Emily Maitlis Newsnight row: A brief history of BBC impartiality controversy

Corporation issues swift response over presenter’s comments, but previous rulings have been reviewed and overturned

After Emily Maitlis was praised for an introduction to the BBC’s flagship current affairs show Newsnight in which she discussed the Dominic Cummings controversy, the corporation ruled her comments breached its impartiality rules.

The presenter said she has been “overwhelmed” by support from viewers as she revealed it was her decision not to appear on the next show to be broadcast after the row over her remarks.

The 49-year-old broadcaster tweeted: “Been overwhelmed by all the kindness, messages – and support on here – and I’ve probably missed much of it.

“A big thank you from us all at Newsnight.”

Her absence the night after her monologue sparked speculation she had been replaced on the show, but Ms Maitlis said she had asked for the evening off.

Ms Maitlis tweeted: “So grateful to my friend and excellent colleague Katie Razzall for stepping in...

“She did so because I asked for the night off – knowing tonight’s programme would be in the most excellent hands.”

Meanwhile, broadcasting watchdog Ofcom said it received 247 complaints following the remarks on the programme.

In her introduction on Tuesday, Ms Maitlis said Boris Johnson’s chief advisor “broke the rules” and added: “The country can see that, and it’s shocked the government cannot.”

“The longer ministers and the prime minister tell us he worked within [the rules], the more angry the response to this scandal is likely to be.

Following a backlash over the monologue, the BBC issued a swift response.

It said staff had been “reminded of the guidelines” around impartiality, adding that the corporation must “uphold the highest standards of due impartiality in its news output”.

The programme “should have done more to make clear the introduction was a summary of the questions we would examine, with all the accompanying evidence, in the rest of the programme.

“As it was, we believe the introduction we broadcast did not meet our standards of due impartiality,” the BBC said.

The broadcaster has been caught up in such rows over impartiality in the past, such as the dispute over comments made by Naga Munchetty during a live broadcast about Donald Trump and racism.

The BBC Breakfast presenter was judged to have beached corporation’s editorial guidelines when she discussed remarks made by the US president, in which he told female Democrats to “go back” to their countries.

However, the ruling was later reviewed and reversed by the corporation’s director general, Lord Tony Hall.

Earlier this month, the BBC rejected the government’s criticism of a Panorama investigation which reported vital items of personal protective equipment (PPE) were missing from the UK’s stockpile.

Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, wrote a formal complaint to the BBC director general, Tony Hall, claiming the corporation risked losing the public’s confidence.

Panorama had reported that vital items of PPE, some of which are now in short supply, were left out of the UK’s stockpile when it was established in 2009.

Several accusations followed, including that a number of NHS workers who were interviewed were reported to be members or supporters of the Labour party.

However, the BBC stood by the programme and said it would respond to Mr Dowden’s letter.

The corporation also received 181 complaints about “offensive content” in its charity show The Big Night In earlier this month.

The three-hour-long programme, which saw Children In Need and Comic Relief team up to raise money for coronavirus relief efforts, received a backlash over a Little Britain sketch.

While there is no information about which specific part of the show viewers were offended by, the BBC’s fortnightly complaints report cited “offensive content or humour” as the “main issue”.

The BBC also attracted criticism after broadcasting a comedy clip on the day the UK left the European Union from the children’s show Horrible Histories.

Comedian Nish Kumar introduced the video with a reference Brexit, which showed Queen Victoria discovering several goods she enjoys, such as tea and sugar, are not produced in Britain.

Ofcom received around 300 complains from the public.

So far the clip has been viewed three million times on Twitter alone, largely as a result of the controversy it attracted.