BBC Radio Scotland neglected to report an MSP had been charged in connection with possession of "indecent images" in its half-hourly morning news bulletins on Thursday.
Colin Smyth, who has represented Scottish Labour as an MSP since 2016, has been suspended from the party after it emerged he had been arrested and charged earlier this month.
While there was a short report with political correspondent Andrew Kerr just after 7.30am on Good Morning Scotland, the major news was not included in any of the half-hourly bulletins throughout the programme.
The failure to report on the news has been described as “astonishing” and an “absolute disgrace” on social media.
There are six bulletins throughout the three-hour programme but Smyth’s suspension from Scottish Labour and the charge was absent from all of them.
The South Scotland MSP was arrested on August 5 and has lost the whip pending an investigation.
Police Scotland confirmed that a “52-year-old man was arrested and charged in connection with possession of indecent images” after the execution of a warrant in Dumfries.
In the wake of the news, Smyth said: “These events have come as a shock and this is a deeply stressful time.
“I am obviously co-operating fully with any inquiries and hope the matter can be resolved quickly.
“I am not able to comment further at this stage, and in the meantime I would ask that for the privacy of my family and friends to be respected.”
Smyth, 52, has represented the South Scotland region for nine years and previously served as Scottish Labour's general secretary from 2008 to 2012.
He has held several frontbench roles, having served as Scottish Labour spokesperson for transport, infrastructure and connectivity under Richard Leonard from 2017 to 2021 and then as spokesperson for constitution, Europe and external affairs under Anas Sarwar.
Smyth had been selected to stand in the Dumfriesshire constituency for Scottish Labour again in the 2026 elections.
A BBC spokesperson said: "This story was broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland yesterday and across our various platforms when it broke. It was the lead story on Radio Scotland’s Drivetime with various reports on that programme, and the lead story on yesterday’s Reporting Scotland and online. This story has had appropriate and significant levels of coverage across the BBC."
