Jeremy Corbyn’s team has sent a complaint to the BBC over its Panorama feature on the Labour leadership front-runner, The Independent has learnt.
His camp claims the BBC lied to them about the purpose and content of the programme and has also complained about factual inaccuracies contained in the documentary.
It is demanding an apology from the broadcaster over its handling of the programme, which was given the title Jeremy Corbyn: Labour’s Earthquake and shown on BBC One last Monday.
A source in Mr Corbyn’s campaign accused the BBC of conducting "a complete hatchet job" on Mr Corbyn.
Panorama producers apparently told them they were filming for a documentary about the Labour leadership campaign as a whole, including all four candidates, but instead the programme turned out to be all about the one candidate, as the title of the show suggests, and only included a few brief clips of his three rivals.
They have also sent a copy of Mr Corbyn’s diary to prove he did not attend a conference in Cairo that advocated attacks on British and American troops, as was stated by the programme's presenter, John Ware.
The diary proves he attended events in his Islington constituency, his campaign claims.
The programme investigated the rise of Mr Corbyn and showed clips from a number of his rallies over the summer. It also included a number of warnings from high profile Blairite figures warning that a Corbyn victory could reignite the divisions of Labour's past and bring back the "thuggery and intimidation" of the militant left.
It attracted hundreds of complaints from viewers who claimed it was biased against Mr Corbyn and who accused the BBC of trying to persuade undecided voters not to vote for him, less than three days before the deadline for voting closed.
Labour leadership: The Contenders
The dispute threatens to damage what is promising to be a good relationship between Mr Corbyn and the BBC, which faces the prospect of deep-rooted reforms by the Conservative government and a battle to maintain its ability to charge a £145 a-year licence fee, its main source of revenue.
Mr Corbyn has pledged to “put Labour at the forefront of the campaign to defend the BBC” if he wins the Labour leadership on Saturday.
One Corbyn supporter and disgruntled viewer of the Panorama episode took to Twitter to publish details of how to lodge a complaint against the BBC about the programme, sparking a surge in objections.
Just made a complaint to BBC about the dreadful stitch up of Jeremy Corbyn on Panorama last night.If you wish to do same ring 0370 010 0222
— Antony Holt (@Hasselschmuck) September 8, 2015
Others compared the BBC to the biased American TV channel, Fox News, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch.
Step aside FOX News. The BBC are in town. #bbcpanorama
— Ed O'Meara (@edfomeara) September 7, 2015
Was I watching Fox News?? Oops, no, it was #Panorama #BBC
— Erica Evans (@EarlyYearsErica) September 7, 2015
Mr Corbyn is widely expected to be announced as Ed Miliband’s successor when the rsult of the leadership election is announced on Saturday, with some bookmakers having already paid out on a Corbyn victory, a scenario that attracted odds as high as 200/1 at the beginning of the summer.
The BBC has yet to respond to a request to comment.
