Complaint
After an interview with Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party, Newsnight’s political editor read out a comment he had received from someone he described as “a senior Reform UK source”. A viewer complained that this amounted to giving a platform to the views of Nigel Farage at a time when he was standing as a candidate in a by-election, breaching the requirement to give all candidates proportionate coverage. The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the BBC’s editorial standards of impartiality.
Outcome
The Reform UK source was not Mr Farage. In any event, the requirements in relation to other candidates apply only to coverage of the by-election, and do not prevent programmes from reporting candidates who are party leaders when they comment on national issues.
Not Upheld
