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The former US president's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow claims of bias at the network.

White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting

Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."

Controversy Over Altered Address

Leavitt's statements emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.

The programme depicted the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". Nevertheless, it excluded a section 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 added: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced 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 Memo Highlights Editing Issues

The newspaper said its coverage was based on a memo authored by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The expert left his role recently and has not spoken on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.

A passage published read: "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 Problems

The report reportedly added that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.

The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.

One matter pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.

Criticism of Trans Topics Coverage

The lengthy file is also reported to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, stating the broadcaster had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".

It is said to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".

The Broadcaster Response

In answer, the BBC said: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."

"Michael Prescott is a former adviser to a board committee where differing views and opinions of our coverage are routinely discussed and debated.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."