Complaint
The programme included an interview with a guest of Roma background on issues arising from a letter to a newspaper by Diane Abbott MP which referred to racism in terms which had given rise to controversy. A viewer complained that the presenter’s conduct of the interview had been unduly aggressive and influenced by her own views on the topic. The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the BBC’s editorial standards of impartiality.
Outcome
In the ECU’s judgement, the conduct of the interview was not notably aggressive. It was in keeping with the expectation that guests presenting their views on controversial matters will be appropriately challenged, and there were no grounds for inferring that the questioning was influenced by the presenter’s own views.
Not upheld