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BBC suspends Civil Service scheme after impartiality row over civil servants writing and fact-checking articles on small-boat migrants

BBC suspends Civil Service scheme after impartiality row over civil servants writing and fact-checking articles on small-boat migrants

Thirty-nine Whitehall officials from the Home Office, HMRC, the Ministry of Justice and the DWP have been placed in the BBC newsroom since 2018. Their work ran under 'BBC News' and 'BBC Verify' bylines with no mention of their government jobs. One drafted copy on migration statistics and checked claims linking crime rates to nationality. The taxpayer paid their wages throughout.

Shadow minister Mike Wood said politics must never seep into BBC coverage 'via the back door'.

Another official reportedly studied whether bad weather in 2022 cut small-boat crossings.

The BBC insists all editorial decisions are made by its own journalists and editors.

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