THE BBC has dismissed a complaint against Fiona Bruce after she claimed the SNP had gone “off the rails” during the opening segment of an edition of Question Time.
Bruce came under fire for “unacceptable framing” and “editorialising” in the May 18 broadcast, which was filmed in Fort William.
She had introduced the BBC show by saying: “Tonight Question Time is in Scotland for the first time since the SNP came off the rails in such spectacular fashion.
“Following Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation and the arrest of high-profile SNP officials in the course of a police investigation into party finances, the audience here in Fort William want to know what it all means for Scotland and for the UK.”
#BBC Fiona Bruce intro & editorial at start of #bbcqt in Fort William: "Tonight Question Time for the first time since the SNP came off the rails in such spectacular fashion." Impossible to imagine Bruce or any BBC journo describe the UK Tories in such a manner. @bbcquestiontime pic.twitter.com/sBnvEKTcvO
— Gerry Hassan 🇺🇦 (@GerryHassan) May 18, 2023
The BBC’s executive complaints unit (ECU) reported on August 3 on its investigation into a complaint raised about Bruce’s framing of the SNP’s situation.
The ECU said: “A viewer complained that Fiona Bruce lacked impartiality in her handling of the panellists, in particular in her assertion that the SNP had ‘come off the rails’ since the programme last visited Scotland (which he also considered to be inaccurate).”
The unit considered whether the programme met BBC standards on due accuracy and impartiality, and judged that it had done so.
Dismissing the complaint, the ECU ruled that Bruce’s comment on the SNP had been a “professional judgment rooted in evidence” and as such was covered by the BBC’s editorial guidelines.
It said: “The BBC Editorial Guidelines allow presenters, reporters and correspondents to provide ‘professional judgments rooted in evidence’.
“In the ECU’s view Fiona Bruce’s comment about the SNP fell into that category and noted the SNP itself had publicly acknowledged the severity of the difficulties it faced, in terms arguably stronger than those used on the programme.
“Overall, the ECU considered all sides in the debate that evening were fairly challenged and if it appeared the SNP were under particular scrutiny this was as a result of their position as the Scottish Government and of recent events, rather than an indication of bias by the presenter or the BBC.”
The news comes from complaints reports which are made public on the BBC’s website every two weeks.
In the past, the BBC has cleared Bruce amid allegations of pro-Conservative bias on Question Time.
More recently, the ECU dismissed a complaint about a map of the UK which did not include Orkney or Shetland, claiming it could find “no inaccuracy”.
