Complaint
The programme included a discussion of clean air zones and the proposal to extend the London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to cover all the London boroughs. A viewer complained that it was biased and misleading, in that it “failed to expose lies told about ULEZ” and that the interview with Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah which it included was “emotive, but irrelevant”. The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the BBC’s editorial standards of accuracy and impartiality.
Outcome
In the ECU’s judgement the complaint identified no inaccuracies, the item reflected an appropriate range of views on the topic, and it was not necessary to discuss the aspects of the matter listed in the complaint (for example, the source of particulate pollution) in order to achieve impartiality. As someone who had been prompted by the death of her daughter to become a campaigner for cleaner air, Ms Adoo-Kissi-Debrah was an appropriate contributor to the discussion, and her contribution, however emotive, was duly balanced by the arguments against extension of ULEZ put by Gareth Baker MP.
Not Upheld