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The former US president's press secretary has described the BBC as "100% fake news" and a "propaganda machine" in a forthright interview. These remarks follow claims of bias at the broadcaster.

White House Official Condemns BBC Coverage

The White House official, a high-ranking figure in the previous US government, stated that watching BBC bulletins during visits to the UK "ruins" her day. She asserted that taxpayers are "forced to foot the bill for a leftist propaganda machine."

Dispute Over Altered Address

Leavitt's statements emerged after lawmakers said the broadcaster had "serious questions to answer" regarding how a speech by the US president was modified in a BBC Panorama documentary.

A document disclosed to a newspaper indicated that an episode of the current affairs programme "thoroughly deceived" audiences by combining two parts of the speech together.

The programme depicted the president saying he would walk with his followers to the Capitol prior to the disturbances on January 6th, urging them to "struggle intensely". However, it omitted a section of the talk where he urged the crowd "to express views calmly and loyally".

“This purposefully dishonest, selectively edited clip by the BBC is further evidence that they are total, 100% fake news that should no longer be worth the time on the television screens of the great people of the United Kingdom.”

Leavitt continued: "Whenever I travel to the United Kingdom with President Trump and am obliged to watch the BBC in our hotel rooms, it mars my day listening to their overt propaganda and lies about the president of the United States and all that he’s doing to make America better and the world a safer place."

Disclosed Memo Emphasizes Editing Issues

The newspaper said its coverage was based on a note authored by a ex- adviser to the BBC's editorial guidelines committee. The expert departed his position earlier this year and has not commented on the document, understood to have been revealed by a insider.

An extract published read: ""Editing the footage as Panorama broadcast it was utterly deceptive. The absence of a direct call for supporters to march and battle at Capitol Hill partly explained why no federal incitement charges were filed."

Allegations of Widespread Issues

The memo reportedly added that the former adviser had expressed concerns about how BBC Arabic reported on the conflict in Gaza.

The outlet claimed the author asserted there were "institutional issues", which had not been addressed by senior management. He reportedly cited "stark differences" between the reporting of the hostilities on BBC Arabic and on the main BBC site.

One matter highlighted was the frequent use of analysts who were prejudiced against Jewish people or supportive of the militant group.

Criticism of Trans Topics Coverage

The lengthy dossier is also said to have criticised the BBC's handling of gender identity matters, stating the network had been "influenced by a small group of [staff] promoting the Stonewall view" of sexual identity issues and that its LGBT unit would "decline to cover any stories raising difficult questions".

It is said to have claimed that stories raising challenging questions about trans issues were downplayed, with a "constant drip-feed of one-sided stories celebrating the trans experience without adequate balance or impartiality".

The Broadcaster Reply

In response, the BBC said: "Although we refrain from discussing disclosed papers, the BBC treats all input earnestly and reviews it thoroughly."

"Michael Prescott is a former adviser to a board committee where differing views and opinions of our coverage are routinely discussed and debated.|He previously advised a panel where varied perspectives on our reporting are regularly examined and contested."