PRESSURE is mounting on the BBC after the broadcaster was accused of editing out a reference to Brexit in a clip about food shortages.
Anger erupted after a segment aired on BBC Scotland’s The Seven and Reporting Scotland appeared to cut out the speaker's mentions of Brexit amid a discussion on the impact of food shortages.
National Farmers Union Scotland president Martin Kennedy had been discussing issues affecting framing, such as the war in Ukraine, Covid and Brexit.
Martin Kennedy of National Farmers Union Scotland explicitly mentioned Brexit in the perfect storm facing Scottish agriculture sector. Can you spot where BBC Reporting Scotland edited it out? pic.twitter.com/vHNW089KMO
— Phantom Power (@PhantomPower14) April 10, 2022
The latter issue was included in a written version on the BBC’s website but appears to have been removed from the broadcast clip.
READ MORE: Chaos at Port of Dover costing Scots business '£800 per lorry'
Following the reports, outcry emerged with the missing reference to Brexit being labelled "shocking".
Sharing The National’s article on the row, Tony Blair’s former head of communications called the report “incredible”.
Incredible …. BBC accused of editing out NFU Scotland president's reference to Brexit | The National https://t.co/gFCEQbrGfG
— ALASTAIR CAMPBELL (@campbellclaret) April 11, 2022
Meanwhile, lawyer and activist Peter Stefanovic tweeted: “This really is shocking”.
One user tweeted: “Another damming article on @BBCScotlandNews. We need answers to this.”
In the clip aired on BBC Scotland, Kennedy said: “We’ve heard the term before about a ‘perfect storm’, but I have never seen anything like this before.
“And it really is a perfect storm, on the back of the Covid issues where we had a real lack of labour.”
"BBC accused of editing out NFU Scotland president's reference to Brexit"
— Edwin Hayward 🦄 🗡 (@uk_domain_names) April 10, 2022
A broadcast on-air quote was cut short compared to the transcript, snipping out a reference to Brexit as being part of the perfect storm of problems affecting food supplies. 🤔 https://t.co/26tnEVT3Pb
At that point, there was a clear cut, before Kennedy continued: “And now of course, with the Ukraine crisis, the implication that has on energy costs, in particular on feed, fertiliser and fuel, has compounded the whole thing.
“Every sector’s facing some real challenges coming forward, and the last thing we want to be doing is winding down on production because the implications that will have on our consumer further down the track, it will be even greater food inflation.”
Despite this, a written version of the interview did keep in Kennedy’s mention of Brexit when discussing the “perfect storm” around food supplies and farming.
Just watching recorded interview with NFUS President Martin Kennedy on @BBCScotlandNews #theseven, & it appears his reference to #Brexit was edited out .👇 pic.twitter.com/8ELVUom5sW
— Robert Macintyre (@RobertTyreBute) April 9, 2022
It reads: “NFU Scotland president Martin Kennedy told BBC Scotland the impact of Russia's invasion, after a two-year period which brought Brexit and the Covid pandemic, was ‘absolutely devastating'.
“He added: ‘I have not seen anything like this before. It is completely unprecedented. The long-term implications of that is going to have a serious impact right across the food supply chain. We have heard the term before about a 'perfect storm', but I have never seen anything like this before.’”
READ MORE: Brexit protocol creating a ‘spiral of violence’ in Northern Ireland
This led to accusations that the BBC edited out the NFU Scotland president’s reference to the UK leaving the EU.
One Twitter user accused the BBC of “whitewash coverage” of Brexit while another said it was “insane” to remove any mention of Brexit from the issue of food shortages.
Twitter user Liz Webster said: "The @BBCScotland is protecting #Brexit by editing it out of an interview with head of @NFUStweets.
"Why would the @BBCNews do this?"
The BBC has been contacted for comment.
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