BBC broke its impartiality rules with ‘unbalanced’ Brexit report

A BBC television report on the negative impact of Brexit on Scottish businesses broke impartiality rules, an internal investigation has found.

The BBC’S executive complaints unit (ECU) upheld a complaint from a viewer who said that because it focused only on firms apparently damaged by Brexit, the coverage was “unbalanced”.

A business report broadcast in an edition of BBC One’s Reporting Scotland on Dec 20 carried the introduction: “Brexit’s advocates say there will be longterm economic benefits, but it’s been a tough year for some of the Scottish businesses most affected.”

The programme dealt with the effects of new trading arrangements on exporters and businesses in Scotland after the UK’S exit from the European Union.

The ECU said in its ruling: “The BBC’S editorial guidelines on impartiality say, ‘We may produce content about any subject, at any point on the spectrum of debate, as long as there are good editorial reasons for doing so’, and considered it legitimate for the report to confine itself, on this occasion, to ‘the Scottish businesses most affected’ by Brexit.

“However, a programme adopting such an approach should maintain impartiality by exploring other aspects of the topic within a reasonable time frame, which had not happened in the case of Reporting Scotland.”

The journalist conducted research that “had led him to conclude that improved performance in some areas was attributable to factors other than Brexit”.

The ECU added: “It is generally agreed, however, that Brexit has had a differential effect, bearing hardest on the kind of small businesses featured in the report, so there was at least a need to reflect areas where its impact had been less negative, whether on this occasion or in an appropriately linked programme. The finding was reported to the management of BBC Scotland and discussed with the programme makers concerned.”

Separately, the BBC has announced plans to improve its complaints procedure in response to an Ofcom review. In June, the watchdog identified a series of failings, including a lack of transparency and delays in responding to audience complaints. It found that some members of the public became so frustrated with the lengthy and complex process that they gave up.

When complaints about impartiality are dismissed, the BBC does not publish its reasons. The BBC said it would make the complaints process easier to use in changes to be rolled out next week.

‘The journalist concluded that improved performance in some areas was down to factors other than Brexit’