The issue arose during an interview with the then Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan.   She made a brief but critical remark about the BBC’s handling of the case and the programme felt it appropriate to represent the BBC’s view after the interview had concluded.  In the ECU’s opinion the extent to which viewers will have looked to the programme for a comprehensive account of the Ofcom finding was therefore limited, and the brevity of Ms Donelan’s comments, coupled with the fact the statement was clearly labelled as coming from an official BBC source, further restricted any risk viewers would have considered it the final word on the matter.  The ECU further noted that the BBC statement made reference to the ECU finding which preceded Ofcom’s verdict and which reached a similar conclusion; namely that more should have been done sooner to acknowledge the differing views about what could be heard on the recording of the attack, an error for which the BBC had already apologised.  Viewers were therefore made aware of the failings identified by the BBC and Ofcom, both of which had judged the article against the BBC Editorial Guidelines.
Not upheld