THE BBC received more complaints about bias against the SNP and Nicola Sturgeon than any other issue in the period from November 23 to December 6, 2020, newly released figures show.
The complaints related specifically to the First Minister’s appearance on The Andrew Marr Show on November 29.
Andrew Marr, the Glasgow-born journalist and author, presented an attitude towards the First Minister which National readers compared to an “attack dog” who was aiming not for a political interview but a “character assassination”.
READ MORE: Was Marr ill-informed about Covid data, or trying to score points?
Marr asked Sturgeon about the Covid death rates in Scotland and England, claiming that the SNP had “actually done worse than England in dealing with the Covid-19 second wave… Have you let Scotland down?”
The National’s fact check service later found Marr’s claims to be selective, and not representative of the wider data.
Now, the BBC’s latest figures report that 161 complaints were received relating to “bias against SNP in interview with First Minister Nichola Sturgeon [sic]”.
READ MORE: FACT CHECK: Has England really coped better than Scotland in second Covid wave?
The figures only detail issues which were complained about more than 100 times.
Strictly Come Dancing received 141 complaints from people who felt it was “inappropriate for male professional dancers to be dressed in drag for the opening dance”, while Have I Got News For You received 105 complaints for “offensive humour”.
In total BBC Audience Services received 4146 complaints about programmes and 9214 altogether between November 23 and December 6.
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