MARION Fellows, the SNP MP for Motherwell and Wishaw, is furious at the BBC’s misrepresentation of the North Lanarkshire town on a recent episode of Question Time.
The broadcaster has been criticised after a failed Ukip candidate with links to loyalist organisations, who has appeared in the audience of the show four times, claimed he was bussed in by producers.
The SNP MP told The National: “I was disappointed with the Question Time programme from Motherwell. The point of moving the programme across the UK is to give it a local flavour.
“That has to come through, which most definitely did not happen. Motherwell and Wishaw voted for independence in 2014 and has twice returned an SNP MP.
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“My constituents voted to remain in 2016 – the audience used in the Motherwell programme did not reflect how the majority of people are in the area.
“While it is important for a balance to be struck in national broadcasting, I do not believe Question Time strikes that balance often and tends to lean towards right-wing panellists.”
This she said, did not mean that “every viewpoint should be afforded a platform.”
Fellows added: “Those of the far right who use sectarian language and attempt to sever the social bonds of our communities do not deserve a platform at all.
“The BBC must provide answers. Mainly on how someone with such views could make it into the Question Time audience so often and whether or not direct invitations were made to people known to producers.”
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