkson by quitting ''Top Gear'' themselves (by allowing their BBC contracts to expire at the end of March without renewal).


January 2016: co-ordinated on-air resignation of Stephen Doughty

In January 2016, the team behind the BBC's ''Daily Politics'' show co-ordinated the on-air resignation of Labour politician
Stephen Doughty Stephen John Doughty (born 15 April 1980) is a Welsh Labour Co-op politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Cardiff South and Penarth since 2012. He has served as Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Ter ...
shortly before the start of Prime Minister's Questions. The show's output editor Andrew Alexander wrote a (later deleted) blog post for the BBC website explaining how this had come about. Alexander wrote: "We knew his resignation just before PMQs would be a dramatic moment with big political impact". The timing of the announcement ensured Labour leader
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...
was caught off guard. BBC News political editor
Laura Kuenssberg Laura Juliet Kuenssberg (born 8 August 1976) is a British journalist who presents the BBC's Sunday morning politics show. She was succeeded as Political Editor of BBC News by Chris Mason. She succeeded Nick Robinson as Political Editor of ...
"sealed the deal" with Doughty before filming, even though it appeared to viewers that the resignation had been unplanned. A camera crew even filmed Doughty and Kuenssberg arriving at the studio together in advance of the announcement, this to televise later on news bulletins.


2017 and 2018: Gender pay gap controversy

In July 2017, in response to a demand from the UK government as a condition of its new
royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...
, the BBC published a list of all employees who earned more than £150,000.BBC pay: Male stars earn more than female talent
BBC News (19 July 2017).
Of the 96 BBC employees making over this threshold, 62 were men and 34 were women, and of the seven highest earners, all were men.Amanda Proença Santos
BBC's List of Top-Paid Stars Sparks Controversy Over Pay Gap, Lack of Diversity
NBC News (19 July 2017).
The disclosure prompted criticism of the BBC over the
gender pay gap The gender pay gap or gender wage gap is the average difference between the remuneration for men and women who are Employment, employed. Women are generally found to be paid less than men. There are two distinct measurements of the pay gap: non ...
; other critics also criticised a lack of ethnic diversity among the highest-earning BBC personalities. Early in January 2018, it was announced that
Carrie Gracie Carrie Gracie (born 1962)Ben Dowel"Carrie Gracie profile: Award-winning journalist with years at World Service" theguardian.com, 12 May 2009 is a Scottish journalist and newsreader best known as having been China Editor for BBC News. She resign ...
, the BBC's China editor, had resigned from the role because of the salary gender disparity. A pre-broadcast conversation between ''
Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...
'' presenter
John Humphrys Desmond John Humphrys (born 17 August 1943) is a Welsh people, Welsh broadcaster. From 1981 to 1987 he was the main presenter of the ''BBC Nine O'Clock News, Nine O'Clock News'', the flagship BBC News television programme, and from 1987 until ...
and
Jon Sopel Jonathan B. Sopel (born 22 May 1959) is a British journalist, television presenter and podcaster. He was formerly BBC News's North America editor; chief political correspondent for the domestic news channel BBC News; a presenter on the '' Polit ...
, the BBC's North America editor, was leaked a few days later. Humphrys was recorded joking about the disparity. BBC management itself was said to be "deeply unimpressed" with Humphrys' comments. It became known on 26 January that some of the BBC's leading male presenters would take a pay cut. According to the BBC's media editor
Amol Rajan Amol Rajan (, ; born 4 July 1983) is an Indian–British journalist, broadcaster and writer working in the United Kingdom. Formerly the media editor of BBC News, he has been a presenter on the '' Today'' programme on BBC Radio 4 since 2021 and ...
,
Huw Edwards Huw Edwards ( , ; born 18 August 1961) is a Welsh news presenter. He was the lead presenter of ''BBC News at Ten'', the late evening news programme of BBC Television, from 2003 to 2023. He resigned from the BBC in 2024, during a police investi ...
,
Jeremy Vine Jeremy Guy Vine (born 17 May 1965) is an English television and radio presenter and journalist. He is best known as the host of his BBC Radio 2 lunchtime programme which presents news, views, interviews with live guests, consumer issues and popu ...
, and John Humphrys were among those to have agreed to a salary reduction.


2019: Naga Munchetty accused of breaching BBC rules

In September 2019, the BBC upheld a complaint against
Naga Munchetty Subha Nagalakshmi Munchetty-Chendriah (born 25 February 1975), known professionally as Naga Munchetty, is an English television presenter, newsreader and journalist. She is a regular presenter on ''BBC Breakfast'', and hosts an 11am-2pm progra ...
for having breached BBC rules by giving an opinion on comments made by
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
. Munchetty was reprimanded by the BBC for breaching its charter. After representations in her favour from many sources, Munchetty was cleared by Lord Hall, who commented: "racism is racism and the BBC is not impartial on the topic".


2019: Removal of audience laughter from ''Question Time'' footage in a news report

In a special '' Question Time'' leaders' debate held on 22 November 2019 ahead of that year's UK general election, the leader of the Conservative Party and the Prime Minister of the UK Boris Johnson was met with a question from an audience member about being honest in Johnson's position. The question was subsequently followed by laughter and applause from the rest of the audience, while Johnson struggled to answer. The footage from the moment was largely untouched (complete with sound) in a report broadcast during that night's ''BBC News at Ten'', but in another report about the same debate aired during the shorter BBC Weekend News, Saturday lunchtime bulletin the next day, the laughter had been removed from the footage. A user on Twitter raised attention to the difference. Journalist
Peter Oborne Peter Alan Oborne (; born 11 July 1957) is a British journalist and broadcaster. He is the former chief political commentator of ''The Daily Telegraph'', from which he resigned in early 2015. He is author of ''The Rise of Political Lying'' (2005 ...
compared the incident to the Censorship in the Soviet Union, censorship in Soviet television, while BBC News presenter
Huw Edwards Huw Edwards ( , ; born 18 August 1961) is a Welsh news presenter. He was the lead presenter of ''BBC News at Ten'', the late evening news programme of BBC Television, from 2003 to 2023. He resigned from the BBC in 2024, during a police investi ...
defended that it was an error rather than a conspiracy. The BBC had initially defended the decision, claiming it was for timing reasons. However, the corporation later admitted that it was a "mistake".


2020–present


2020: Emily Maitlis remarks on the Dominic Cummings coronavirus controversy

During the COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom, COVID-19 lockdown, it emerged that Dominic Cummings, chief adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, had Dominic Cummings scandal, travelled from London to his parents' house in County Durham. Cummings defended his actions and received the backing of Johnson, sparking accusations of double standards in the enforcement of the lockdown. On 26 May, Emily Maitlis, host of BBC's ''
Newsnight ''Newsnight'' is the BBC's news and current affairs programme, providing in-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines. It is broadcast weeknights at 10:30 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel; it is also avail ...
'', delivered a highly critical direct-to-camera piece about the affair, stating that "Dominic Cummings broke the rules, the country can see that, and it's shocked the government cannot... He made those who struggled to keep to the rules feel like fools, and has allowed many more to assume they can now flout them. The prime minister knows all this, but despite the resignation of one minister, growing unease from his backbenchers, a dramatic early warning from the polls, and a deep national disquiet, Boris Johnson has chosen to ignore it. Tonight, we consider what this blind loyalty tells us about the workings of Number 10." The piece was criticised as being unduly biased and unsuitable for an impartial broadcaster. The BBC later stated that the piece "did not meet our standards of due impartiality".


2020: Churchill Bengal famine comments

In 2020, a ''BBC News at Ten'' report featured Indian historian Rudrangshu Mukherjee saying that the former British prime minister
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
was "seen as the precipitator of mass killing" due to allegations of his failure in the Bengal famine of 1943. Claims of anti-South Asian racism were also made against Churchill by Oxford University professor Yasmin Khan. Historians Tirthankar Roy and James Holland (author), James Holland criticised the accuracy of the report. The historian Max Hastings also criticised the report for failing to contextualise Churchill's actions and former ''Panorama'' journalist Tom Mangold of uncritically endorsing a "woke" view of Churchill as a racist.


2020: Usage of the word 'Nigger' in a news report

In 2020, a BBC News report included usage of the racial slur nigger. 18,600 complaints were made, leading the BBC to apologise on 9 August of that year.


2021: Coverage of the death of Prince Philip

In the days following the death of Prince Philip, the BBC received over 100,000 complaints, a record number for British television, accusing BBC of excessive coverage and its perceived attempt to manufacture a largely absent national grief.


2021: Martin Bashir accused of lying to gain his 1995 interview with Diana, Princess of Wales

In 2021, accusations were made that Martin Bashir, a former interviewer for the BBC programme ''
Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...
'', had lied to gain his An Interview with HRH The Princess of Wales, 1995 interview with Diana, Princess of Wales. Both of Diana's sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, released statements condemning Bashir and calling his practices unethical. Scotland Yard stated that it would assess what had happened to see whether a criminal investigation was needed. As a result of the controversy, the former BBC director general Lord Hall resigned as the chairman of the National Gallery.


2021: Tala Halawa controversy

In May 2021, the media reported that Tala Halawa, who joined the BBC in 2017 and was reporting on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, had posted anti-Israel and anti-Semitic tweets in 2014. Among her postings, Halawa had tweeted "#Hitler was right" and "Zionists can't get enough of our blood". As Halawa was reporting on the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, 2021 Israeli–Palestinian Crisis, doubts about her credibility as a neutral and objective reporter were raised. In June 2021, the BBC announced that Halawa no longer worked for the BBC without providing further details. Halawa later issued a written statement, in which she blamed her dismissal on "external pro-Israel interest groups," and "pro-Israel censorship campaigns", and said that she had been dismissed due to the desire to "eliminate Palestinians from public life." She also said in the statement that she had been targeted by "pro-Israel groups" because she had "recently published a video report for the corporation about celebrities being criticized trolled and canceled for supporting Palestinian self-determination".


2021: "We're being pressured into sex by some trans women" controversy


2021: Coverage of antisemitic incident in Oxford Street

BBC online coverage of an incident in Oxford Street, in which a group of men were filmed spitting, shouting verbal abuse and in one case making a Nazi salute at a privately hired bus carrying Jewish youths celebrating Chanukkah, claimed that racial slurs about Muslims could be heard inside the bus. This was later amended to state that a single "slur about Muslims" could be heard on the video. Contains update line referring to the amendment to the text The revised claim of even a single slur was dismissed by the Metropolitan Police and vehemently rejected by the party on the bus, who stated that the alleged slur in English was in fact a call for help in Hebrew ( – ''!'' – "Call someone, it's urgent!"). Parents of the victims in the bus accused the BBC of "demonis(ing) our children". The Board of Deputies of British Jews called on the BBC to apologise for the offending content. A protest outside Broadcasting House about the BBC coverage was subsequently organised by the Campaign Against Antisemitism on 13 December 2021. On 26 January 2022, the Executive Complaints Unit issued a ruling that determining that "The online article as it stands must now be regarded as no longer meeting the BBC's standards of due accuracy and, to the extent that the anti-Muslim slur claim has become controversial, it also lacks due impartiality in failing to reflect alternative views." The report also asserted that while the reference to the slur was included "in good faith" after an "unusually high level of consultation among colleagues", the BBC had failed to acknowledge the disputed nature of the phrase in question and had stonewalled the Jewish community's inquiries into the matter. On 3 February 2022, the BBC issued a further apology and acknowledged factually incorrect elements of its ECU report, which had incorrectly asserted that a member of the Community Security Trust had "verified" the BBC's interpretation of the phrase in question. On 26 January 2022, after the ECU announced its report,
Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-rang ...
announced that it would conduct its own further investigation of the BBC over its handling of the incident and its aftermath. In November 2022, Ofcom stated in its report on the matter: "The BBC made a serious editorial misjudgment by not reporting on air, at any point, that the claim it had made about anti-Muslim slurs was disputed, once new evidence emerged. This failure to respond promptly and transparently created an impression of defensiveness by the BBC among the Jewish community."


2022: "Throwing a Paddy"

In October 2022 in an online review of the Manchester United vs Tottenham match Cristiano Ronaldo was accused of "throwing a Paddy" in a BBC sports blog by Phil McNulty, when Ronaldo refused to come off the bench. The outdated phrase means an over the top reaction. The BBC has refused to apologise but has removed the phrase "throwing a Paddy" from its match review.


2023: Gary Lineker suspension

In March 2023,
Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker ( ; born 30 November 1960) is an English Sports broadcasting, sports broadcaster and former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Lineker is the only player t ...
, a sports presenter for the BBC, made a controversial tweet in which he compared the wording in the British government's "Illegal Migration Bill" to the rhetoric of Germany in the 1930s. He was subsequently suspended for what the BBC said was a violation of its impartiality policy. With other sports presenters supporting Lineker by refusing to work, the BBC changed the format of its sports output, including shortening Match of the Day and broadcasting it with crowd noise rather than a commentary.


2023: Explicit pictures sent to Huw Edwards

On 7 July 2023, ''The Sun (United Kingdom), The Sun'' published a story stating that a woman had alleged to the BBC on 19 May that her child had been paid £35,000 by an unidentified well known male BBC presenter in exchange for nude photos since 2020, since her child was 17, which could have been an illegal act in the UK. ''The Sun'' alleged that her child had used the money to fund their cocaine addiction. A spokesperson said the BBC would be "actively attempting to speak to those who have contacted us in order to seek further detail and understanding of the situation". By 9 July, the BBC said that the presenter had been suspended. On 10 July, the lawyer of the alleged victim told the BBC that nothing inappropriate or illegal had taken place and dismissed the allegations. On 11 July, a second person came forward, accusing the presenter of sending "abusive and menacing" messages on a dating app. On 12 July, the Metropolitan Police said that there was no evidence of a criminal offence. Shortly afterwards, the presenter was named as
Huw Edwards Huw Edwards ( , ; born 18 August 1961) is a Welsh news presenter. He was the lead presenter of ''BBC News at Ten'', the late evening news programme of BBC Television, from 2003 to 2023. He resigned from the BBC in 2024, during a police investi ...
in a statement by his wife, Vicky Flind. She said Edwards had been hospitalised for mental health problems. ''The Sun'' reporting changed to say the contact began when the teenager was 17, without specifying when explicit photos were first exchanged. The BBC's coverage of events was considered excessive by some. Claire Enders, a media analyst, told ''The New York Times'': "What we had was a kangaroo court, which destroyed someone who did not commit a crime", saying that the BBC "got drawn into a trap set by ''The Sun''". Alan Rusbridger, the former editor of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', also told the ''NYT'' that "The BBC lost its sense of proportion" in its coverage of the story, adding: "It gets into this mind-set where it feels it must make up for sluggishness in handling issues by showing a clean pair of hands in covering them." On 29 July, the Metropolitan Police announced that Edwards had been charged with three counts of creating indecent images of children. The charges involved images allegedly shared in a WhatsApp chat between December 2020 and April 2022. Edwards was arrested on 8 November 2023 and charged on 26 June 2024, following authorisation from the Crown Prosecution Service. He has been bailed to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 31 July 2024. On 16 September 2024, at Westminster Magistrates' Court, Edwards received a six- month Suspended sentence, suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to three counts of Protection of Children Act 1978#Definitions, making indecent images of children. He was also placed on the Sex offender registry#United Kingdom, sex offenders' register for seven years and ordered to attend a sex offenders treatment programme.


2023: Report about Nigel Farage's bank account

After accepting that its report about the closure of the Coutts bank account held by former UKIP leader, Nigel Farage, was inaccurate, the BBC amended their article, and came under pressure to apologise to Farage. After Farage had complained that his account had been closed for political reasons, the BBC challenged his version by reporting that it had information saying it had been closed because he was not wealthy enough to hold the account. Using a request under the data protection laws, Farage obtained a 40-page document from the bank stating that the reason for the closure was 'because of the "reputational risk" he was seen to represent'. Farage said he was going to make a formal complaint about the BBC's reporting. On 24 July 2023, ''The Telegraph'' reported that both the BBC, and Simon Jack, the journalist who wrote the article, had apologised to Farage for their mistake.


2023: BBC Arabic antisemitism

In September 2023, BBC Arabic published an article on Suicide attack, suicide attacks, claiming a link between modern-day Jihadism, jihadists and the Sicarii (who did commit mass suicide, but not as part of an attack). The article was strongly criticized by Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis, CAMERA, Campaign Against Antisemitism, and Alex Carlile, Baron Carlile of Berriew, Lord Carlile, the government’s former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation. On 5 October 2023, BBC News Arabic, BBC Arabic published a video claiming that observant Jews spit on Christians to celebrate the holiday Sukkot. The BBC did not issue an apology until June 2025.


2023: Reporting of the Gaza war

In October 2023, the BBC denied accusations that it was acting as a propagandist for terrorist groups by repeatedly reporting unverified speculation that Israel was responsible for the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion, explosion at the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza and for refusing to describe Hamas as a terrorist organisation. In late 2023, the BBC drew backlash for allegedly using softer wording with Palestinians killed in the Gaza war compared to Israelis that were killed. The primary example of this was the use of the word "killed" for Israelis and "dead" for Palestinians in their updates on the war, even though the Palestinian death toll had been considerably higher.


2024: Portrayal of Milton Keynes on ''EastEnders''

In an episode of ''EastEnders'' aired on 4 March 2024, the BBC drew backlash over the portrayal of Milton Keynes when the character Bianca Jackson played by Patsy Palmer returned to screens in scenes set in her home in the city. One viewer, who has lived in the city since the 1970s, said: "They've chosen my city, my home, as a place to depict as being a slum." Ben Everitt, the
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
MP for Milton Keynes North, said he was unhappy with the portrayal, saying that he would be contacting producers of the programme to suggest writing another storyline about "some of the brilliant parts of Milton Keynes".


2024: ''Mrs Brown's Boys'' racist joke controversy

On 14 October 2024, ''The Daily Mirror'' published a story stating that Brendan O'Carroll who stars as Agnes Brown in Mrs Brown's Boys made a racist remark during a rehearsal of a Christmas special.


2024: Gregg Wallace controversy

In November 2024, it was reported that Gregg Wallace was to step away from ''Masterchef'' while allegations of historical misconduct were investigated. This came after the BBC reported to Wallace's representatives that there were allegations of inappropriate sexual comments from 13 individuals. Wallace's lawyers said it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature.


2025: ''Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone''

In February 2025, BBC Two aired a documentary titled ''Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone'' as part of its ''This World (TV series), This World'' series. The film is narrated by a 13-year-old boy who is the son of Hamas's deputy minister of agriculture. BBC stated that the film's production company had not informed the broadcaster of the boy's family relations. BBC added an informational notice to the film description on its BBC iPlayer, iPlayer before pulling the film the next day. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said she would raise concerns with BBC bosses over the documentary. Hamas is a proscribed terrorist group in the UK, Israel and other countries. The film was subsequently removed from BBC iPlayer.


See also

* Criticism of the BBC Other channels: * Al Jazeera controversies and criticism * CBS News controversies and criticism * CNN controversies * Fox News controversies * MSNBC controversies * The New York Times controversies


Notes


References


Cited works

* *


External links


The BBC Under Pressure
– A history of controversial incidents through BBC News history. {{DEFAULTSORT:BBC controversies BBC controversies, Censorship of broadcasting in the United Kingdom Journalism controversies by outlet Lists of controversies Political controversies in television Television controversies in the United Kingdom