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The former US president's official spokesperson has described the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "biased media outlet" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of bias at the network.

White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting

Karoline Leavitt, a high-ranking figure in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."

Dispute Over Altered Speech

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

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

The broadcast depicted the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on January 6th, urging them to "fight like hell". However, it omitted a portion of the speech where he urged the crowd "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 added: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am forced to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it mars 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 Highlights Editing Problems

The publication reported its reporting was based on a note written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines board. The expert left his position recently and has not commented on the document, understood to have been leaked by a insider.

An extract published 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 Issues

The report allegedly noted that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.

The newspaper claimed the adviser asserted there were "institutional issues", 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 matter pointed out was the frequent use of analysts who were antisemitic or pro-Hamas.

Criticism of Transgender Issues Reporting

The 19-page dossier is also reported to have faulted the BBC's coverage of gender identity matters, saying the broadcaster had been "captured 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 posing complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "steady stream of one-sided stories promoting the trans experience without adequate balance or objectivity".

BBC Response

In answer, the BBC stated: "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."