Category Archives: Scotland

Some interesting thoughts from a Biased BBC reader North of the border;

“You may be interested to note that BBC Scotland has virtually shut down on all comment facilities on their ‘news’ threads. 

Blether with Brian has pulled its comment section because the punters were not buying the pro-Labour spin being generated by the Tangerine Jelly as he is known to us Scots. 

BBC Scotland in conjunction with Ian Gray (aka Elmer Fudd) ran a number of stories about how the Scottish Government was going to close down Abertay University in fact both the Tangerine Jell and Elmer had bits of paper to prove this was the case – one month later it is clear that was never the case – in fact the very opposite. 

Then there was Joanne Lamont’s (Labour MSP aka Stairheid Rammy) tale of terrible doing by the Scottish Justice Minister over a rape case she had ‘just become aware of’ according to the BBC. Turns out the rape, the case and its outcome all happened prior to 2007 when Labour’s Cathy Jamieson was Justice Secretary. The Glasgow Evening Times also ran the story and were forced by the girl’s family’s lawyer to print a retraction as yet nothing from the BBC or the Labour Party. 

You may also take a look at the BBC Scotland’s tampering of an interview with Ally McCoist, the Ranger’s manager, to make McCoist appear sectarian. Another is a clip purporting to show John Swinney shaking his head at a statement put forward by Alex Salmond when the actual Holyrood TV section shows that Swinney was shaking his head at a load of tosh being spouted by Ian Gray of Labour.”

Another reader contacted me with this instance of bias;

“I was interested to see the biased reporting of the local BBC stations in Scotland – BBC1 Scotlandnews, and BBC Radio Aberdeen. The BBC contacted my father to ask him to commenton the creation of a super-new town in Aberdeenshire, Chapleton of Elsick, whichwill have 9000+ houses, thus between 15,000 – 20,000 cars spilling onto the A90corridor at peak times. The BBC didn’t actually want to speak about thecreation of a new town. Instead they showed a picture of my father handing backhis honorary degree in disgust at Donald Trump getting a similar award from thesame university. As far as we know Donald Trump has no connection with the newtown, so why did the BBC choose to show that picture, and even more so, chosenot to let my father speak on the subject of a new town – the thing that they had invited him to do! Just to add to the bias they showed the proponent, LordSouthesk, developer and allowed him to speak at length in favour of his vision.Just goes to show that even at a local level the BBC is biased to the core.”

North of the border, the BBC is also very busy breaching its own guidelines;

In Scotland, the BBC seem to have been hoist on their petard with regard to how they have treated Ally McCoist. Here is a thoughtful expose of how the BBC worked their manipulation..

The Rangers manager was the victim of a quite brazen manipulation of video footage that left the viewer with the impression that McCoist had a flippant attitude to the very real and very serious problem of bigotry.  

Footage from an answer to one question was deliberately positioned to make it appear the answer was given to another different question. Viewers were presented with images of a smirking Ally McCoist apparently not taking the issue of sectarianism seriously. 

Last season of course Mr McCoist was involved in a touchline altercation with Celtic manager Neil Lennon that sparked a major investigation by authorities into the problems of bigotry in Scottish football and wider society. The result was an announcement that new legislation will soon be introduced to combat the malaise. The weekend just passed was the opening weekend for the SPL and excitement was high. 

It’s against this backdrop that the BBC’s actions ought to be placed. Sectarianism is not a Scotland wide phenomenon, it is centred mainly in the West of Scotland. However its tentacles spread far and wide and there are smaller pockets of bigotry and examples of sectarianism in many communities in the East and North. The manifestations of this problem has witnessed young men murdered and others maimed. On Old Firm match days the casualty wards are at breaking point as the collateral damage is carried, dragged and wheeled in. 

So, for the BBC to manipulate a news item on this subject in the way it did was not just folly, it was downright reckless. The question is though why this was done?”