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The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. This comes allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.

White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting

The White House official, a high-ranking representative in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."

Dispute Over Edited Speech

Leavitt's statements came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A report leaked to a publication suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by combining two segments of the speech together.

The programme showed the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section of the talk where he urged the assembly "to express views calmly and loyally".

“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.”

The press secretary continued: "Whenever I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins 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."

Disclosed Document Highlights Production Issues

The publication said its coverage was based on a memo written by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The adviser departed his role recently and has not spoken on the file, believed 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."

Claims of Systemic Problems

The memo reportedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.

The newspaper said the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC site.

One issue pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.

Censure of Transgender Issues Coverage

The lengthy file is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".

It is said to have claimed that stories posing challenging questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate fairness or objectivity".

BBC Reply

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

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