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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 blunt interview. These remarks follow claims of partiality at the network.

White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage

Karoline Leavitt, a senior figure in the Trump administration, stated that watching BBC news reports during trips to the UK "spoils" her day. She claimed that taxpayers are "compelled to foot the bill for a liberal propaganda machine."

Controversy Over Altered Address

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

A document leaked to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by splicing two segments of the oration together.

The programme depicted the leader saying he would march with his followers to the Capitol ahead of the riots on 6 January 2021, encouraging them to "fight like hell". However, it excluded a portion of the talk where he advised the assembly "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 obliged 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 Production Problems

The newspaper said its reporting was based on a memo written by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert departed his position earlier this year and has not commented on the file, believed to have been revealed by a insider.

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 Widespread Problems

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

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

One issue pointed out was the repeated use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or pro-Hamas.

Censure of Transgender Topics Reporting

The 19-page dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's coverage 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 claimed that stories raising complex questions about trans issues were downplayed, 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."

"The former adviser 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."