BBC

Sixty years after his suicide, Ernest Hemingway continues to fascinate. Matt Kelly examines his legacy and credentials as America's great European writer.

The EU’s ambassador to the UK has accused new DUP leader Edwin Poots of making comments about the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol that lack “adherence to reality”. Joao Vale de Almeida was asked about Poots saying that the agreement was “demonstrable harm to every individual in Northern Ireland” and is having a “devastating impact”. The […]

The Corporation's current woes are being exploited for political gain by the government

Culture secretary Oliver Dowden has said the BBC must project “British values” or face losing its licence fee. Dowden also accused the BBC of adopting a “we know best” attitude following the scandal surrounding its Panorama interview with Princess Diana. In his first detailed response since the report from Lord Dyson was released, Dowden said […]

The government will look at whether reforms of BBC governance are required in the wake of Lord Dyson’s “damning” report on the 1995 Panorama Diana interview, ministers have said. Lord Dyson’s findings that the broadcaster covered up the “deceitful behaviour” of journalist Martin Bashir in the handling of his interview with Diana, Princess of Wales […]

LIZ GERARD crunches the numbers on how Paul Dacre’s Daily Mail covered BBC stories and finds evidence that makes a mockery of the idea of him as an impartial arbiter. Over the last ten years of the Dacre reign, the Daily Mail carried more than 4,000 news stories with BBC in the headline or subhead, about […]

Set in a Britain with zero-Covid and corruption is punished, is this why we love Line of Duty? SUDDEN EPIPHANY OF THE WEEK On Sunday night I was (like, apparently, 80% of the population of the United Kingdom) watching Line of Duty on BBC 1, when I had a sudden realisation: Line of Duty takes […]

Robbie Gibb, a former communications director at No 10 under Theresa May, has been appointed to the BBC’s board. It is understood that Sir Robbie, who had a 25-year career at the BBC before spending two years in Downing Street under the Conservative prime minister, was appointed by the government. The BBC reported that he […]

Sir James Dyson has said it is “absurd to suggest” texts he sent Boris Johnson on the tax status of his employees had broken lobbying rules. The BBC reported that Sir James had sent Johnson a series of messages in March last year to get assurances his employees would be exempt from tax rules if they moved […]

A BBC journalist says she is still “haunted” by complaints the broadcaster received claiming it had “built up” Nigel Farage and UKIP. According to The Times, Samira Ahmed recalled complaints received by Newswatch in the early 2010s. Speaking on her podcast How I Found My Voice, Ahmed said: “I’m haunted by that and I remember talking […]

Scottish Labour has announced plans to pay television licence fees or help cover broadband bills for the over-75s. Party leader Anas Sarwar said the “staying connected” policy would provide every household with people aged over 75 with the £159 cost of a TV licence. Free TV licences for all seniors ended in 2020 after the […]

The government’s LGBT panel has been scrapped after three members quit last month. A government spokesperson said a replacement panel “will be set out in due course”, the BBC has revealed. Some members told the national broadcaster they were willing to stay on when their terms ended on March 31. Panellists have also said they […]

A senior Conservative MP has claimed that parliament’s email system is less secure than Google’s Gmail as he warned China was attacking the UK’s democracy. Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat said parliament and the UK government needed to do more to defend democracy and freedom of speech. Tugendhat, who was targeted with sanctions by Beijing […]

Downing Street has been accused of “abusing BBC neutrality” by hosting daily coronavirus briefings which attack opponents during the election period. The BBC has held urgent talks over the briefings after opposition parties including the SNP accused the prime minister of going on a “political rant” at the latest event. During Monday’s briefing, the prime minister […]

BBC Breakfast presenters Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty want to put the controversy over Robert Jenrick’s flag behind them Although Amanda Platell is Australian, she was indignant over the weekend at the way the BBC Breakfast presenters Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty had gently teased the housing secretary Robert Jenrick about the enormous Union flag […]

A Tory MP has clashed with a BBC chief over the lack of Union flags featuring in the corporation’s annual report. James Wild MP repeatedly asked new director-general Tim Davie why the flag had failed to appear on the report during a Commons grilling on the BBC’s role as a representative of Britain on the world stage. Davie […]

A pair of BBC presenters have come under fire by a government minister after mocking Tory colleagues for their use of the Union flag during interviews. BBC Breakfast hosts Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty laughed as they pointed out large flags have begun regularly appearing in the background of Zoom calls with the frontbenchers. It followed an […]

Downing Street had mulled over the possibility of “chickenpox parties” as a way to build immunity at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, a BBC report has revealed. More than 20 senior politicians and officials who were present when pivotal decisions about Covid-19 were made spoke with the BBC, sharing what was a litany of mistakes […]

The Mash Report, the BBC show which was accused of left-wing bias, will not return for another series. The programme, a satirical take on the week’s news which featured Nish Kumar and Rachel Parris, first aired in 2017. The BBC said in a statement: “We are very proud of The Mash Report but, in order […]

An excursion to film a new BBC show provides some escape from politics… but not much. I virtually unplugged from politics for a whole day last week, and felt a lot better for it, until the day ended, and I caught up with what had been happening in my absence. Just another day in the […]

GB News is reportedly attempting to hire pro-Brexit commentators Nick Ferrari and Julia Hartley-Brewer to present parts of its 24-hour news channel. The news channel will serve a conservative audience with presenters with strong opinions and attitude and aims to give a voice to viewers angered by feeling abandoned by the BBC. It has been compared […]

Iain Duncan Smith (IDS) has defended calling Donald Trump “a decent man”, arguing it is the duty of any British MP to maintain good relations with a US president. IDS said he “did not resile” from his efforts to befriend the US president. In 2016, IDS agreed with former Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan who said the US president was […]

The government’s choice for the chair of the BBC has claimed that Question Time has been filled with too many Remainers – and not enough Brexiteers. Despite Nigel Farage racking up 34 appearances on the political programme, and analysis finding a majority of MEPs appearing were pro-Brexit, Richard Sharp has complained the programme has been “unbalanced”. […]

The TV broadcasting watchdog is looking into the comments Emily Maitlis made about Dominic Cummings after he broke lockdown earlier this year. The Newsnight coverage centred on the former senior adviser to Boris Johnson’s trip from London to Durham during the first lockdown. The BBC previously ruled that the presenter’s comments about Dominic Cummings, breached impartiality rules.  […]

Business secretary Alok Sharma has encouraged people not to stockpile ahead of the conclusion of Brexit talks. The minister acknowledged prices will rise if talks with the EU fail to reach a trade deal, but said it was not a reason to panic buy goods. Supermarkets have warned that prices could rise by as much […]

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has dismissed a warning from Tesco chairman John Allan that Brexit could result in food shortages and price rises, saying he is “not concerned” by their claims. The chairman warned that failure to reach a deal with the European Union could see shoppers turning to buying UK-produced items when imported goods jump […]

A BBC presenter has clashed with two Labour MPs over a series of “clarifications” about Boris Johnson’s ‘oven-ready deal’ Brexit deal comments after she claimed he had only promised to deliver the Withdrawal Agreement. On Tuesday’s programme, Politics Live presenter Jo Coburn dismissed suggestions from Labour MP Angela Eagle that the prime minister has misled the electorate with […]

A war of words has broken out after a BBC presenter was criticised after issuing two clarifications over Boris Johnson’s ‘oven-ready deal’ Brexit deal comments, claiming he had only promised to deliver the Withdrawal Agreement. On Tuesday’s programme, Politics Live presenter Jo Coburn dismissed suggestions from Labour MP Angela Eagle that the prime minister has misled […]