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The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright discussion. This comes allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.

Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage

The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."

Controversy Over Edited Speech

Leavitt's statements came after MPs said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.

A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by splicing two segments of the speech together.

The programme depicted the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it omitted a section of the talk where he urged the assembly "to express views calmly and loyally".

“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.”

Leavitt continued: "Every time I journey 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 blatant 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 Emphasizes Editing Problems

The publication reported its reporting was based on a note written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The adviser left his position recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been leaked by a insider.

A passage released stated: "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 Systemic Problems

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

The newspaper said the author asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by top executives. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.

One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.

Criticism of Transgender Issues Reporting

The 19-page dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, stating the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".

It is said to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".

The Broadcaster Response

In answer, the BBC stated: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."

"Michael Prescott 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."