Complaint
A viewer complained that pro-independence viewpoints were not sufficiently represented on the panel, bearing in mind that the previous week’s election to the Scottish Parliament had produced the highest number of pro-independence MSPs since devolution. The ECU considered whether the programme met the BBC’s standards of impartiality.
Outcome
Programmes of this kind are required to give due weight to all main strands of argument over time, but there is no requirement to reflect a particular configuration of viewpoints on every occasion. In this instance, the issue of independence for Scotland was not among those under discussion, and due impartiality did not require stronger representation of pro-independence viewpoints on the panel.
Not Upheld