Today, Radio 4, 1 October 2024

Complaint

A listener objected to the tone and content of an interview conducted by Mishal Husain  with Robert Jenrick, then a candidate for the Conservative leadership, suggesting she displayed “blatant bias and  bullying”.  The ECU considered whether the interview met the standards of impartiality set out in the BBC Editorial Guidelines.    


Outcome

Today is a programme on which politicians of all parties can expect thorough and forensic questioning and where policies and ideas are tested and challenged.  Time is limited and interruptions are sometimes necessary.  While Ms Husain did interrupt on a number of occasions in an attempt to get Mr Jenrick to answer a question, in the ECU’s view he was still able to get his main points across and the interview was in keeping with the expectations of the audience for this kind of programme.

Not Upheld