BBC receives 40,000 complaints in just two days after Emily Maitlis sparks impartiality row with Dominic Cummings rant
by Paul Revoir Media Editor For The Daily Mail- More than 40,000 complaints to BBC over Emily Maitlis Newsnight introduction
- Miss Maitlis delivered a critical monologue on Dominic Cummings controversy
- She also accused Boris Johnson of showing ‘blind loyalty’ towards his adviser
The BBC has received more than 40,000 complaints in only two days after comments by presenter Emily Maitlis sparked an impartiality row.
The number of angry viewers writing in more than doubled in 24 hours – the total stood at 18,000 on Thursday.
The complaints came after Miss Maitlis delivered a highly critical monologue about the Dominic Cummings lockdown controversy during an episode of Newsnight on Tuesday.
In her introduction to the current affairs programme, Miss Maitlis said Mr Cummings had ‘broken the rules’ and had made the public ‘feel like fools’.
She also accused Boris Johnson of showing ‘blind loyalty’ towards his adviser, who had driven 260 miles from London to County Durham during lockdown.
Within 24 hours, the BBC released a statement saying the programme had not met ‘standards of due impartiality’, adding that staff had been ‘reminded of the guidelines’.
Some viewers have been incensed at what they see as the BBC Two show’s bias against Mr Cummings and the Government, while others have been enraged by the corporation’s rapid climbdown.
According to an insider, there have been just over 20,000 people who thought Miss Maitlis’s introduction had not been impartial, while just under 20,000 were angry about the BBC’s statement.
Some complaints have not been categorised yet. Regulator Ofcom said it had received 366 complaints about the issue.
And Miss Maitlis is not the only BBC journalist facing public anger.
Yesterday, it also emerged that The Andrew Marr Show last Sunday had received more than 1,000 messages from viewers, also relating to the row over Mr Cummings.
On the programme, Mr Marr grilled Transport Secretary Grant Shapps about the row over the Prime Minister’s adviser.
Meanwhile, a former head of BBC television news has blamed ‘muddled management’ and social media for the Maitlis row.
Roger Mosey said ‘traditional restraint has been swept away in the age of social media’, with presenters encouraged to show their personalities to audiences.
Writing for the New Statesman Mr Mosey said: ‘Much of the blame sits with the BBC management, who have been woolly and contradictory in their determination of what impartiality is in a modern broadcasting environment.’
