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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 forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of bias at the broadcaster.

White House Official Criticizes BBC Reporting

The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, stated that viewing BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She claimed that the public are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."

Dispute Over Altered Speech

The spokesperson's statements came after MPs said the broadcaster had "significant concerns to answer" regarding how a public address by the US president was edited in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A report leaked to a publication suggested that an installment of the news programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two segments of the oration together.

The broadcast showed the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the riots on January 6th, urging them to "struggle intensely". Nevertheless, it excluded a section of the speech where he urged the assembly "to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".

“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.”

Leavitt added: "Every time I journey 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 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."

Disclosed Memo Highlights Production Problems

The publication said its reporting was based on a note authored by a ex- consultant to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The adviser left his position recently and has not commented on the document, understood to have been leaked by a whistleblower.

A passage 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 Problems

The memo allegedly added that the former adviser had raised concerns about how BBC Arabic covered the war in Gaza.

The outlet said the author alleged there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He supposedly cited "stark differences" between the coverage of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.

One matter highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.

Censure of Trans Topics Reporting

The 19-page dossier is also said to have faulted the BBC's coverage of transgender issues, stating the network had been "captured by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of gender identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "refuse to cover any stories raising difficult questions".

It is said to have alleged that stories posing complex questions about trans issues were suppressed, with a "constant drip-feed of biased stories promoting the trans experience without adequate fairness or impartiality".

The Broadcaster Response

In response, the BBC stated: "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.|The ex-consultant previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."