Complaint
The programme marked the seventh anniversary of the referendum on EU membership. Three people complained that the decision to have an audience composed entirely of Leave voters gave the programme a biased premise, with a suggestion from one viewer that it should be balanced by a programme with an audience of Remain voters. The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the BBC’s editorial standards of impartiality.
Outcome
The composition of the audience was not intended to weight the discussion in favour of Brexit, but to reflect the extent to which the views of Leave voters had changed and to give an opportunity to explore whether their hopes had been realised or confounded by events since the vote. In the ECU’s judgement there was no bias inherent in the particular composition of the audience (and consequently no occasion for a mirroring exercise involving Remain voters), and the composition of the panel represented an appropriate range of views.
Not upheld