BBC rejects concerns Nicola Sturgeon's Covid updates are a platform for SNP

Ofcom last month issued a note to broadcasters in advance of the election, warning that it will consider any impartiality breach arising from election-related programming to be "potentially serious and will consider taking appropriate regulatory action, which could include the imposition of a statutory sanction".

The regulator had assessed 16 hours of Covid update content looking into complaints that broadcast coverage between September and December, last year was not duly impartial.

Now the BBC has confirmed that it has "not upheld" complaints that the coronavirus update gives the SNP a political platform. It has not explained its reasoning.

READ MORE: Ofcom dismisses complaints of bias in Nicola Sturgeon's coronavirus updates on the BBC - but issues a warning

But in a response to one complainer, who raised concerns the BBC said that there are strict guidelines over what will happen with the briefings in the run-up to the forthcoming national elections.

The BBC has said it will continue to host Nicola Sturgeon's daily televised update on the coronavirus crisis, despite calls for it to be axed as hundreds of complaints were about an 11-minute discussion about the Alex Salmond affair during one briefing.

And it continued to dismiss concerns about the discussion, saying that what was delivered was answers to questions from journalists.

Some 244 complaints were lodged about Nicola Sturgeon urging Alex Salmond to get before the Holyrood inquiry and produce evidence to back up allegations made after being questioned by journalists during her February 24 pandemic update.

The First Minister concluded the 68 minute briefing with an apology to those who were expecting the live conference to be solely about the Covid-19 crisis.

Ms Sturgeon was faced with a series of questions after Alex Salmond initally refused to appear before the inquiry after a submission about "malicious" attempts to smear him was edited following legal warnings from the Crown Office.

And during the live discussion with journalists, Ms Sturgeon repeatedly urged Mr Salmond to substantiate allegations by giving evidence to the parliamentary committee.

The government admitted it had acted unlawfully during its investigation into the initial complaints from two female civil servants after Mr Salmond launched a judicial review case, and had to pay his legal fees of more than £500,000.

Mr Salmond was arrested two weeks after the government admitted defeat in the civil case, and was later cleared of 13 charges of sexual assault against a total of nine women after a trial at the High Court last year.

READ MORE: BBC examines 244 complaints over Sturgeon's 'inappropriate' 11 minute commentary of Salmond affair in Covid briefing

During a Q and A with journalist in a complained-about February 24 broadcast, Ms Sturgeon went on to say that the women's voices have been "silenced" and that their motives had been "maligned" and that they had been "wrongly" accused of being liars and conspiracists.

"They came forward with complaints. The behaviour they complained of was found by a jury not to constitute criminal conduct and Alex Salmond is innocent of criminality, but that doesn't mean the behaviour they claimed didn't happen and I think it is important that we don't lose sight of that," she said.

"When I have said that before, people have said you are hiding behind the women. I am not hiding behind anybody, if anything I am standing up for the right of women to come forward and for claims to be taken seriously."

And some complainers questioned how that legally contentious statement could be made without the opportunity for rebuttal.

In response to one complainer, the BBC said: "With regard to comments made by the First Minister on February 24, aside from BBC journalists who ask questions at the briefings, we are not responsible for the questions and issues raised by other media outlets attending these briefings – and it is the Scottish government, not the BBC, that makes the journalist selection.

"What is delivered within each of these briefings is also determined by the Scottish government – or is delivered as answers to questions from journalists. Our role in subsequent reporting, in common with that of all other media outlets, is to properly scrutinise and interrogate, through questioning, whatever is said. We then incorporate such information, along with the scrutiny, interrogation and subsequent reflection and commentary, within our broadcast news output.

"We understand the concerns being raised, including questions around how coronavirus briefings will be broadcast in the run-up to the forthcoming national elections."

Steve Carson, director of BBC Scotland, and Rhodri Talfan Davies, director of BBC Wales, wrote to political party leaders in Scotland and Wales last month setting out how coronavirus briefings will be broadcast in the run-up to the forthcoming national elections.

It said: Our goal, in short, is to ensure our commitment to providing key public health information to our audiences continues to be fulfilled without compromising our duty to fairness and impartiality across our news and political coverage on television, radio and online. In order to achieve this, we will be adapting our approach to briefings’ coverage in Scotland and Wales.

"In all cases, our editorial decisions will be based on two considerations: the significance of the public health information to be discussed at the briefing, and the requirement for the BBC to exercise due impartiality during the election period, as set out in the BBC election guidelines and in Ofcom’s election guidance."

The BBC said it will only broadcast live briefings on BBC One in Scotland and in Wales where they anticipate "major new information" being sharedl, like a formal review point for restrictions, which will "affect the lives of our audiences, or important new information with significant and immediate public health implications".

Where a UK Government briefing is broadcast live on BBC One in Wales and in Scotland, it will include additional coverage to enable the Scottish and Welsh political parties to respond and discuss the situation as it affects Wales and Scotland.

It said that for any other government briefings, the BBC will consider both the significance of the public health information expected to be discussed and the "requirement for the BBC to exercise due impartiality".

"Given the current trajectory of the pandemic, we anticipate these briefings would be available either on BBC Two Wales, on the BBC Scotland Channel or on the BBC News Channel. As circumstances relating to the pandemic develop, we will keep these plans under regular review," the letter said.

"Where a live television briefing by the Scottish or Welsh Government is ministerially-led, we’ll continue to invite members of the other main parties to contribute to our coverage.

"We will continue to report extensively on any new information from government briefings across our regular news outlets on radio, television and the website."

The approach came after the Ofcom intervened in earlier concerns over impartiality after complainers were dissatisfied with the final response they received from the BBC.

According to an earlier response provided by the BBC Executive Complaints Unit the BBC considered there was editorial merit in continuing to broadcast the Scottish Government’s Coronavirus update in light of the prevalence of coronavirus cases in Scotland.

The ECU said that they had ensured that the format and structure of the coverage of the updates on both BBC 1 Scotland and the BBC Scotland channel evolved to reflect the range of political opinions on the management of the pandemic in the updates themselves, but also in the context of the news coverage.

While one of the complaints was about a specific broadcast of the update on BBC1 Scotland on October 23, 2020, the other three complaints did not specify any particular broadcast and complained generally.

Ofcom then decided to make its own assessment of programmes broadcast on BBC 1 Scotland and the BBC Scotland channel between September 11 and 18 and December 5 to 11 as well as the October 23 broadcast.

Ofcom said: "Having taken into account the broadcaster’s and audience’s rights to freedom of expression, and all relevant contextual factors and editorial techniques, Ofcom considered that, in the programmes that we assessed, where statements were made by the First Minister or other Scottish ministers in the updates which could have been construed as critical of the UK Government’s policies and actions or as promoting the SNP policies in relation to the handling of the crisis, these were appropriately contextualised, and alternative viewpoints on the issues relating to the policies and actions of the Scottish Government, and to the extent they were discussed, the UK Government’s policies and actions, were sufficiently represented, to ensure that due impartiality was preserved.

"Ofcom therefore did not consider that the programmes raised any issues warranting investigation under the Code. Consequently, Ofcom has decided to not pursue these complaints further."

Ofcom did acknowledge that during the initial part of her update in the October 23 broadcast during the question and answer sessions, certain aspects of the First Minister’s and other Scottish Government ministers’ statements touched on matters of major political controversy and major matters relating to current public policy.