BBC

BBC impartiality at risk because journalists ‘lack understanding of basic economics’

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BBC journalists “lack understanding of basic economics”, according to an independent review of the corporation’s economics coverage. Impartiality is at risk because some journalists at the corporation make assumptions and have gaps in their knowledge, the review concluded. The thematic review was commissioned by the BBC Board into the broadcaster’s coverage of taxation, public expenditure, … Read more

Hunt for the BBC food thief as staff reveal their lunch is being pinched

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EXCLUSIVE: Hunt for the BBC food thief: Newsreaders and journalists reveal how their lunch is being mysteriously pinched from work fridges – as security put up notes to deter culprit Mystery fridge raider has been stealing meals from BBC staffers and freelancers Culprit or culprits target buildings including flagship New Broadcasting House BBC security have … Read more

a chilling reminder that the Nazis did not act alone

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What springs to mind when you hear the word “Holocaust”? This was the question that opened James Bulgin’s film, How the Holocaust Began (BBC Two). Most likely you will think of somewhere like Auschwitz, and the Nazis presiding over processed mass murder. But Bulgin, a historian from the Imperial War Museum, wanted to show us … Read more

BBC chairman allegedly helped Boris Johnson with major loan weeks before winning his job

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Labour is calling for an investigation after claims that the BBC chairman helped Boris Johnson arrange a guarantee on a loan of up to £800,000 weeks before he was recommended for the job by the then-prime minister. The party has written to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Daniel Greenberg following a report in The Sunday Times … Read more

The BBC will come to regret giving a platform to Shamima Begum

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The BBC’s decision to launch a 10-part interview series with Shamima Begum is a spectacular own goal by our national public broadcaster. Telling the story of her journey to Syria, her involvement in the podcast forms part of a broader PR campaign for her British citizenship to be restored so she can return to the … Read more

I sought Isis online before fleeing to Syria

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Ms Begum claimed in a legal appeal last year that she was trafficked abroad after being radicalised and manipulated online.  The BBC claimed the podcast would provide Ms Begum’s “full account” of “what really happened” when she disappeared from London in 2015 to become a jihadi bride.  The broadcaster added, however: “This is not a … Read more

Sally Wainwright’s warning of Britain’s middle-class drugs war

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It feels rather old-fashioned to be watching Happy Valley (BBC One) in weekly instalments rather than one great binge. I’m all for it. I know there are plenty of people out there (hello, Mum) who prefer these days to wait for a series to finish, so they can watch it in their own time. For … Read more

a masterpiece account of America’s close brush with Nazism

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Recently a book on a Holocaust theme was up for a major award. To the relief of a senior media figure involved in the prize, it didn’t win. Haven’t we had enough stories from that quarter, this person mused. I know they said these words because they were quoted to me by an appalled judge … Read more

shallow fluff that fails to show us the Amir behind the trophies

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There is an interesting story in Meet the Khans: Big in Bolton (BBC Three), but it’s buried beneath layers of artifice. This is a reality show about likeable former boxer Amir Khan and his influencer wife, Faryal, but it’s “real” in the sense that Made in Chelsea or Keeping Up With the Kardashians are real, … Read more

There ain’t no reunion like an S Club reunion! Hit 90s band S Club 7 joining forces 25 years later

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There ain’t no reunion like an S Club 7 reunion! Hit 90s band are joining forces 25 years after they found fame – with music mogul boss Simon Fuller bringing them back S Club 7’s old boss Simon Fuller called each of the seven stars in person to suggest the project and said it would … Read more