Complaint
The programme included an interview with Priti Patel, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, which touched briefly on the Gaza conflict. A listener complained that the programme did not make clear Ms Patel’s history of support for Israel, thus giving the misleading impression that she was an unbiased commentator. The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the BBC’s editorial standards of impartiality.
Outcome
The ECU saw no reason to suppose listeners in general would regard a senior party politician as a neutral commentator, whether on the Gaza conflict or the agreement about the Chagos Islands, which was the main topic of the interview. As Ms Patel’s views on the conflict were entirely clear from her answers, there was no occasion to refer to her previous support for Israel.
Not upheld