Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
National
Steph Brawn

'Skewed': BBC slated for pushing small boat crossings as top Scottish story

THE BBC has been criticised for pushing the issue of small boat crossings to the top of its news agenda on Radio Scotland almost every day this week despite opinion polls showing it is not a leading concern for Scots.

The UK-France small boats return scheme agreed by Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron – and the build-up to it – has been part of the news bulletin at the top of the Good Morning Scotland programme every day since Tuesday.

It was billed as the top story of the day on Wednesday and Friday, with the BBC focusing particularly on how critics are suggesting the new “one in, one out” deal will not act as a sufficient deterrent on Friday. 

In an Ipsos poll earlier this month, immigration did not feature among the top 10 issues the Scottish public deem most important for swaying their vote. The top three issues were healthcare, the cost of living and public services.

Veteran SNP MP Pete Wishart (below), the party’s home affairs spokesperson, accused the BBC of serving Scots a “skewed debate” on immigration which is contrary to their interests.

He told The National: "The people of Scotland are much more concerned about the cost of living crisis and what's happening with welfare cuts. 

“What we've seen from opinion polls is while people care about this [immigration and small boat crossings] it's not one of the major pressing concerns, so why the BBC continue to try and repeat this narrative is a matter for their editorial team.

(Image: PA) "The other thing about this is when we get into the realms of a debate and discussion about immigration, what tends to come out the UK-led debate about this is absolutely totally contrary to Scotland's interests.

“All we hear about is curbing migration, what we can do to make life as difficult as possible for the poor souls that make it here, whereas Scotland, just to keep our population up –which is already at crisis levels – we are totally dependent on immigration.

“What the BBC are serving us is a debate which is skewed to be against the Scottish interests."

The “one in, one out” deal will see asylum seekers who arrive in England by small boats sent back to France, while allowing some in France sent to Britain if they have ties to the UK.

The Prime Minister has called the deal “ground-breaking” and insisted it would deter people from making the perilous crossing – but it has drawn sharp criticism from human rights groups who say it is “dehumanising” and will fail to prevent asylum seekers making life-threatening journeys to the UK.

On Friday’s Good Morning Scotland programme, the focus was on critics who believe it will not be enough of a deterrent, with a clip of shadow home secretary Chris Philp being played during the 8am bulletin where he called the scheme a “gimmick”.

That was followed by a five-minute interview with an expert in British and French immigration politics. She was asked about who will be selected to be returned, how big a deterrent “this could actually be” and what action could be taken to reduce the “pull factor” of the UK.

Tom Chivers, campaign co-ordinator at the Media Reform Coalition, said the prioritisation of the small boats issue this week was an example of BBC “following the priorities of Westminster”.

He said: "The BBC claims its reporting reflects the needs and interests of all its audiences.

“But instead of covering issues that matter to the Scottish public, far too often BBC Scotland follows the priorities of Westminster politicians and repeats them without any critical analysis.

“Across the UK the BBC’s audiences deserve public interest news on issues that matter to our communities, and not simply regurgitation of government talking points as if they were the whole story."

In the Ipsos poll published at the start of July, housing, schools and care for older and disabled people were all issues considered to be of more concern than immigration for Scots.

Tom Mills, chair of the Media Reform Coalition and author of The BBC: Myth of a Public Service, said the broadcaster too often reflects the agenda of Westminster politicians and the right-wing press.

He said: "The BBC gives a lot of attention to immigration in its reporting and this is usually justified by the levels of public concern on the issue, which UK-wide is high.

“But this concern obviously reflects the prominence it’s given in the news media, including on the BBC. Meanwhile, on issues like health or housing, which are also major priorities for a lot of people, you never see the same attention and urgency.

“Looking at news in Scotland is revealing I think because it shows the extent to which BBC news reflects the agenda of Westminster politicians and the right-wing national press, rather than the priorities of its audiences. In the end the BBC is accountable to politicians, not to its audiences. That’s the root of the problem and it needs to change."

A BBC Scotland spokesperson: “Across three hours, Good Morning Scotland provides the latest news from home and abroad, along with regular sport, travel and weather updates. 

"In choosing which stories to cover each day and the extent to which they’re covered, our editors base their decisions on the editorial merits of all the stories at hand, looking at a variety of factors. We accept that not everyone will agree with each decision.”

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.