The BBC has been forced to issue a grovelling apology to Reform UK this morning after an online article defamed the party just days after Lee Anderson’s defection.
The article about Sir Ed Davey’s speech at the Lib Dem spring conference, published on Saturday, described Reform UK as “far-right”.
The incorrect claim came despite Reform UK consistently out-polling the Lib Dems, and solidifying their position as Britain’s third most popular political party.
The article, published without a by-line, reported: “It has been suggested by some polls that far-right Reform UK has overtaken the Lib Dems in terms of popularity.”
This morning the BBC said they “wrong described the political party Reform UK as far-right when referring to polling”.
A statement said: “This sentence was subsequently removed from the article as it fell short of our usual editorial standards.
“While the original wording was based on news agency copy, we take full responsibility and apologise for the error.”
The sentence and all references to Reform UK were removed from the article within nine hours.
Responding to the BBC’s humiliating apology, leader Richard Tice said the corporation’s concession only came after an intervention from his lawyers.
Mr Tice also warned that his lawyers “are also in touch with other news organisations who repeated the BBC line”.
He warned: “To be clear, I view this as defamatory and libellous.”
Reform’s new MP, Lee Anderson, told the Express that the grave error once again proves that the licence fee must be scrapped.
Mr Anderson said: “This latest outburst from the BBC shows the great British public what they really think.
“They are no longer seen as Aunty Beeb, they are seen by millions as anti-Britain.
“It’s high time the BBC licence fee was scrapped.”
