‘Bizarre interaction’ blamed on inexperienced journalist who misinterpreted guidelines on bias
: george clerk/iStock
The BBC has admitted asking a contributor to state how they voted at the last election, saying an employee had misinterpreted guidelines on impartiality.
Scarlett Maguire, a director at polling company JL Partners, expressed surprise at being asked to divulge the information before going on air.
The question was posed by a BBC journalist working on Adrian Chiles’ Radio 5 Live programme.
“Bizarre interaction this morning just before going into an interview at the BBC. Was asked how I voted at the last election as a precondition for coming on air,” she wrote on social media.
“Is this standard practice for guests now??”
The BBC said that the question was not part of standard BBC policy. A source said that a junior employee had made a genuine error.
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