Former news presenter Peter Sissons accuses the BBC of a 'basic failure of journalism' over Ed Miliband row with the Daily Mail
Former BBC News presenter Peter Sissons has accused the BBC of a “basic failure of journalism” over the Ed Miliband row with the Daily Mail because of Labour-leaning political views among BBC executives.
Row: The Daily Mail's controversial article
The comments came as it emerged as Conservative MP Andrew Brigden said he will write to the BBC Trust demanding a review of the broadcaster’s coverage of the incident.
Brigden said the coverage was “further evidence of the partiality of the political coverage of the BBC” while Philip Davies, a Conservative MP on the Commons media select committee, accused the BBC of allowing Miliband to “milk it for all its worth”, according to the Telegraph.
The paper claims its own analysis shows the BBC’s coverage totalled 30 articles on its website and took up 49 minutes out of the 12 hours of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme across four editions between Wednesday and Saturday.
Sissons told the paper: “The real difficult is that the overwhelming view of the BBC’s news executives is broadly sympathetic towards the Labour party and is inclined to always give Labour the benefit of the doubt.
“There is a political imbalance within the BBC which in this case has led to a basic failure of journalism.”
The row between Miliband and the Daily Mail erupted after the paper published an article about his father, Ralph Miliband, titled “Man Who Hated Britain”.
Events escalated on Thursday when it emerged that two Mail On Sunday reporters gatecrashed a memorial service for Miliband’s uncle on Wednesday looking for quotes from his family about the controversy.
The incidents received widespread media coverage – the Guardian launched a live blog to cover developments – but Conservative MPs have accused the BBC of giving it too much attention.
Tory MP Brigden told the Telegraph: “I think that a large proportion of the country now see the BBC as being a mouthpiece for one political party.”
However, a spokesman for the BBC said the incident was an “important political and media story” and said the broadcaster was satisfied that the coverage was “appropriate, balanced and impartial”.