The BBC faced a furious claims of bias today after interviewing a community nurse about Tory NHS policies without mentioning she is a pro-Corbyn campaigner.
- BBC News Channel invited Danielle Tiplady onto discuss Labour’s pay policy
- She appeared in her NHS uniform and condemned the Tory pay cap policy
- The BBC failed to mention she is a campaigner for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour
Danielle Tiplady took part in the BBC News Channel’s 5pm bulletin last night and endorsed Labour’s plan to end a 1 per cent cap on NHS pay rises.
Presenter Huw Edwards introduced her as a ‘community nurse from London’ and described the Tory position but made no mention of her support for Jeremy Corbyn or Labour during a five minute interview.
The broadcast was seized upon as an attempt by the BBC to promote Mr Corbyn and his policies.
Earlier in the day Ms Tiplady had appeared with Mr Corbyn at a hospital visit and she has written in support of him.
Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘The Conservative Party gave up expecting balance and impartiality from the BBC a long time ago.
‘The fact is, however biased the BBC is, even they cannot possibly get Jeremy Corbyn across the line and into No 10.’
Broadcasters are under strict impartiality rules during election periods.
The interview was part of the BBC’s coverage of Labour’s health policies ahead of the June 8 general election.
Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth had earlier unveiled a promise to scrap a 1 per cent pay cap on NHS, introduced by the Conservatives as an austerity measure.
Mr Corbyn then visited St Thomas’ Hospital in London to meet staff and promote the policies.
The measure is deeply unpopular among NHS staff and Ms Tiplady told the BBC staff would leave the NHS ‘if they pay cap is not lifted because people cannot afford to live’.
She endorsed Labour’s plan to scrap the cap as ‘amazing’.
The BBC News clip was used by Mr Corbyn on his Twitter account and has so far been retweeted almost 2,000 times.
Ms Tiplady has previously written for the Morning Star newspaper, the left-wing Counterfire blog and is a leader of a campaign calling for Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to be sacked.
Last month she appeared at an NHS rally organised by Momentum, a campaign group formed out Mr Corbyn’s leadership campaign.
It’s a shame Andrew Bridgen doesn’t help us abolish the BBC TV Licence rather than just admitting it’s biased!