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Daily Mail
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
BBC staff are told 'they must represent unpalatable and offensive views'
BBC staff have been told they should be willing to represent 'unpalatable' opinions and 'minority' views even if some people find them offensive. The broadcaster released updated editorial guidelines stating output must be impartial so the public feels comfortable expressing taboo perspectives. Journalists are reminded 'impartial output may "require the inclusion of opinions which some […] communities or groups may argue ought not to be included, because they find them unpalatable or offensive"'. The revisions signal an update to 2019 guidance and come after years of ' cancel culture ' which critics have said imposed a mainstream consensus on issues like immigration and gender identity. This week, the BBC backed Martine Croxall, a news presenter who corrected her script from 'pregnant people' to 'women' live on air. The support marked a shift from 2024 when the BBC upheld a complaint against presenter Justin Webb as he called transgender women 'males' on air. Last year the Migration Observatory in Oxford said the BBC ought to better reflect public views on immigration. The organisation claimed some BBC journalists were anxious they could appear 'hostile' to migrants by reporting on migration. The new BBC guidance states it is 'committed to reflecting a wide rang of subject matter and perspectives across its output' Earlier this month, bosses at the corporation met to discuss how best to rebuild trust. It followed April's Supreme Court ruling that transgender women are not legally women. This also came in the aftermath of Reform UK's success in local elections and reports of record high levels of migration. The new BBC guidance states the corporation is 'committed to reflecting a wide range of subject matter and perspectives across its output'. It adds: 'On occasion, that will include attitudes and opinions which some may find unpalatable or offensive.' Staff are also told to be aware 'opinion may change over time' and they should try to reflect accurately altered public opinion in their coverage. However, the guidance does make clear 'fringe' opinions need not be given the same weight as viewpoints deemed to be backed up by greater evidence. The new editorial guidelines, updated roughly every five years, have been embraced by BBC director-general Tim Davie. He said that the rules would 'provide editorial values and standards that make the BBC distinctive and reliable'. Mr Davie added in a foreword: 'The BBC is committed to freedom of expression but this doesn't mean that anything goes. In a world of misinformation and disinformation, the BBC's editorial values of accuracy, impartiality and fairness are more crucial than ever. 'So too, in the context of the ugliness of much social media, is the fundamental decency embodied in sections like Harm and Offence or Children and Young People.' The sections continue to warn staff to be mindful of giving air time to views that could be considered offensive, and to ensure there are appropriate content warnings on iPlayer. Among the other new aspects of the guidance are rules around use of AI, to reflect the emergence of new technology. One new rule says: 'A senior editorial figure must be responsible and accountable for overseeing the deployment and continuing use of any AI. 'They should seek advice from Editorial Policy, who may consult the AI Risk Advisory Group, before any decision to deploy the AI.'
Telegraph
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
BBC staff told impartiality means they must represent ‘unpalatable views'
BBC staff have been told they must be willing to represent 'unpalatable' views. The broadcaster has released updated editorial guidelines stating that a range of views, including 'minority' opinions, should be taken into account to ensure output is impartial. Updated clauses tell staff to be aware of potentially silenced opinions that the public may be 'reluctant to express', or opinions rarely expressed because 'opportunity to do so is limited'. Staff have been told to do so even if some groups might find these opinions offensive. The guidance reminds journalists that impartial output may 'require the inclusion of opinions which some […] communities or groups may argue ought not to be included, because they find them unpalatable or offensive'. The revisions update 2019 guidance, and come after years of 'cancel culture', which some believe enforced a mainstream consensus on issues such as immigration and gender identity. The BBC itself upheld a complaint against presenter Justin Webb in 2024 when he called trans women 'males' on air, a biological definition of gendered terms which has since been supported by a Supreme Court ruling. Last year the Migration Observatory in Oxford urged the BBC to better reflect the public views on immigration. The organisation claimed that some BBC journalists were anxious that reporting on concerns about migration could appear 'hostile' to migrants. It comes after the BBC backed Martine Croxall, the news presenter, when she corrected her script from 'pregnant people' to 'women' live on-air. The UK Supreme Court ruling in April was said to have encouraged staff to speak up for women. Earlier this month, BBC bosses met to discuss how best to rebuild trust with Right-leaning audiences. This followed Reform UK's success in the local elections, and immigration becoming a key political issue after both legal and illegal migration reached record highs. BBC staff have been told in fresh guidance that they should be aware that 'opinion may change over time', and to try to accurately reflect altered public opinion in their coverage However, guidance makes clear that while the consensus should be questioned and not presumed, fringe opinions do not need to be given the same weight as viewpoints that are backed up by greater evidence. The new editorial guidelines, updated roughly every five years, have been welcomed by Tim Davie, the director-general. He said that they would 'provide editorial values and standards that make the BBC distinctive and reliable'. He added in a foreword: 'The BBC is committed to freedom of expression but this doesn't mean that anything goes. In a world of misinformation and disinformation, the BBC's editorial values of accuracy, impartiality and fairness are more crucial than ever. 'So too, in the context of the ugliness of much social media, is the fundamental decency embodied in sections like Harm and Offence or Children and Young People.' These sections continue to warn staff to be mindful of broadcasting views that could be considered offensive, and to ensure there are appropriate content warnings on iPlayer. Reflecting the emergence of new technology, the guidance also contains new rules on the use of AI. One new rule stipulates: 'A senior editorial figure must be responsible and accountable for overseeing the deployment and continuing use of any AI. 'They should seek advice from Editorial Policy, who may consult the AI Risk Advisory Group, before any decision to deploy the AI.'
Daily Mail
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Revealed: How 'pregnant people' ended up in Martine Croxall's autocue - as BBC bosses back newsreader for correcting wording to 'women' live on air
The BBC today backed a star presenter forced to correct the phrase 'pregnant people' to 'women' on her autocue while broadcasting live - and ruled out the need for any investigation, MailOnline can reveal. There were concerns amongst colleagues that Martine Croxall could be disciplined after Justin Webb was told he partially breached BBC guidelines for describing trans women as 'males' during a Radio 4 debate. But Martine's bosses are said to have been 'intensely relaxed' after her intervention and have also decided there is no need for a probe into how the phrase 'pregnant people' ended up in her script. They have already concluded it was an innocent mistake - rather than act of defiance on behalf of the trans community following the Supreme Court's ruling in April. MailOnline can reveal that Ms Croxall couldn't hide her 'shock and frustration' when she was forced to change an autocue line from 'pregnant people' to 'women' live on air. 'Most people didn't need a Supreme Court ruling to tell them what a woman is – but based on what happened to Martine Croxall, it seems someone at the BBC might', a senior figure at the corporation has claimed. Martine Croxall's message for supporters after after she was praised for rejecting woke gender-neutral language live on air The BBC is blaming a press release on heat waves from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine for the blunder. It quoted an academic who used the phrase 'pregnant people' instead of women and this was pasted into Martine's autocue script by another BBC journalist - but Ms Croxall spotted it mid-broadcast. The presenter has the full support of her bosses for her on-air heroics. 'Martine is not in any trouble. She has the full backing of the BBC because she got it right', MailOnline's insider said. 'She was stating a fact and correcting a mistake'. The source said that Ms Croxall, 56, and other presenters will often change words on the autocue without viewers noticing. 'But this time I think she couldn't hide she was shocked and frustrated by the mistake'. Martine has won a legion of new fans, including JK Rowling. The broadcaster's Twitter followers have jumped from 56,000 to 127,000 – and doubled in the first 24 hours after she changed her BBC script. JK Rowling had been in direct contact with Martine to ask is she was 'in trouble' over the incident. 'She has not had a single negative comment from her colleagues and the overwhelming response from the public has been positive', the BBC source said. In February last year Today programme presenter Justin Webb was found to have broken BBC impartiality rules after he said 'trans women, in other words males' on air. Mr Webb's comment was found to have fallen foul of guidelines because he 'gave the impression of endorsing one viewpoint in a highly controversial area', the corporation said. He made the remark during a discussion about new International Chess Federation (FIDE) guidelines, which had looked at whether being biologically male held an advantage in the game. But a listener complained that during the interview in August 2023, with Dominic Lawson, the Today presenter had given 'his personal view' on a 'controversial matter'. But following the Supreme Court's ruling this year - it appears that the BBC has shifted its position. Martine has supported women on TV before - and behind the scenes also stood up with female colleagues in their fight for equal pay at the corporation. Famously she also got tough with a transgender wannabe politician who said she felt attacked when Ms Croxall questioned her claim that the Supreme Court's April ruling that trans women are legally male and trans men are legally female might need further 'clarification'. There have also been lighter moments, including when she winked and joked that she was a 'beautiful creature' and also the times she was wasn't in her seat as cameras began rolling. She also appeared tearful when she announced the death of Prince Philip in 2021. Heather Herbert, a trans campaigner and former Labour MSP candidate, provoked a furious response from Croxall after declaring: 'I feel like I'm under attack' when they discussed the Supreme Court's ruling on gender In April the broadcaster was praised when she challenged a transgender activist who claimed the Supreme Court 's ruling that the definition of a woman is based on biological sex may still need 'clarification'. The BBC veteran firmly told ex-Labour MSP candidate Heather Herbert that the landmark ruling made it clear 'sex is binary and immutable'. Leicestershire-born Ms Croxall repeatedly challenged Herbert after she called for further 'clarification' on single sex spaces, at one point reminding her: 'The ruling is that woman means biological sex.' She spearheaded a legal case against the BBC over pay, with the corporation settling the case in March. Martine, Karin Giannone, Kasia Madera and Annita McVeigh launched an employment tribunal against the BBC in a bombshell case, which included the claim they had not been paid equally compared with their male counterparts. All four claimed they lost their roles on the BBC News Channel following a 'rigged' recruitment exercise when it was merged with BBC World. The case was settled by the BBC in the spring of this year. The row meant the women were all off for 12 months, which Martine chronicled on social media. Instead of being in the studio she enjoyed trips to Mexico, Bulgaria and Thailand. During her time off, she went swimming with whale sharks and sea lions in the Gulf of California, zipwired over a canyon in Mexico and fed elephants at a sanctuary in Phuket. That's on top of taking a hot balloon over the pyramids in Mexico and venturing on two ski trips, including one where she was seen relaxing in a massive hot tub after spending a day on the slopes. Croxall joined the corporation in 1991 following work experience with her local station, BBC Radio Leicester. She grew up in the countryside, attending an independent school before graduating from the University of Leeds. In 2022, she was briefly taken off air after breaking the corporation's impartiality rules. She also winked on an occasion and joked she was a 'beautiful creature' on a feature about sealife The blunder happened on October 23 after Boris Johnson ran out of the leadership contest that Rishi Sunak went on to win. During the Sunday night edition of The Papers, where press members discuss the main stories of the day, she said in the wake of Johnson's departure: 'Well this is all very exciting, isn't it? Am I allowed to be this gleeful? Well I am.' Later in the show she also admitted that she was 'probably breaking' some of the BBC's impartiality rules when she laughed at Tony Grew's mocking of Johnson. The corporation later ruled that Croxall had made 'several remarks and reactions' that caused 'significant risk' that the audience could believe 'opinions were being expressed' on the Conservative leadership race. She returned to air after 11 days off. Following the death of Prince Philip, Ms Croxall was close to tears as she interrupted the broadcast to break the news to the country. Now she is in the headlines again after standing up for women. The clip from a recent BBC News episode saw Ms Croxall introduce new research on the number of heat-related deaths expected amid Britain's current heatwave. But as the autocue prompted her to warn 'pregnant people' to take care in the heat, she first read the term out before overriding it, with a smirk and eyebrow raise. She said: 'Malcolm Mistry, who was involved in the research, said the aged, pregnant people - women! - and those with pre-existing health conditions need to take precautions.' Ms Rowling reposted the clip on X, captioning it: 'I have a new favourite BBC presenter.' It is understood the phrase 'pregnant people' was the term used in the research the presenter was reporting on, rather than the BBC having written it. Ms Croxall herself soon responded to a commenter who had praised her move as 'brilliant' by saying: 'I hope you don't get hauled before the BBC News beak.' The broadcaster simply replied: 'Braced x.' The original clip was first reposted to X by campaign group SEEN In Journalism, which says it 'seeks to restore accuracy and impartiality to media coverage of sex and gender'.
Daily Mail
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Revealed: How 'pregnant people' ended up in Martine Croxhall's autocue - as BBC bosses back newsreader for correcting wording to 'women' live on air
The BBC today backed a star presenter forced to correct the phrase 'pregnant people' to 'women' on her autocue while broadcasting live - and ruled out the need for any investigation, MailOnline can reveal. There were concerns amongst colleagues that Martine Croxall could be disciplined after Justin Webb was told he partially breached BBC guidelines for describing trans women as 'males' during a Radio 4 debate. But Martine's bosses are said to have been 'intensely relaxed' after her intervention and have also decided there is no need for a probe into how the phrase 'pregnant people' ended up in her script. They have already concluded it was an innocent mistake - rather than act of defiance on behalf of the trans community following the Supreme Court's ruling in April. MailOnline can reveal that Ms Croxall couldn't hide her 'shock and frustration' when she was forced to change an autocue line from 'pregnant people' to 'women' live on air. 'Most people didn't need a Supreme Court ruling to tell them what a woman is – but based on what happened to Martine Croxall, it seems someone at the BBC might', a senior figure at the corporation has claimed. Martine Croxall's message for supporters after after she was praised for rejecting woke gender-neutral language live on air The BBC is blaming a press release on heat waves from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine for the blunder. It quoted an academic who used the phrase 'pregnant people' instead of women and this was pasted into Martine's autocue script by another BBC journalist - but Ms Croxall spotted it mid-broadcast. The presenter has the full support of her bosses for her on-air heroics. 'Martine is not in any trouble. She has the full backing of the BBC because she got it right', MailOnline's insider said. 'She was stating a fact and correcting a mistake'. The source said that Ms Croxall, 56, and other presenters will often change words on the autocue without viewers noticing. 'But this time I think she couldn't hide she was shocked and frustrated by the mistake'. Martine has won a legion of new fans, including JK Rowling. The broadcaster's Twitter followers have jumped from 56,000 to 127,000 – and doubled in the first 24 hours after she changed her BBC script. JK Rowling had been in direct contact with Martine to ask is she was 'in trouble' over the incident. 'She has not had a single negative comment from her colleagues and the overwhelming response from the public has been positive', the BBC source said. In February last year Today programme presenter Justin Webb was found to have broken BBC impartiality rules after he said 'trans women, in other words males' on air. Mr Webb's comment was found to have fallen foul of guidelines because he 'gave the impression of endorsing one viewpoint in a highly controversial area', the corporation said. He made the remark during a discussion about new International Chess Federation (FIDE) guidelines, which had looked at whether being biologically male held an advantage in the game. But a listener complained that during the interview in August 2023, with Dominic Lawson, the Today presenter had given 'his personal view' on a 'controversial matter'. But following the Supreme Court's ruling this year - it appears that the BBC has shifted its position. Martine has supported women on TV before - and behind the scenes also stood up with female colleagues in their fight for equal pay at the corporation. Famously she also got tough with a transgender wannabe politician who said she felt attacked when Ms Croxall questioned her claim that the Supreme Court's April ruling that trans women are legally male and trans men are legally female might need further 'clarification'. There have also been lighter moments, including when she winked and joked that she was a 'beautiful creature' and also the times she was wasn't in her seat as cameras began rolling. She also appeared tearful when she announced the death of Prince Philip in 2021. Heather Herbert, a trans campaigner and former Labour MSP candidate, provoked a furious response from Croxall after declaring: 'I feel like I'm under attack' when they discussed the Supreme Court's ruling on gender In April the broadcaster was praised when she challenged a transgender activist who claimed the Supreme Court 's ruling that the definition of a woman is based on biological sex may still need 'clarification'. The BBC veteran firmly told ex-Labour MSP candidate Heather Herbert that the landmark ruling made it clear 'sex is binary and immutable'. Leicestershire-born Ms Croxall repeatedly challenged Herbert after she called for further 'clarification' on single sex spaces, at one point reminding her: 'The ruling is that woman means biological sex.' She spearheaded a legal case against the BBC over pay, with the corporation settling the case in March. Martine, Karin Giannone, Kasia Madera and Annita McVeigh launched an employment tribunal against the BBC in a bombshell case, which included the claim they had not been paid equally compared with their male counterparts. All four claimed they lost their roles on the BBC News Channel following a 'rigged' recruitment exercise when it was merged with BBC World. The case was settled by the BBC in the spring of this year. The row meant the women were all off for 12 months, which Martine chronicled on social media. Instead of being in the studio she enjoyed trips to Mexico, Bulgaria and Thailand. During her time off, she went swimming with whale sharks and sea lions in the Gulf of California, zipwired over a canyon in Mexico and fed elephants at a sanctuary in Phuket. That's on top of taking a hot balloon over the pyramids in Mexico and venturing on two ski trips, including one where she was seen relaxing in a massive hot tub after spending a day on the slopes. Croxall joined the corporation in 1991 following work experience with her local station, BBC Radio Leicester. She grew up in the countryside, attending an independent school before graduating from the University of Leeds. In 2022, she was briefly taken off air after breaking the corporation's impartiality rules. She also winked on an occasion and joked she was a 'beautiful creature' on a feature about sealife The blunder happened on October 23 after Boris Johnson ran out of the leadership contest that Rishi Sunak went on to win. During the Sunday night edition of The Papers, where press members discuss the main stories of the day, she said in the wake of Johnson's departure: 'Well this is all very exciting, isn't it? Am I allowed to be this gleeful? Well I am.' Later in the show she also admitted that she was 'probably breaking' some of the BBC's impartiality rules when she laughed at Tony Grew's mocking of Johnson. The corporation later ruled that Croxall had made 'several remarks and reactions' that caused 'significant risk' that the audience could believe 'opinions were being expressed' on the Conservative leadership race. She returned to air after 11 days off. Following the death of Prince Philip, Ms Croxall was close to tears as she interrupted the broadcast to break the news to the country. Now she is in the headlines again after standing up for women. The clip from a recent BBC News episode saw Ms Croxall introduce new research on the number of heat-related deaths expected amid Britain's current heatwave. But as the autocue prompted her to warn 'pregnant people' to take care in the heat, she first read the term out before overriding it, with a smirk and eyebrow raise. She said: 'Malcolm Mistry, who was involved in the research, said the aged, pregnant people - women! - and those with pre-existing health conditions need to take precautions.' Ms Rowling reposted the clip on X, captioning it: 'I have a new favourite BBC presenter.' It is understood the phrase 'pregnant people' was the term used in the research the presenter was reporting on, rather than the BBC having written it. Ms Croxall herself soon responded to a commenter who had praised her move as 'brilliant' by saying: 'I hope you don't get hauled before the BBC News beak.' The broadcaster simply replied: 'Braced x.' The original clip was first reposted to X by campaign group SEEN In Journalism, which says it 'seeks to restore accuracy and impartiality to media coverage of sex and gender'.
Times
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Times
BBC bosses back Martine Croxall over ‘pregnant people' correction
BBC bosses have backed a television presenter who corrected the phrase 'pregnant people' to 'women' while broadcasting live, in what has been welcomed as a rejection of gender-neutral language. Martine Croxall, 56, was citing a study about protecting vulnerable people in hot weather and, after reading out the report's phrasing, immediately rolled her eyes and changed the wording to 'women'. 'Malcolm Mistry, who was involved in the research, says that the aged, pregnant people … women … and those with pre-existing health conditions need to take precautions,' she said. JK Rowling was among those to support the presenter, calling Croxall 'her new favourite BBC presenter' on X, and the former Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova also backed her. Croxall added: 'A huge thank you to everyone who has chosen to follow me today for whatever reason. It's been quite a ride.' She has gained almost 50,000 followers on the social media platform since the incident on Sunday afternoon. BBC bosses are also understood to have been 'intensely relaxed' about the wording amid concerns from some staff that Croxall may have faced disciplinary action. Last year Justin Webb, a presenter of Today on Radio 4, was found to have partially breached BBC guidelines over the way in which he described a transgender woman in a debate about chess. Justin Webb was sanctioned by the BBC over an incident on Today on Radio 4 BBC Webb was told that he was at fault for describing the transgender woman as 'in other words, male' during a debate in August 2023 about guidelines issued by the international chess federation about whether men have an advantage in the game. • BBC calls in expert over breakfast show 'bullying' row But the BBC's position appears to have shifted since Webb was sanctioned. Following Sunday's broadcast, bosses are understood to have checked in with Croxall in a supportive way. 'It's a real cultural moment,' said one fellow BBC presenter, who said that there is a groundswell of support internally for using 'honest language'. Samir Shah is chairman of the BBC MICHAEL LECKIE FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES CULTURE They are said to have the support of Samir Shah, the BBC chairman. He is thought to have been dismayed by the ruling surrounding the Today incident, which took place several months before he joined the corporation. The shift is said to have been underpinned by the Supreme Court ruling in April, which found that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex. In a statement at the time, the BBC said that it was assessing how to implement the ruling into its editorial guidelines. 'In our news reporting, we always aim to deal with issues fairly and impartially, and this is informed by our editorial guidelines,' a spokesman said. 'BBC News is assessing the ruling to consider any updates which might need to be made to the style guide as a result.' The BBC News style guide encourages 'appropriate language' when reporting on a person's gender, including using whichever gender pronouns are 'preferred by the person in question, unless there are editorial reasons not to do so'.
