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The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. This comes claims of bias at the broadcaster.

Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting

Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."

Dispute Over Edited Speech

Leavitt's statements emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.

A document leaked to a publication suggested that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two parts of the speech together.

The broadcast depicted the leader saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it omitted a section of the speech where he urged the crowd "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 added: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins 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."

Disclosed Memo Highlights Editing Problems

The publication reported its reporting was based on a memo authored by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert departed his role recently and has not commented on the file, understood to have been revealed by a insider.

An extract released read: "It was completely misleading to edit the clip in the way Panorama aired it. The fact that he did not explicitly exhort supporters to go down and fight at Capitol Hill was one of the reasons there were no federal charges for incitement to riot."

Claims of Widespread Issues

The memo reportedly added that the ex-consultant had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.

The newspaper claimed the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.

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

Criticism of Trans Issues Coverage

The 19-page dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".

It is said 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 impartiality".

The Broadcaster Reply

In answer, the BBC said: "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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."