John Walker
[FOI #7722 email]
March 3rd, 2009
Dear Mr Walker
RFI20090264 - Freedom of Information request
Thank you for your email of February 6th making the following request for information:
“What is the BBC's policy as regards inviting members of the British National Party (BNP) on to national
and regional political discussion programmes such as Question Time?”
The reference number for your request is RFI20090264.
Please note that your request is outside the scope of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the
Act”) but we are happy to provide you with some information on this occasion about Question
Time. I have referred your inquiry to the Executive Producer of Question Time.
If you are asking about panellists, we tend to invite on politicians from those parties that enjoy
significant support either across the UK or in the Nations of the UK. The BNP are not excluded,
but nor do they yet have an MP or MEP.
If you are asking about members of the audience, the Question Time audience reflects the people
of the area. Question Time audiences are a broad and balanced cross-section wherever we are in
the country. The programme aims to provide a wide range of views across the political spectrum
and the audience selection supports that. Appropriate political balance is important both for
editorial reasons and because of the BBC's commitment to impartiality. But producers are keenly
aware that there are a number of balances to take into account - not just voting preference or
voting record. The nature of modern day political consensus and cross-over means that a simple
breakdown of the audience according to which party and leader they support is not a guarantee of
a broad spread of opinion. We thus help to ensure this greater range of views by probing
applicants further on some defining political issues, such as Europe, Iraq, taxation etc.
Supporters of smaller parties are also represented on all programmes, as are undecided voters.
Obviously, when the programme is in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland the different political
environment and different parties mean the appropriate balances will vary. Parties such as UKIP,
the Greens, Respect, Scottish Socialists and the BNP will all have an appropriate number of
audience supporters, and there is scope to increase their share if an especially big issue that
relates to one of the parties is in the news.
You can also find out more about how the BBC selects the Question Time audience at the
following website:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/newswatch/ukfs/hi/newsid_4200000/newsid_4202800/4202877.stm
This article was written by Ric Bailey, now the BBC’s Chief Political Adviser, but what he wrote
still holds.
We hope you find this helpful. Your request is outside the scope of the Act because the BBC and
the other public service broadcasters are covered by the Act only in respect of information held
for purposes “other than those of journalism, art or literature” (see Schedule I, Part VI of the
Act). However, on this occasion we’re happy to respond to your request. For more information
about how the Act applies to the BBC please see www.bbc.co.uk/foi Please note that this
guidance is not intended to be a comprehensive legal interpretation of how the Act applies to the
BBC.
The BBC does not offer an internal review when the information requested is not covered by the
Act. If you disagree with our decision you can appeal to the Information Commissioner. Contact
details are: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire,
SK9 5AF telephone 01625 545 700. http://www.ico.gov.uk/
Yours sincerely
Stephanie Harris
Head of Editorial Compliance
BBC News
