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The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.

Senior Administration Figure Condemns BBC Coverage

Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, remarked that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."

Controversy Over Edited Address

Leavitt's comments emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two segments of the speech together.

The programme depicted the leader saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a portion of the speech where he advised 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.”

Leavitt added: "Whenever I journey 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 Document Highlights Production Problems

The publication said its coverage was based on a memo authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The expert left his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, believed to have been revealed by a whistleblower.

An extract 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 Widespread Issues

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

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

One issue highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.

Censure of Transgender Topics Reporting

The lengthy dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of transgender issues, saying 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 reported to have alleged that stories posing challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".

BBC Reply

In response, the BBC stated: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."

"The former adviser 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."