Complaint
The programme was an extract from the book βPreventable: How a Pandemic Changed the World & How to Prevent the Next Oneβ by Professor Devi Sridhar, which drew on her experience as a public health adviser to the Scottish and UK Governments during the pandemic.Β A listener complained that it contained material which was politically partial in relation to the Scottish local authority elections, which were less than two weeks away.Β The ECUΒ considered the complaint in the light of the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔβs editorial standards of impartiality.
Outcome
The ECU noted that the programme-makers had sought appropriate advice from ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Scotland and were advised that the handling of the pandemic in terms of public health policy by the Scottish and UK Governments (which was Professor Sridharβs main focus in the 19 April instalment) had not become a significant issue in the election campaign.Β Consequently they judged that the proximity of the elections was not a bar to scheduling what was regarded as an evidence-based appraisal by a respected scientist of the relative success of the public health measures taken by the two Governments.Β However, the ECU also noted that the 19 April instalment included material (dealing with Dominic Cummingsβ visit to County Durham and its repercussions) which, in its view, went somewhat beyond that description and, in the context of a campaign in which an invitation to compare Nicola Sturgeon with Boris Johnson was a prominent part of the SNPβs strategy, could have given the impression of favouring one party over another.Β To that extent, it fell short of the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔβs standards of impartiality.
Upheld
Further action
The finding was reported to the management of ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio and discussed with the programme-makers concerned.