Foulkes lodges BBC briefings complaint

Labour peer Baron Foulkes has lodged a formal complaint with the BBC over its daily coverage of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s coronavirus briefings, claiming they have become too political.

He claims the lunch time events do not provide any comeback for opponents.

“I’ ve put a formal complaint to BBC Scotland that they are breaking Ofcom and BBC Charter rules on impartiality by broadcasting daily broadcasts by the SNP leader without the right of reply to Opposition par ties,” he said on Twitter at the weekend.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie has previously raised concerns about the exposure which the corporation gives to the briefings.

A BBC Scotland spokesperson said ;“We are broadcasting Scottish Government briefing son the pandemic and the easing of lockdown because these are matters of significant public interest.”

The Scottish Government insists that the daily briefings are the most used source of information about the Covid-19 pandemic in Scotland and are used to disseminate the latest public health guidance.