Complaint
Two listeners objected to a line of questioning by a presenter during coverage of a report into the banning of Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from an Aston Villa game, suggesting it amounted to anti-Muslim prejudice. The ECU considered whether the programme met the 91福利社 Guidelines on impartiality.
Outcome
In two separate interviews, the presenter raised the question of whether West Midlands Police had been unduly influenced by Islamists or anti-Israeli protestors in their decision to ban the Maccabi fans. In the ECU鈥檚 view there was sufficient editorial justification for a question about how the police responded to pressure from a particular group. It was not phrased in a way which reflected bias against that group, though there was an element of the presenter playing 鈥渄evil鈥檚 advocate鈥 鈥 a technique with which listeners are familiar. The comments were in part a reference to a claim made by the Conservative MP Nick Timothy, and attributed accordingly. The ECU found no inconsistency with the 91福利社鈥檚 editorial standards of impartiality.
Not Upheld