Pundits and social media users have accused BBC Question Time of bias after Nigel Farage faced a grilling from a “ripped audience” less than a week before polls open on July 4.
Comments from the floor were not seemingly all too reflective of opinion polls on immigration, with a survey conducted earlier this year suggesting nearly nine in 10 UK parliamentary constituencies want to see net migration reduced and controls tightened.
However, Fiona Bruce suggested audience members reflected the views of the wider electorate, including Reform UK voters.
“Each of our two guests will face 30 minutes of questions from our audience who represent a mix of political sentiments, including many who are still making up their minds and supporters of both the Greens and Reform,” the veteran BBC presenter said.
Responding to Question Time’s final leaders’ special, conservative commentator Connor Tomlinson said: “This Question Time is appalling. They’ve packed out the entire audience with people shouting at Nigel Farage and calling him a racist.
“Every question is identical and tiresome If I believed Ofcom would uphold impartiality standards against the BBC, I would complain about bias.”
Former Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik added: “Fiona Bruce is complicit in failing the viewing public by spending – so far – the ENTIRE interview time on migration and racism. It’s so disappointing to see the once-impressive BBC sink to this cynical bias.”
Other BBC viewers also appeared disappointed about the lack of support shown to Farage.
“Not one clap at the end for Nigel Farage tells you all you need to know about the audience bias from the BBC,” one said. “Yet another absolute stitch-up.”
BBC audience accused of bias
BBC
Another wrote: “Fiona Bruce stop interrupting. You and the biased BBC. This programme is a joke. Rigged audience.”
A critic of the Reform UK leader even conceded: “Not a fan of Farage but this audience is so far left and biased it really isn’t fair terrible from the BBC.”
However other users disagreed, replying to an X post about the bias, one user said: “What were you watching, certainly not BBC Question Time? I just watched that, as I was interested to see Nigel Farage actually answering questions.
“There was no bias, just obvious questions. Are you so blinded by love for him that you can’t see reality?”
Another user said: Let me guess how this goes: Good audience for Farage – No problems at all; Bad audience for Farage – Grrr BBC are biased!!! Did I get that right?”
Do you think BBC Question Time was biased against Nigel Farage? Vote now in the poll above or have your say in the comments section below.
