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Donald Trump's official spokesperson has characterized the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a blunt discussion. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.

Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting

The White House official, a senior figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC bulletins during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."

Controversy Over Edited Speech

Leavitt's statements emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama program.

A document leaked to a newspaper suggested that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" viewers by combining two segments of the oration together.

The programme showed the president saying he would walk with his supporters to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a section of the speech where he advised the crowd "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".

“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.”

The press secretary continued: "Whenever I travel 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 overt 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 Memo Emphasizes Editing Problems

The publication said its reporting was based on a memo written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser left his role recently and has not commented on the document, understood to have been leaked by a insider.

A passage 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."

Claims of Systemic Problems

The memo reportedly noted that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.

The newspaper said the author alleged there were "systemic problems", which had not been resolved by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.

One matter highlighted was the repeated use of commentators who were antisemitic or supportive of the militant group.

Censure of Trans Topics Reporting

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

It is said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were downplayed, with a "steady stream of biased stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".

The Broadcaster Reply

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

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