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The former US president's press secretary has characterized the BBC as "completely fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a blunt interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the broadcaster.

Senior Administration Figure Criticizes BBC Reporting

Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the previous US government, remarked that watching BBC news reports during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."

Dispute Over Edited Speech

The spokesperson's statements came after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama program.

A report leaked to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "completely misled" audiences by combining two parts of the oration together.

The programme showed the leader saying he would march with his supporters to the Capitol ahead of the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it omitted a portion of the talk where he urged the crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".

“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 Highlights Editing Problems

The publication reported its coverage was based on a note written by a former consultant to the BBC's content standards board. The expert departed his position recently and has not commented on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.

An extract published 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 Widespread Issues

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

The newspaper said the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "clear disparities" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the primary BBC website.

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

Criticism of Transgender Topics Coverage

The lengthy file is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, 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 said to have claimed that stories posing complex questions about transgender matters were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".

The Broadcaster Response

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

"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."