BBC steht unter Beschuss, da die Fragestunde die Unterstützung der Diskussionsteilnehmer für Reform UK ignoriert

THE BBC is facing questions after it failed to disclose that one of the panellists on its flagship debate show Question Time is affiliated with Reform UK.

Tom Skinner, who recently spoke to GB News about why he supports Nigel Farage and is a member of Reform UK, was described by the BBC on social media as a “businessman and television personality”.

Further description in a BBC graphic shared ahead of the show noted that Skinner “appeared on The Apprentice, Celebrity Masterchef, Good Morning Britain and Strictly Come Dancing”, and “says ‘small businesses are the backbone of the UK economy’”.

The quote matches what Skinner told GB News in an interview in January when talking about why he supports Reform UK. He said: “What I like about Reform personally is, I’m a small business owner … and people forget that small businesses are the backbone of the UK economy.”

During the Question Time broadcast from Clacton-on-Sea on Thursday, host Fiona Bruce introduced Skinner by saying: “Tom Skinner is a businessman and TV personality, born and raised in Romford. He has appeared on the Apprentice and Strictly Come Dancing, and was invited by the vice-president to a BBQ in the Cotswolds last summer.”

The BBC’s omission of Skinner’s political allegiance drew immediate criticism, with Irish Mirror journalist Andrew Quinn writing: “Precisely why I stopped watching this ragebaitfest years ago…

“Skinner is a card carrying member of Reform UK and has even hinted at standing for election in next General Election.

“No mention of it in his BBC bio below. There’s so much good about the BBC but this is ludicrous.”

Sharing an image from January of Skinner and Farage smiling together, another user wrote: “Just an unbiased businessman and TV personality, definitely not a means to get another Reform UK rep onto the show under the radar.”

A third said: “Let’s be right, Tom Skinner isn’t on #bbcqt tonight due to his political insight but instead because he’s a vocal supporter of Reform

“If Reform have put him forward over any one of their eight actual MPs, it’s a shocking indictment of the sheer lack of talent within their party.”

Responding to that account, Skinner denied he was representing Reform on the show.

“I’m not there representing any party,” he said. “I’m there because it pays £2000 and I like watching Question Time… I’ve been asked probably 9 or 10 times to attend over the last 4 or 5 years. So I decided to give it a go. And I really enjoyed it.”

Former Tory council candidate Lewis Ormston noted that the BBC had also failed to accurately reflect former culture secretary Nadine Dorries’s Reform affiliations during an appearance on Question Time in February.

He wrote: “@bbcquestiontime have now twice failed to correctly identify Reform UK representatives on their panels.

“They may not be elected, but they are still political representatives. Viewers deserve the full picture.”

Again, Skinner responded, saying: “Big dog, I dunno why you making stuff up. I went on Question Time because I like the show and it paid a nice few quid. I’m not representing any political party…. I was on there being myself.

“I don’t work for a party, in fact the last bit of work I done for a political party was with the Labour Party. Where I done some work on helping youngsters with dyslexia like me getting into work.

“You should do some fact checking, you have a big platform. Don’t make things up. Bosh.”

Elsewhere, the Question Time official account came to Nigel Farage’s defence after a Labour minister stoked a row about why the Reform leader had not appeared on the broadcast, given it was in his constituency of Clacton.

The BBC has been approached for a response.

I don’t mind hearing politicians, commentators and members of the public views on a politics discussion panel show. But I don’t need to know what people like Tom Skinner, Joey Barton, John Lydon, Piers Morgan and Russell Brand think via Question Time, they have enough of a platform to air their own views and for a show like this I prefer someone being there for expertise rather than headlines.

Surprised Fiona didn’t give us the „yes, he is a convicted criminal but it was a one off“ in the introductions

Question Time was always Punch and Judy political TV. Never truly interested in anything meaningful.

Both the majority of the panel and the audience surprised me in this week’s question time, given where it was based. I came away feeling that the only poor showing was from Skinner, who seemed to represent the usual „say a lot but say nothing“ crowd with no real idea other than just „get it done“. It’s common sense, innit?

It doesn’t surprise me that he’s linked to reform because he was the only person who came across as meeting that reform stereotype. Indeed, my sense was that he was put there because of that when they realised the audience wasn’t going to be so in line with what the outside world might view as stereotypical Clapton.

How is this toxic trash heap of a show still on the air?

“Who’s the most insufferable window-licker we can get on the show this week?”

I used to watch QT all the time but after Fiona Bruce took over for David Dimbleby it’s become more and more right leaning, becoming a platform for the worst of the tories and more recently ReformUK.

The neutrality and genuine debate of old QT is gone.

Next you will be wanting the bbc to explain where they have bused their plants in from and why the same people ask questions in multiple cities etc