Tory Minister Cites Children’s Art Show Host Neil Buchanan As Proof Of BBC ‘Bias’
Transport Minister Huw Merriman told Sky News Tuesday that he believed the BBC was biased because of topical musings made on a satirical comedy quiz on BBC Radio 4 and a BBC reporter called “Neil Buchanan.”
The cabinet decided to go round two with Sky News host Kay Burley, who on Monday ripped apart Culture Minister Lucy Frazer’s claim of “bias” at the BBC by merely asking for evidence. Despite having a day’s lead time to prepare, Merriman didn’t fare much better.
Relaying that he believed that the BBC was biased, in response to the host’s question, the minister was then prompted to give evidence.
With confidence, Merriman began his story: “I was listening to the News Quiz, which is on Radio 4 at 6.30pm on Friday. I was driving from my constituency office to home for ten minutes. All I heard, and it wasn’t it, satirical, it was just a diatribe against conservatives, not the government. And I did listen to that and think for goodness sake, where is the balance in that? So yes, I’m afraid to say, despite the fact I’ve always been a big supporter of the BBC, that struck me as completely biased.”
Mediaite UK has reviewed the show in question. During the opening section of the topical comedy quiz show, the comedian panellists on Radio 4’s News Quiz joke about broken New Year’s resolutions before musing at the chaotic and failed inner-party rebellion against Prime Minister Rishi Sunak over the Rwanda bill. The Transport Minister and Mediaite UK would encourage readers to run the tape back and listen to the opening of the show.
Back in the Sky News studio, Burley responded to Merriman’s example: “Okay, you understand that News Quiz is comedy and nothing to do with actual news?”
Continuing, the host challenged the minister again: “Now, I know you’ve had 24 hours to look and think about it, you must have specific examples of when BBC News has been biased. Give me one.”
Merriman began: “So, when I worked at the Department for Work and Pensions and I was working on Universal Credit there was an individual there who would report on it, Neil Buchanan, who I always felt gave one side of the story and not the other side.”
Mediaite UK could find no proof that Neil Buchanan, beloved children’s presenter of 1990s ITV art show Art Attack, moonlighted as a journalist for the BBC. There is, however, multi-award-winning veteran journalist Michael Buchanan at the BBC, who may have been the dogged newshound whose relentlessness still haunts Merriman.
The Conservative government are currently promoting their mid-term review of the publicly-owned broadcaster and a 10-point plan to enhance the BBC’s impartiality. For two days in a row now, on live TV, however, two Cabinet ministers have certainly failed to impress Burley in justifying it.
