Lee Anderson accuses BBC of pumping out ‘anti-government’ propaganda
Lee Anderson claims the BBC is ‘anti-government’
Lee Anderson has criticised the BBC as being “anti-Government” in a TV debate about the licence fee.
The deputy chair of the Conservative Party made the claim during a discussion with former Labour minister Denis MacShane and journalist Alys Denby.
He compared the BBC to TV stations in authoritarian countries such as North Korea which “pump out propaganda on a daily basis” that is always pro-government.
Mr Anderson added: “But we have a national broadcaster that’s anti-government.”
The outspoken Red Wall MP has had a number of run-ins over the BBC, recently clashing with one of the corporation’s radio presenters after he was accused of dishonesty. He went on to ask the journalist 10 times if she had ever told a lie.
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Mr MacShane, a former MP for Rotherham who pleaded guilty in 2013 to false accounting during the parliamentary expenses scandal, defended the broadcaster in the GB News debate.
He told the MP for Ashfield he wasn’t unhappy about the BBC being against the government, claiming the corporation was “always against” the Labour government.
The ex-minister for Europe added: “They crucified Tony Blair. I thought that showed us we were a confident nation – the Government isn’t trying to Putin and the right wing party that’s just been booted out of Poland to shut it all down.”
Asked by Mr Anderson if the BBC is impartial, Ms Denby said: “I think one of the signs that it is quite impartial is that both sides think it is biased against them.
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“The Government thinks it hates them and so does the Opposition.”
She went on to add that the ex-chair of the BBC Richard Sharp was a “good friend” of former prime minister, Boris Johnson.
Mr Sharp left the top job at the corporation after failing to declare a connection to a £800,000 loan to Mr Johnson.
It is a sensitive time for the BBC which has been grappling with a series of crises involving current and former presenters, Huw Edwards and Russell Brand.
It has also been dealing with challenges over the impartiality guidelines it expects broadcasters such as Gary Lineker to stick to
Such issues are likely to become even more acute next year when a General Election is expected.
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