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The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. This comes allegations of bias at the broadcaster.

Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage

The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."

Dispute Over Edited Address

The spokesperson's comments emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.

A document leaked to a publication indicated that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two parts of the oration together.

The programme depicted the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the speech where he advised the assembly "to express views calmly and loyally".

“This purposefully dishonest, selectively edited clip by the BBC is further evidence that they are total, 100% fake news that should no longer be worth the time on the television screens of the great people of the United Kingdom.”

Leavitt added: "Every time I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins my day listening to their blatant propaganda and lies about the president of the United States and all that he’s doing to make America better and the world a safer place."

Disclosed Document Highlights Production Issues

The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a note authored by a former adviser to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his position recently and has not commented on the document, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.

A passage published read: "It was completely misleading to edit the clip in the way Panorama aired it. The fact that he did not explicitly exhort supporters to go down and fight at Capitol Hill was one of the reasons there were no federal charges for incitement to riot."

Allegations of Systemic Issues

The report reportedly added that the former adviser had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.

The newspaper said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.

One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.

Censure of Trans Issues Coverage

The 19-page dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".

It is said to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".

The Broadcaster Response

In response, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."

"Michael Prescott is a former adviser to a board committee where differing views and opinions of our coverage are routinely discussed and debated.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."