ALEX Salmond has said that the BBC “cannot be trusted to report on Scotland’s democracy” in a scathing attack on the national broadcaster.
The former First Minister branded BBC Scotland a “disgrace” and claimed that it is trying to keep his Alba Party “off the airwaves”, despite many other media outlets being eager to interview them.
Salmond this week travelled to London where reporters from as far afield as Vietnam, Spain, Qatar, Colombia and Australia were amongst more than 100 journalists to attend a mid-week Alba event organised by the Foreign Press Association. Interviews ran for around six hours.
Salmond said: “I did a big one of these in 2014 and there weren’t as many then as there were today – 50 or 60 compared with 106.”
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The former First Minister has now told The National: “It seems passing strange that I have to go to London to get an audience of hundreds of international news outlets but can’t get a hearing from BBC Scotland.
“Sky television, Bauer Radio, LBC and Talk Radio are all anxious to hear the Alba point of view. BBC Scotland stands alone in shutting Alba off the airwaves.
“Their top executives should be hanging their heads in shame. They are a disgrace to Scotland.”
The former First Minister was interviewed on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland on April 7.
However, Salmond has requested inclusion in future leaders’ debates aired by the broadcaster, a courtesy extended to Ukip leader David Coburn during the 2016 Holyrood election.
At the time, Ukip had been polling at up to 6% on the list, similar to what the Alba Party have achieved to date. Salmond said: “The problem with the BBC, is not just with Alex Salmond, the problem with the BBC is with anyone who sees independence as a matter of urgency.
“This is the organisation at the last Scottish election who treated their viewers to David Coburn (above) as part and parcel of the leadership debates, representing Ukip, a party which did not have a snowball’s chance at gaining seats, but was somehow more acceptable to BBC bureaucrats than Alba, a party representing the future of Scotland.”
He went on: “The conduct of the BBC during this campaign, in terms of their obligations to public service broadcasting, is highly similar to the 2014 referendum: a total disgrace and the shame of Scotland. They cannot be trusted to report on Scotland’s democracy.
“They have failed totally in their public service obligations and revealed yet again as not a public service broadcaster, but a state broadcaster, and there is no doubt what state they have in mind.”
A BBC Scotland spokesperson said that they believed they had met their obligations and stressed that they were on the same page as STV on the matter.
They went on: “We are satisfied that, to date, we have provided The Alba Party with appropriate and proportionate coverage, given the available evidence of current support and in line with the criteria outlined in the Guidance provided by Ofcom and within the BBC’s Election Guidelines.
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“As such, we believe we have met our obligations of due impartiality, while providing the electorate the opportunity to hear the views and perspectives of the party and delivering election coverage to our audiences. We will of course continue to keep under review the coverage Alba receives throughout the election period but, based on current evidence, we anticipate that next leaders’ debate will feature the five larger parties.”
Meanwhile, Salmond said last night that he will not be debating George Galloway in a special show chaired by former BBC journalist Andrew Neil, despite Galloway’s claims to the contrary.
Galloway, who is now a part of the All for Unity (A4U) party, posted an announcement to Twitter this afternoon in which he claimed to have heard confirmation of the news.
He claimed the debate would be broadcast on Spectator TV, which is linked to the right-wing magazine of which Neil is chairman.
However, Salmond said Galloway’s claims were categorically untrue.
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