THE BBC has said that the host of Question Time, Fiona Bruce, fell below the corporation’s “standards of due accuracy” after making an embarrassing blunder about Scottish geography.
Bruce was presenting another BBC series, Antiques Roadshow, when she made the error.
The veteran presenter, introducing an episode of the long running antiques series on February 21, said: “The roadshow is in one of Britain's most beautiful landscapes, the gentle grandeur of its hills and the tranquility of its waters have been celebrated by writers from Beatrix Potter to William Wordsworth.
"We're on Lake Windermere in the Lake District, our largest national park.”
The statement was referred to the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) as the Lake District is around half the size of the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland.
The Scottish park is 4528 square kilometres, compared to the Lakes’ 2362.
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The issue was outlined in the BBC's latest complaints report, which is filed fortnightly.
The ECU ruled: “The Lake District National Park is the biggest in England and Wales, but the biggest in the UK is the Cairngorms National Park.
“In the context of a programme addressed to a UK audience, the presenter’s description fell below the BBC’s standards of due accuracy.”
It said it considered the issue had been “resolved” because: “As well as the error having been acknowledged in correspondence with the complainant, a correction had been added to the iPlayer version of the programme and the programme itself had been amended for any future transmission.”
The ruling adds: “In the ECU’s judgement, these steps were sufficient to resolve the issue of complaint.”
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