BBC on BNP on Question Time: 'Impartiality is at the core of the BBC's journalism'

BBC chief political adviser Ric Bailey has put the case for BNP leader Nick Griffin being asked to appear on Question Time on a posting today on the BBC's Editors' Blog.
He notes that appearing on Question Time is different to being interviewed by a journalist on a specific topic and that is why it was front page news in the Sunday papers, even though Griffin has appeared on other BBC programmes.
"For a start, panellists, whether they are party politicians or not, are being given a platform to share their views with the audience on a broad range of subjects. That's not quite the same as, say, an interview on Today or Newsnight, where an interviewer pursues a particular line of questioning, usually on a specific issue," Bailey says.
But he adds: "For the BBC, it's quite straightforward. "Due impartiality" means we have to take account of the political context when we're making editorial judgements, day in day out. There isn't one single formula which applies in all circumstances... Measuring impartiality is less about mathematics and more about good judgement - but let's just look at the maths for a moment. In the recent European election, the BNP won more than 6% of the vote across Britain - approaching a million people. In some regions it was close to 10%. Like the Greens, they now have two MEPs - far fewer than UKIP - but they also have over 50 local councillors - fewer than the Greens, many more than UKIP.
"Ever since UKIP and the Greens won representation at a national level, they have appeared from time to time on Question Time. Inviting the BNP onto the panel would be a continuation of the approach which recognises that the level of electoral support is a relevant factor in making these judgements.
"The BBC could not apply different standards to different parties because of their particular policies. That would be a breach of our charter, challengeable in the courts.
"But it's not fear of the lawyers or lobbying from the BNP themselves which would prompt an invitation to Nick Griffin. Impartiality is at the core of the BBC's journalism and this is a normal part of the process of constantly asking ourselves how we should be defining that impartiality in a changing political environment."