Complaint
A viewer complained about the BBC’s coverage of the acquittal of a police officer for murder suggesting that it lacked impartiality because the newsreader’s tone implied the jury’s not guilty verdict was “tragic and wrong”. The ECU considered whether the output met the standards for impartiality set out in the Editorial Guidelines.
Outcome
The news items covered the end of the trial of Sergeant Martyn Blake who was found not guilty of the murder of Chris Kaba. Sergeant Blake had shot Mr Kaba dead during an armed police vehicle stop in south London. In the ECU’s view the coverage adopted an appropriate tone which did not indicate the BBC had taken any side on the issues under discussion. Given the context in which the trial took place it was editorially justified to include comments from Mr Kaba’s family, with an alternative view being offered in both bulletins by the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
Not Upheld