The independence of the BBC is now sadly merely a relic of history

THERE was a time when, if you were abroad, two aspects of Britain were a matter of envy for foreigners, namely the NHS and the reputable, historic impartiality of the BBC. Today that ship has sailed.

David Dimbleby’s superbly researched and presented documentary series, Days That Shook The BBC, must be filed under “History”. He looked at the times the BBC came into conflict with the Establishment, i.e. the monarchy, Margaret Thatcher, Harold Wilson. He covered the Iraq War, the Hunt Report, the Falklands War; race relations, Northern Ireland and controversial Question Times. His premise throughout all these episodes is that the BBC has preserved its independence. It has not.

If the BBC covers topics such as Brexit, the EU, the monarchy, Trump, Johnson, Scottish independence, Ukraine and Russia, Channel migrants, China, BLM, LGBT, abortion, Christianity, North Korea, green energy, any sport involving England, the constitutional crisis, Commonwealth: one knows how it will be slanted.

The network news bulletins are blatantly designed for London and home counties’ consumption. Dimbleby himself referred to the Ofcom report, which confirmed that people in Scotland do not feel the BBC reflects them. Watch the timid BBC cover Brexit news (for example, Dover queues or Gatwick Airport chaos), and contrast it with Sky News or ITN coverage.

In the very same hour that Scott Parker (Bournemouth manager) was sacked after a 9-0 defeat, Jack Ross (Dundee United manager) was sacked after a 9-0 defeat. Guess which BBC News At One covered using the above criteria. More seriously, at the time of Lockerbie in 1988, London-based presenters and reporters controversially replaced Scottish output. Today, incredibly, the same happened when the Queen died in Balmoral. When the King arrived at RAF Northolt, the BBC explained the London districts and even streets he was passing through. Yet The BBC struggled (unlike STV) to identify parts of Scotland as the cortège was passing by.

I suggest David Dimbleby makes another episode.

John V Lloyd, Inverkeithing.