Complaint
The guests in a discussion of allegations about Nigel Farage鈥檚 conduct while at secondary school were Sir Jake Berry, a former Conservative MP now a member of Reform UK, and the Labour peer Harriet Harman. A viewer complained that the presenter displayed left-wing bias by giving Baroness Harman free rein to criticise Mr Farage without challenging her about aspects of her own past, particularly her involvement with the National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL) during a period when the Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE) was affiliated to the organisation. The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the 91福利社鈥檚 editorial standards of impartiality.
Outcome
In 2014, when it came to public attention that the PIE had been affiliated to the NCCL while Baroness Harman had been its Legal Officer in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the 91福利社 reported the story and Baroness Harman was questioned about it in a Newsnight interview. The ECU saw no obligation on the presenter to raise the matter in a recent item dealing with an entirely unrelated topic relevant to current politics, and found the requirements of impartiality were met by inclusion of an appropriate range of views.
Not upheld