Huw Merriman accuses Art Attack presenter of BBC ‘bias’ in apparent gaffe – as he lays into comedy show
A government minister has hit out at a BBC satirical show for being “completely biased” in the latest allegation from the Conservatives about the corporation’s impartiality.
Huw Merriman also appears to have mixed up Art Attack presenter Neil Buchanan with BBC social affairs correspondent Michael Buchanan when challenged to give examples of unbalanced reporting.
The transport minister’s comments came after Downing Street was forced to deny it is pursuing an agenda against the BBC, following a “culture wars” row over its impartiality reforms.
On Monday, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer told Sky News the BBC has “on occasion been biased”, but then struggled to give examples.
Mr Merriman, asked if he agreed with his colleague, told Sky News that an episode of BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz last Friday had struck him as “completely biased”.
“I was driving from my constituency office to home for 10 minutes and all I heard – and it wasn’t satirical – was just diatribe against the Conservatives, not the government,” he said.
“I did listen to it and think, for goodness sake, where is the balance in that?
“So, yes, I’m afraid to say, despite the fact I’ve always been a big supporter of the BBC, that struck me as completely biased.”
When it was put to him that this is a comedy show, Mr Merriman said it did not strike him as particularly satirical and challenged any viewer to listen to it and make up their own mind.
A BBC spokesperson hit back: “We’re confident our audiences know the difference between a longstanding and popular satirical comedy show and our news reporting.”
The News Quiz is commissioned by Radio 4 as a comedy programme and is not made by BBC News.
Mr Merriman went on to criticise the BBC’s coverage of universal credit, which he worked on during his time at the Department for Work and Pensions.
“There was an individual there who would report on it, Neil Buchanan, who I always felt gave one side of the story and not the other side, which was the government side.”
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Minister challenged over ‘BBC bias’ claim
Neil Buchanan hosted the children’s TV show Art Attack between 1990 and 2007.
Mr Merriman may have been mixing him up with Michael Buchanan, a social affairs correspondent at the BBC.
The National Union of Journalists accused him of “scraping the barrel” and said it was “shameful” to single out individual journalists for criticism.
The debate on BBC impartiality has been brought to the fore by a series of reforms the government wants it to adopt.
As part of the mid-term review into the corporation’s Royal Charter, ministers want to give Ofcom, the media watchdog, more powers to investigate the BBC and a new legal responsibility to review more of the BBC’s complaints decisions.
Ms Frazer said the BBC “needs to adapt” to the reforms or risk “losing the trust of the audience it relies on”.
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But when challenged to give an example of bias she was unable to provide one beyond the BBC reporting of an attack on a hospital in Gaza which was initially attributed to Israel but which Western intelligence later concluded was the result of a misfiring Hamas rocket.
When it was put to her that a mistake is not the same as bias, she went on to say there is a “perception among the public the BBC is biased” and “perceptions are important”.
The BBC said “no other organisation takes its commitment to impartiality more seriously”.
Labour branded her the “latest secretary of state for culture wars” and accused her of using the BBC “as a punching bag”.
Number 10 was later forced to deny it was pursuing an agenda against the BBC.
Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman, asked if this was the case, responded: “No. This is rightly about ensuring the BBC is able to continue to thrive long into the future.”
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British Palestinians have called Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to recognise Palestine as a state if Israel does not abide by conditions “absurd and performative” – and will not allay concerns about people in Gaza.
After recalling his cabinet ministers from parliamentary recess on Tuesday, the prime minister said the UK will recognise a Palestinian state by September if Israel agrees to end the “appalling situation in Gaza”.
Gaza latest: ‘Worse-case scenario of famine’ unfolding
The British Palestinian Committee (BPC), which represents the experiences of Palestinians in the UK, sent Sir Keir a letter ahead of the meeting urging him to take actions they said could make a real difference to people in Gaza.
They had urged him to not recognise Palestine as a state without taking measures to “end the genocide” in Gaza, calling it “symbolic” and said it “must not be used to deflect from accountability”.
After Sir Keir announced his plan to recognise Palestine, Dr Sarah Husseini, BPC director, told Sky News the plan is “absurd while Israel continues to exterminate and starve women, men and children”.
She added: “What is needed is urgent accountability for the genocide in Gaza and an end to UK military support to the state committing these crimes.
“This performative announcement does little to allay the concerns of Palestinians in this country. It will not relieve the government of its legal duties, and it will not silence the calls from the British public to end British complicity in the atrocities being livestreamed to their phones.”
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Sky News on board Gaza aid plane
The war has now been going on for 21 months after it was sparked by Hamas militants killing 1,200 Israelis and taking 250 hostages on 7 October 2023. The militant group still holds 50 hostages, of whom only 20 are believed to be alive.
Sir Keir had been under pressure from his own MPs and other UK political parties, notably since France last week said it will recognise Palestine as a state, but had resisted – saying recognition needs to be part of a wider peace plan.
He has also refused to say whether “genocide” is taking place in Gaza – a claim Israel has vehemently denied.
Israel paused fighting in three areas for another 10 hours today to help aid distribution, the third day it has done so amid mounting international condemnation of the scenes of hunger unfolding in Gaza.
David Mencer, a spokesperson for the Israeli government, said: “There is no intent, (which is) key for the charge of genocide… it simply doesn’t make sense for a country to send in 1.9 million tonnes of aid, most of that being food, if there is an intent of genocide.”
Israel also rejected Sir Keir’s plan and accused him of pandering to his MPs and the French.
The Israeli foreign ministry said: “The shift in the British government’s position at this time, following the French move and internal political pressures, constitutes a reward for Hamas and harms efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of hostages.”
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The view from a plane dropping aid into Gaza
The BPC said the UK could take immediate steps to help starving Gazans. Pic: Reuters
In the BPC’s letter, it had said the government has “not only a political and moral obligation, but a legal obligation” to take three steps.
They are:
• Preventing and punishing Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza and to end “all complicity in it”
• Apply “immediate and comprehensive sanctions on Israel”
• Safeguard the rights to freedom of expression and assembly in the UK
More specifically, the group called on Sir Keir to end “all forms of military collaboration, urgently review all public contracts to ensure they are not aiding unlawful occupation or genocidal acts, and support universal jurisdiction mandates”.
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The group said these steps would help towards ending the starvation crisis in Gaza, which it said had been made possible “due to the impunity granted to” Israel and “compounded by the active military, economic and diplomatic support from states such as the UK”.
They also accused the UK government of introducing “draconian legislation to limit the rights” of British citizens campaigning to end the atrocities “and British complicity in those atrocities”.
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