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The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the broadcaster.

Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Reporting

Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, stated that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."

Controversy Over Edited Speech

Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A document leaked to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.

The programme depicted the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a section of the talk where he advised the assembly "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".

“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 continued: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it mars 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."

Leaked Memo Emphasizes Editing Issues

The publication said its coverage was based on a memo written by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert departed his position recently and has not commented on the file, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.

A passage released read: ""Editing the footage as Panorama broadcast it was utterly deceptive. The absence of a direct call for supporters to march and battle at Capitol Hill partly explained why no federal incitement charges were filed."

Allegations of Widespread Issues

The memo reportedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.

The outlet claimed the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.

One matter pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.

Censure of Transgender Topics Coverage

The lengthy file is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".

It is reported to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".

BBC Reply

In response, the BBC stated: "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."