News anchor under fire for backing independence vote

TOM BRADBY, the ITV news anchor, has been accused of breaking impartiality rules by publishing a tweet in support of a second Scottish independence referendum.

The broadcaster said denying the Scottish National Party the chance to hold another vote on the issue if they achieve a pro-independence majority in the elections would make a “mockery of democratic devolution”.

On Twitter on Friday night he wrote: “If the SNP can assemble a pro independence majority here tonight or tomorrow, I just can’t see how it would be credible to deny them another referendum. It would make an absolute mockery of the principle of democratic devolution.”

His comments attracted criticism from some social media users, who accused him of straying beyond the bounds of impartiality that would be expected of newsreaders. Michael

Crick, the journalist and broadcaster, replied to Bradby’s tweet, stating: “I’m very sorry Tom, that may be your personal view, but it is not right that you, as a senior presenter of ITV programmes regulated by Ofcom, should express it in public. It goes against everything ITN used to stand for.”

India Willoughby, a broadcaster and commentator, told him over social media: “What’s it got to do with an ITV newsreader? Presenters express opinions – newsreaders remain impartial.”

Ofcom, which regulates broadcasters in the UK, said it did not publish figures on complaints made about social media posts and it was beyond their scope to take action against individuals for tweets.

Bradby, 54, and ITV did not respond to requests for a comment.

Last year the BBC clamped down on its journalists who used social media to publicise their political beliefs. Staff there were issued with new guidance on the use of social media platforms.