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There's no love lost between the BBC's Editorial Complaints Unit and Newsnight. The Telegraph has found a letter from Jeremy Hayes of the ECU to a complainant who thought Emily Maitlis had roughed up Jacob Rees-Mogg beyond the rules back in March 2020. 

Whilst Mr Hayes says there was no breach of editorial standards, he clearly empathises with the complainant: “I have reviewed the programme. I agree that the interview cast more heat than light, including in the questions addressed to Mr Rees-Mogg about his reference to slavery, in a comment about the UK staying in the EU.  I can see that the repeated further questioning on this point by the presenter would have done little to aid audience understanding of the issues discussed.

“The interview as a whole was combative, and the laughter of the presenter you described as ‘mocking’ did suggest that she was unwilling to accept his explanations.

"While it will always be the aim of programme-makers to solicit answers which aid audience understanding of events, there is no guarantee this will happen. A failure to cast light on matters is of course regrettable - but does not necessarily constitute a breach of editorial standards.”

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