Ofcom is probing Emily Maitlis’ Dominic Cummings Newsnight rant following a complaint after BBC decided to take ‘no further action’ despite ruling she DID breach impartiality guidelines
- Emily Maitlis slammed Dominic Cummings in a Newsnight opening monologue
- The BBC reportedly received more than 24,000 complaints over presenter’s rant
- Editorial Complaints Unit ruled she breached impartiality rules but would not take any further action
- Regulator Ofcom is now looking into a complaint about the BBC’s handling
The broadcasting watchdog Ofcom is officially looking into the row over Emily Maitlis’ bruising monologue about Dominic Cummings breaking lockdown rules.
The presenter used her opening address on an episode of Newsnight to state Mr Cummings, then Boris Johnson’s chief adviser, had ‘broken the rules’ and ‘the country can see that, and it’s shocked the Government cannot’.
In September, the BBC’s Editorial Complaints Unit (ECU) said the loaded rant did breach strict rules governing impartiality and accuracy.
However, following the verdict the ECU said the matter was closed and that it would not be taking any further action for the breach.
Ofcom has now received a complaint from an individual not satisfied with the BBC process
Dame Melanie Dawes, its chief executive, told MPs on the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee the complaint was with the regulator and was ‘so subject to our decision making at the moment’.
Following the broadcast, bosses were quick to accept the programme had strayed beyond impartiality after viewers bombarded the BBC with complaints.
The BBC earlier this year said: ‘We believe the introduction we broadcast did not meet our standards of due impartiality’.
Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis used her opening address on an episode of Newsnight to state Mr Cummings, then Boris Johnson’s chief adviser, had ‘broken the rules’ and ‘the country can see that, and it’s shocked the Government cannot’
In her introduction, Maitlis said Mr Cummings, then Boris Johnson’s chief adviser, had ‘broken the rules’ and ‘the country can see that, and it’s shocked the Government cannot’.
‘Tonight, we consider what this blind loyalty tells us about the workings of No 10…’
The BBC reportedly received more than 24,000 complaints over presenter’s rant, and she was not included in the next episode’s line up.
The ECU accepted that the programme was entitled to play ‘devil’s advocate’ and ask tough questions on behalf of viewers.
The Newsnight coverage centred on a trip by Mr Cummings from London to his family home in Durham during the first lockdown.
The BBC’s Editorial Complaints Unit (ECU) said the loaded rant did breach strict rules governing impartiality and accuracy. However, the ECU said they considered the matter closed
But it said that at the time of the broadcast it had not been established by an independent arbiter that Mr Cummings broke lockdown rules, which undermined the veracity of Maitlis’ scathing remarks.
Mr Cummings insisted he acted ‘reasonably and legally’.
MPs also complained, at the committee hearing into public service broadcasting, that Ofcom is ‘completely powerless’ over streaming giant Netflix despite its ‘increasingly important role’.
Committee chairman Julian Knight said that ‘effectively Netflix (which is based in the Netherlands) is not regulated at all within the UK and you have to hope they will be good citizens.’
Dame Melanie Dawes (pictured), Ofcom’s chief executive, told MPs on the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee that an individual’s complaint was with the regulator and was ‘so subject to our decision making at the moment’
He accused the streaming giant of using ‘Holland as almost a flag of convenience in order to escape the type of regulations we have within the UK’.
The Ofcom chief also said she wanted the BBC to improve the way it covered trans issues, so that it did not cause offence.
‘It’s something we’ve been talking to (campaigning organisation) Stonewall about,’ she said.
‘Can broadcasters (bring balance) in an appropriate way?…’
She denied she wanted to push out views from people like JK Rowling, saying: ‘It’s about making sure we give the right information to our broadcasters so they can steer their way through the debate without causing offence or bringing inappropriate questions to the table’.