Ofcom rules Channel 4 News coverage of Ellison review breached broadcasting rules
Ofcom has ruled that a Channel 4 News segment probing possible police corruption surrounding the Stephen Lawrence case has been ruled to have breached broadcasting guidelines.
The communications watchdog intervened after the Metropolitan Police complained that people interviewed on the street, apparently at random, during the course of this were actually known previously to the reporter and had worked for the broadcaster in the past.
In a statement Channel 4 conceded that its coverage in this instance ‘fell below the normal standards of Channel 4 News’, blaming the incident on ‘poor judgement by a junior reporter’.
A spokeswoman added: “Ofcom accepted that all the individuals interviewed in this brief report were expressing their own genuinely held opinions on camera, which reflected similarly held views by many others - and has ruled that the overall 20-minute item about the Ellison review was duly impartial.
“Whilst we do not agree that the audience was misled in any meaningful way, we accept that the reporter’s methodology was flawed. It was an error of judgment and we broadcast an apology and clarification about this within a week on Channel 4 News.”
Ofcom declared the incident as ‘amongst the most serious’ it had covered owing to the possibility of undermining trust between the broadcaster and its audience.