Complaint
This programme examined the Church of England’s historic links to transatlantic slavery and the evidence underpinning the findings of a Church Commissioners’ report published in 2023. It went on to examine the debate about how the Church should respond today. A listener and contributor complained that the programme gave the inaccurate impression that the Church’s historic endowment fund, Queen Anne’s Bounty, invested significant sums in the South Sea Company, a company which played a significant role in the transatlantic slave trade. The ECU considered whether the programme met the relevant standards set out in the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines.
Outcome
As the programme explained, there is a substantive disagreement regarding the correct characterisation of the Queen Anne’s Bounty investments. It is not disputed substantial sums were invested in South Sea Annuities; the debate revolves around whether the annuities should be regarded as investments in a company known to be involved in slave trading. While the Church Commissioners and its historical advisers concluded such a connection existed, others argue South Sea Annuities were investments in government debt and the Commissioners’ report fundamentally misconstrued their nature and significance.
Where there is genuine historic or academic debate, it is not the role of the Executive Complaints Unit to adjudicate on such disputes. The question this Unit has to consider is whether listeners were given an accurate impression of the existence and nature of the disagreement. Having considered the programme as a whole, it concluded they were. The programme reflected the conclusions reached by the Church Commissioners and its historical advisers. It also devoted a significant portion of the programme to exploring criticism of the finding and explaining the complainant’s contention the Commissioners had misunderstood the nature of the South Sea Annuities.
Not Upheld
