THE BBC has been accused of reporting “untrue spin” amid its coverage of the King’s visit to Liverpool.
It comes after the corporation claimed that republican protesters demonstrating against the monarch were “drowned out” by schoolchildren chanting, “He’s our king”.
Posting a short video clip of a group of kids in Liverpool to see Charles III, BBC Radio Merseyside wrote: “Protestors chanting ‘not my King’ are drowned out by children chanting ‘he’s our King’.”
Protestors chanting “not my King” are drowned out by children chanting “he’s our King” pic.twitter.com/1YrEPoeb8C
— BBC Radio Merseyside (@bbcmerseyside) April 26, 2023
The tweet was welcomed by Conservative politicians, including MSP Stephen Kerr. “Brings joy to your heart,” Kerr wrote, adding a crown emoji.
“The children are right: He's our King,” Tory MP Rob Butler also commented.
But anti-monarchy campaign group Republic claimed the BBC post was “untrue and a worrying bit of spin”.
“Our protesters were not chanting at this point,” the group wrote. “We will be asking @bbcmerseyside for an explanation.
“It is also questionable to suggest that children are of a strong view one way or another on an issue like this when they’ve been bussed in for a bit of fun.”
Republic had earlier shared a video from their protest, where the dozens of demonstrators who had shown up to support the anti-monarchy group chanted “not my King”.
No election. No choice. Liverpool had its say - Charles isn’t their king. #NotMyKing #AbolishTheMonarchy pic.twitter.com/4Rio8lqNzR
— Republic (@RepublicStaff) April 26, 2023
"No election. No choice. Liverpool had its say – Charles isn’t their king," Republic wrote.
The group of schoolchildren reported on by the BBC could also be seen in Republic’s video, but they cannot be heard chanting anything.
In a separate video from the BBC, showing King Charles arriving at Liverpool library, both boos and cheers can be heard from the crowd.
The BBC Radio Merseyside Twitter thread reported much more heavily on pro-monarchy sentiment and the handing out of Union flags than it did on the republican protest. That anti-monarchy demonstration was only mentioned once, in the post claiming it had been drowned out.
The King was in Liverpool to unveil the staging for the Eurovision Song Contest and tour the arena.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We provided a range of coverage across radio, TV and online reflecting various sentiments along the way.”
