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The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.

Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting

The White House official, a senior figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."

Dispute Over Altered Address

Leavitt's comments came after lawmakers said the corporation had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" viewers by splicing two parts of the speech together.

The broadcast showed the leader saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it omitted a section of the talk where he advised the crowd "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".

“This purposefully dishonest, selectively edited clip by the BBC is further evidence that they are total, 100% fake news that should no longer be worth the time on the television screens of the great people of the United Kingdom.”

Leavitt added: "Every time I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins my day listening to their overt 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."

Disclosed Memo Highlights Editing Issues

The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo authored by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards committee. The adviser departed his role earlier this year and has not commented on the file, believed to have been leaked by a whistleblower.

An extract released stated: "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."

Claims of Systemic Issues

The memo allegedly noted that the ex-consultant had expressed worries about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.

The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been resolved by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC website.

One issue highlighted was the frequent use of commentators who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.

Criticism of Trans Issues Reporting

The lengthy dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT desk would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".

It is said to have claimed that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".

The Broadcaster Reply

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

"Michael Prescott 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."