BBC Scotland reporters warned of abuse and intimidation during final stages of Scottish independence campaigning
BBC Scotland reporters have been warned and asked to report any abuse or intimidation they face in the build up to the Scottish independence referendum this week.
An email, seen by The Drum, was sent on Sunday evening by Chris Diamond, senior broadcast journalist for BBC Scotland to members of the news team asking them to report any incidents inside or outside of the BBC.
The email followed a protest outside BBC Scotland’s headquarters at Pacific Quay attended by around 4,000 people, which included a call to sack the BBC’s political editor, Nick Robinson, following his heated discussion with first minister Alex Salmond last week during a press conference.
“Today’s demo at PQ seems to have passed off without incident but there have been reports of staff elsewhere being subject to harassment while out and about on stories,” stated Diamond who asked staff to contact their line manager or someone from the BBC Scotland chapel committee should they feel threatened or intimidated.
He also revealed that security had been discussed internally by the corporation’s management, but that it could be revised if necessary.
“Remember, our safety and the safety of our colleagues is our first concern,” Diamond concluded.
The National Union of Journalists is expected to release a statement today condemning the tactics taken to intimidate BBC journalists.
Yesterday, the BBC released a statement denying claims that its coverage had been bias towards the Better Together campaign.