Scottish Daily Mail

BBC’s woke box-ticking is shameful, says former Crimewatch presenter

- By Emma Powell Deputy Showbusine­ss News Editor

FORMER Crimewatch presenter Sue Cook has criticised the BBC’s ‘shameful’ reporting, claiming the broadcaste­r is concerned with ticking ‘woke boxes’.

Miss Cook, 73, recognised that the broadcaste­r still produces ‘some good dramas’ and also praised its foreign correspond­ents.

But she accused the corporatio­n of not wanting to ‘question anything’, particular­ly during the pandemic, as she claimed the BBC is no longer the ‘absolute national institutio­n’ that it used to be.

‘Sadly it’s not looking very good,’ Miss Cook told Nigel Farage on his GB News show Talking Pints.

‘it was an absolute national institutio­n and a huge treasure, and i think they still do some good dramas although not quite as good as they used to be. You see all the woke boxes being ticked, as the cast comes on.’

She added: ‘The foreign correspond­ents are still second to none – people like Frank gardner and Jeremy Bowen and orla guerin are wonderful. But the news-gathering is really quite shameful. And they don’t seem to want to question anything.’

Miss Cook co-presented Crimewatch with Nick ross from 1984 until 1996. She also presented radio 4’s You And Yours and Making History.

She lambasted the BBC for its coverage of the Covid pandemic. ‘it is shameful,’ she said. ‘Throughout lockdown did anybody ever ask, “Why? How are children going to be affected if you’re closing schools? How are university students affected if you’re shutting universiti­es?” Knife crime went up. Was there any journalism about that?’

She added: ‘in my day we’d have found out the truth.’

 ?? ?? Criticism: Sue Cook
Criticism: Sue Cook

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