BBC Bosses Warn Journalists Over Black Lives Matter Bias

BBC bosses have warned journalists not to publicly back anti-racism campaigns like Black Lives Matter. 

In an email sent to staff the BBC claimed it was "not neutral on racism", but warned that any display of bias would undermine public trust in the national broadcaster.

The two-page document said: "The killing of George Floyd continues to affect many of us. The aftermath of the killing has reverberated not just in the USA, but in the UK too - and caused us to consider some uncomfortable truths about our own history, how BAME colleagues feel about living in the UK and how they feel about the BBC.

"These are not new issues of course and there is enormous frustration about the time that it's taken to address them.

"In BBC News, we have a responsibility to help everyone understand the context, what's happened, and the consequences. Our output has been challenging and evocative, and it's led to many questions. 

"A number of these questions go to the heart of how we practice our journalism in BBC News. Are our editorial values, which are based on due impartiality, outdated? Do they allow us to tell the truth?

"The BBC is not neutral on racism - it's something we've been very clear about. We deplore it and call it out where we see it - as we have done in our reporting of events in the US.

"Our opposition to racism is a fundamental democratic principle - and so is consistent with the BBC's editorial guidelines. However, once opposition to racism becomes aligned with a particular campaign, we begin to express a view about what the response to racism should be. And this gets us into areas where we have to be impartial."

The email comes a week after the BBC was criticised for underplaying the true extent of violent disorder and vandalism at last weekend's Black Lives Matter rally in central London, which it described on its website as "largely peaceful".

BBC reporter Chi Chi Izundu, who goes by the Twitter handle @blondeafro and modestly claims to be the Corporation's "first inspirational news reporter", further stoked controversy by apparently trying to distance violent protestors from the serious injuries sustained by a mounted police officer during last Saturday's protests.

Footage of the incident, which took place in Whitehall, clearly showed the moment a masked protestor threw a Boris bike at a police horse, which spooked the animal into running into a set of traffic lights.

The female officer impacted with the traffic lights and was dismounted, the horse continuing to run towards Trafalgar Square.

In her report Izundu apparently tried to pin blame for the incident on the seriously injured officer.

She described the incident in the following terms: "The officer knocked herself off her horse. It bolted into the crowd and trampled a protestor."

In its response to a complaint on Izundu's selective reporting, the BBC said: "While the initial phrasing might have been improved, we believe the reporting was accurate and developed as more information became available."

There are further Black Lives Matters protests in cities across the UK today. The protests are in response to the death of George Floyd in Minnesota on 25th May.

Floyd died after a police officer restrained him on the ground by kneeling on his neck.

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