BBC is misleading audience with misreporting of Scotland, says Angus Robertson

Scotland’s Culture Secretary has accused the BBC of “misleading” viewers and listeners by “misreporting” news from the devolved government.

Angus Robertson insisted the broadcaster “has (a) systemic problem in its news coverage” of Scotland.

Speaking to MSPs on Holyrood’s Culture Committee, he said that the BBC news had “managed to misreport the headline announcements” from the Scottish Government’s budget, when it was announced in January.

Also, he said Radio 4’s flagship morning Today programme “in three hours of headlines and discussion” the following day “didn’t manage to mention the Scottish Government Budget once”.

More recently, he said, the Today programme had failed to reflect differences in student funding in Scotland in a report on student loans.

Mr Robertson told MSPs that he had raised the network’s reporting of the Scottish budget with BBC director general Tim Davie – saying he had “agreed the matter was so serious I should speak with the head of news, and the editor of the programme, who both conceded that both examples were a failure on their part”.

Hitting out more broadly at the BBC, the Culture Secretary said: “They have guidelines, they are not fulfilling them.

“We have commitments that they will be sorting this out and, to be absolutely frank, I don’t think they are at all.”

He insisted this was “another example why broadcasting should be devolved”, with Mr Robertson adding that “the BBC and others think they can get away with this”.

He also insisted: “This is actually misleading licence fee payers in Scotland by misreporting, or not reporting, things which should be accurately reported by a public service broadcaster.

“It’s not good enough and it must change.”

His attack on the broadcaster came after committee convener asked if he agreed with her that “the BBC as a whole is not representing what is happening in the devolved nations”.

She told MSPs she had been listening to an article about increased support for schoolchildren with additional support needs (ASN) on Radio 4’s Women’s Hour programme this week.

Ms Adamson said: “Fifty three minutes into the programme they mentioned it was England only, that these changes would be relevant, too.

“The other thing I found incredulous was they were implementing almost the same process we have had in Scotland for a number of years, with integrated support plans for young people, but Scotland’s experience of that and the learning from that hadn’t been examined by the programme at all.”

The BBC has been contacted for comment.