BBC treated Tory and Labour members accused of wrongdoing differently

BBC hit by bias probe: Corporation under the spotlight after investigation reveals it treated Tory and Labour politicians accused of wrongdoing differently

• When Tory MPs were subject of negative stories the party was often mentioned 
• Labour, when its MPs were accused of bad behaviour, featured less prominently
• Read: Emily Maitlis accused of snubbing producer who got Andrew interview

The BBC was last night accused of bias after an investigation uncovered numerous examples of it treating Conservative and Labour politicians accused of wrongdoing differently.

A snapshot of headlines on the BBC News website indicated that when Tory MPs were the subject of negative stories, their party was often mentioned in the headline.

Yet mention of Labour, when its MPs were accused of bad behaviour, featured far less prominently – and sometimes not at all. 

All the MPs in question had lost the whip including Jared O’Mara, found guilty of fraud, Claudia Webbe, convicted of harassment, and Fiona Onasanya, jailed for perverting the course of justice.

The BBC was last night accused of bias after an investigation uncovered numerous examples of it treating Conservative and Labour politicians accused of wrongdoing differently

A sample of BBC articles about these MPs was found to mention their previous party far down the piece, often accompanied by an explanation of how the party had removed the whip. One article about a bullying investigation involving Keith Vaz did not even mention that he was a Labour MP.

In contrast, several BBC articles about MPs who had been suspended or expelled by the Conservative Party made their party affiliation more prominent. In many cases their status as a Conservative or former Conservative was mentioned in the first paragraph, and in one case the article even neglected to mention that the politician had lost the party whip.

Tory MP Brendan Clarke-Smith said: ‘Time and time again we see Labour being let off the hook whenever one of their MPs has been involved in wrongdoing.’

A BBC spokesman said: ‘Taking a small selection of articles can never represent the entirety of the BBC’s political reporting.’

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