EXCLUSIVE: The BBC has admitted that it was wrong to report that Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage had excused Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a BBC News channel report noting a backlash against Farage’s comments in an earlier Panorama interview, a presenter said: “There’s been criticism of Nigel Farage here in the UK for making remarks excusing President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.”
A viewer complained that this misrepresented Farage’s position. They argued that Farage, an ardent supporter of Donald Trump, had simply used the Panorama interview to restate his view that Russia had used the eastward expansion of NATO as an excuse for military action in Ukraine.
The BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) agreed: “This was not the same as ‘excusing’ President Putin’s decision, and that the phrasing of the introduction gave the misleading impression that Mr Farage considered the invasion of Ukraine to be justifiable.”
The ECU upheld the viewer’s complaint and said the phrasing broke editorial rules. The finding was reported to BBC News’ board and discussed with the programme-makers concerned.
It was not the first error made by the BBC in its coverage of Farage during the UK election campaign. In May, presenter Geeta Guru-Murthy said Farage had used “customary inflammatory language” on immigration during a report on a Reform UK press conference.
Several hours later, she appeared on BBC News to apologize, stating: “Earlier today we heard live from Nigel Farage speaking at that election event and when we came away from his live speech I used language to describe it which didn’t meet the BBC’s editorial standards on impartiality. I’d like to apologize to Mr Farage and viewers for this.”