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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 interview. This comes allegations of partiality at the network.

White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage

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

Controversy Over Altered Speech

Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A report disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by splicing two parts of the oration together.

The programme showed the leader saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the speech where he advised the assembly "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".

“This intentionally deceptive, carefully cut footage from the BBC further proves they are entirely, 100% fake news, unworthy of airtime on the screens of the UK's admirable citizens.”

Leavitt continued: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it mars 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."

Leaked Document Emphasizes Editing Issues

The publication said its reporting was based on a memo written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The expert departed his position recently and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.

An extract published 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 Issues

The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.

The newspaper said the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly 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 commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.

Criticism of Transgender Topics Reporting

The 19-page dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".

It is reported to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".

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."

"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."