Complaint
A listener complained that a caller to the programme had made a false and misleading statement, likely to intensify hostile feelings in relation to income inequality. The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the BBC’s editorial standards of accuracy.
Outcome
Addressing the effect of inflation on wage demands, the caller said:
These people who talk about the average income, what do they think the average income is? The per capita income is £35,000, that’s for every man woman and child in the country. So the average family of two adults, two children, should have at its disposal, if we were living in an equal society, a total income of £140,000 a year. Who does that? Only the very rich because 70% of the population are below the average. 70% of the population are worsted by the rich. They get more than their fair share.
While recognising the caller’s claims were open to dispute, the ECU noted that the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines do not require absolute accuracy on all occasions, but call for “due accuracy”, which must be judged in the light of the different expectations which apply in different contexts. In the ECU’s judgement, the contribution complained of did not fall below the standard of accuracy listeners might reasonably expect from callers to the programme who made no claim to expert knowledge of the issue under discussion.
Not upheld