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The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. This comes claims of bias at the network.

Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage

The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."

Dispute Over Edited Address

The spokesperson's statements emerged after MPs said the corporation had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.

A document leaked to a publication suggested that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two parts of the oration together.

The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the talk where he advised the assembly "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.”

The press secretary continued: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins my day listening to their overt 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 Production Issues

The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a note written by a former adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert departed his role recently and has not commented on the document, understood to have been leaked by a insider.

A passage 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."

Allegations of Widespread Issues

The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.

The newspaper claimed the adviser alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.

One issue pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.

Censure of Trans Issues Reporting

The lengthy file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, saying the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".

It is reported to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".

The Broadcaster Response

In answer, the BBC stated: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."

"The former adviser is a former adviser to a board committee where differing views and opinions of our coverage are routinely discussed and debated.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."