Not upheld

Entertainingly, the edition of Newsnight about people crossing the Channel in inflatables which so incensed Sir Robbie Gibb has passed scrutiny by the BBC's Executive Complaints Unit. Sir Robbie, as a non-executive, is a key member of the BBC Board's Editorial guidelines and standards committee. 

Complaint

The programme included an item on the influx of people crossing the English Channel in small boats.  A viewer who described them as “invaders” objected to the statement in the item that some of them were fleeing war and persecution, and maintained that footage in the item showing children among those embarking from boats gave an exaggerated impression of the proportion of children among the incomers.

Outcome

Figures from the Office for National Statistics indicate that a significant proportion of such incomers are asylum-seekers, which, in the ECU’s view served to justify the reference to war and persecution in the context of an item which also made clear that betterment was also one of the motives for making the crossing.  As Government figures indicate that nearly 20% of small-boat arrivals are under 18, the ECU saw nothing misleading in the extent to which they featured in the footage in question.

Not Upheld