Ministers accuse BBC of propagating gloom
The BBC has been accused of inherent bias against good news, positive stories and notable successes by the government after a several examples of Coalition policy which they deemed to have fallen into just such a niche camp were snubbed by the Corporation.
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith led the charge on what he perceived as lopsided thinking by singling out the public sector broadcasters economics editor, Stephanie Flanders, for particular opprobrium – accusing her of “peeing all over British industry and the private sector.”
The crux of Smith’s ire stemmed from a downbeat prognosis of the health of the British economy - despite recent employment figures which have startled everyone for their rosy cheer.
Smith believes that whilst caution is called for given the cavalcade of economic horror stories emanating around the globe this shouldn’t amount to scaremongering or to “pouring cold water” over any green shoots – such as the surprise rise in employment.
Total employment has risen by 201,000 in the most recent set of figures as the private sector more than offsets public sector losses. Sickness benefit claimants are also on the wane, falling by 81,000 following a clampdown on bogus applications.
In her reports however Flanders claimed that the reports masked “hidden unemployment”.