BBC has anti-Brexit bias, says report

BBC news programmes have under-represented anti-Brussels views for decades, a report published by a leading think tank claimed last night.

Analysis of broadcasting output since 1999 based on monitoring by watchdog News-Watch found Eurosceptic voices were “marginalised” by the corporation.

Out of 4,275 guests talking about the EU on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme between 2005 and 2015, only 132 – equivalent to 3.2 per cent – were supporters of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

In 274 hours of EU coverage between 2002 and 2017, only 14 speakers were Left-wing advocates for Brexit. Their contribution accounted for just 12 minutes of BBC output, according to the report published by Civitas.

Yet during the same period, the two ardently Europhile Tories Kenneth Clarke and Lord Heseltine made 28 appearances between them. The report also found “a determined reluctance” to address questions of whether Britain should quit the EU.

The alleged bias has continued following the national referendum vote in 2016, the report said.

BBC Radio 4’s flagship Today programme, between October and November 2017, carried 97 interviews on EU topics but only nine were with long-term supporters of Brexit.

David Keighley and Andrew Jubb, the authors of the report, said: “The overview is a shocking indictment of the BBC’s failure to achieve impartiality, and in particular to incorporate the views of those who desired to leave the EU into its news output.

“The clear preference of a large section of the population for withdrawal... have been continually under represented in the news coverage of the BBC.”

A BBC spokesman said of the report: “There have been a number of flawed ‘analyses’ trying to depict the BBC as favouring one side or other.

“The reality is we’re no longer covering the binary choice of a referendum held 18 months ago, we’re covering the process towards Brexit in a responsible and impartial way independent of political pressure.”