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Donald Trump's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright discussion. These remarks follow allegations of partiality at the broadcaster.

White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage

The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."

Controversy Over Edited Speech

The spokesperson's statements came after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A document leaked to a publication indicated that an installment of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.

The broadcast depicted the president saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a section of the speech where he urged the assembly "to express views calmly and loyally".

“This intentionally deceptive, carefully cut footage from the BBC further proves they are entirely, 100% fake news, unworthy of airtime on the screens of the UK's admirable citizens.”

Leavitt added: "Whenever I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it ruins my day listening to their blatant propaganda and lies about the president of the United States and all that he’s doing to make America better and the world a safer place."

Leaked Document Emphasizes Editing Issues

The newspaper reported its reporting was based on a note written by a ex- adviser to the BBC's content standards board. The adviser departed his position recently and has not commented on the document, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.

An extract released read: "It was completely misleading to edit the clip in the way Panorama aired it. The fact that he did not explicitly exhort supporters to go down and fight at Capitol Hill was one of the reasons there were no federal charges for incitement to riot."

Allegations of Systemic Issues

The memo allegedly added that the ex-consultant had raised worries about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.

The newspaper claimed the adviser alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by top executives. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.

One issue highlighted was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.

Censure of Trans Issues Reporting

The 19-page dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".

It is reported to have alleged that stories raising challenging questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".

The Broadcaster Response

In answer, the BBC stated: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."

"Michael Prescott is a former adviser to a board committee where differing views and opinions of our coverage are routinely discussed and debated.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."