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The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow allegations of bias at the network.

White House Official Condemns BBC Reporting

Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking representative in the Trump administration, stated that viewing BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that the public are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."

Dispute Over Altered Speech

The spokesperson's comments emerged after MPs said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a public address by the American leader was edited in a BBC Panorama program.

A report disclosed to a newspaper suggested that an installment of the current affairs programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two parts of the oration together.

The programme depicted the president saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on January 6th, encouraging them to "struggle intensely". However, it excluded a section of the talk where he urged the assembly "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".

“This purposefully dishonest, selectively edited clip by the BBC is further evidence that they are total, 100% fake news that should no longer be worth the time on the television screens of the great people of the United Kingdom.”

Leavitt continued: "Every time I journey to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it mars 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."

Disclosed Memo Emphasizes Production Issues

The publication reported its coverage was based on a memo written by a former consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The adviser departed his position earlier this year and has not spoken on the file, understood to have been revealed by a whistleblower.

An extract released stated: "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 report allegedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the conflict in Gaza.

The outlet claimed the adviser asserted there were "systemic problems", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the war on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.

One issue pointed out was the repeated use of commentators who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.

Censure of Trans Topics Reporting

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

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

The Broadcaster Response

In answer, the BBC said: "While we don’t comment on leaked documents, when the BBC receives feedback it takes it seriously and considers it carefully."

"Michael Prescott 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."