Kemi Badenoch has demanded accountability from the BBC over what she called a “fake news” scandal, telling GB News that “heads should roll”.
The Tory leader was responding to a leaked whistleblower dossier which claims the broadcaster doctored footage of Donald Trump’s January 6 speech to make it appear he encouraged a riot at the US Capitol.
Speaking exclusively to GB News, Ms Badenoch said: “Everyone with a TV pays a licence, they are funded by us and they should not be telling us things that are not true. Heads should roll.”
She added that the BBC must hold itself to the highest standards, questioning why its own verification teams had not scrutinised the reporting.
Kemi Badenoch told GB News that ‘heads should roll’ for this
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GB NEWS
She told The People’s Channel: “I’ve just been fully briefed on what happened in that Panorama documentary.
“It’s absolutely shocking that is fake news: putting different things together to make something look different from what it actually was.
“Heads should roll. Whoever did that should be sacked. That’s what Tim Davie should be doing: identifying who put out misinformation and dismissing them.
“The public must be able to trust our public broadcaster. Everyone with a TV pays a licence they are funded by us.
“They should not be telling us things that are not true. The BBC has outfits that verify other people’s claims, what are they doing about their own claims?
“This corporation must hold itself to the highest standards and when people do the wrong thing, they should be punished. They should be sacked.”
According to the 19-page dossier obtained by The Telegraph, a Panorama programme broadcast just a week before the 2024 US presidential election “completely misled” viewers.
The programme allegedly made it appear that the 47th President was encouraging supporters to march on the Capitol and “fight like hell” over his 2020 election loss.
In reality, Mr Trump had said he would walk with his supporters “to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard,” the memo states.
The leaked dossier concludes that Panorama “mangled” footage from different parts of the speech to make Mr Trump “say things [he] never actually said.”
A BBC spokesman told GB News: “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 debates.”