BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg sparks backlash as viewers catch her in big blunder | TV and radio Show and television

BBC presenter Laura Kuenssberg has come under fire after she referred to an outdated document as “official government policy” on her Sunday morning politics show.

During the latest installment of its morning show (October 13), the broadcaster featured Scottish First Minister John Swinney, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, Lloyds Banking Group chief executive and leadership candidate curator Robert Jenrick.

The broadcaster, 48, discussed some of the biggest stories to hit the headlines today, including the death of former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond.

But the program took an unexpected turn when the newsreader broached the subject of the P&O Ferries ‘sack and re-hire’ scandal with the company secretary.

It kicked off the discussion with an interview by transport secretary Louise Haige, who blasted DP World by saying she would “boycott” her company P&O Ferries and warned they were a “rogue operator”.

In 2022, P&O Ferries, owned by DP World, made 800 crew redundant without notice after stopping all sailing. The company then substantially reduced competitors’ staffing costs by rehiring absent crew members using low-wage agency workers.

During a tense interview with the company secretary, the reporter asked him if the government believes P&O Ferries is a “rogue operator”. The politician replied: “No, this is not the government’s position.

“But I think we need to make it clear that we don’t support layoffs and retrenchment. What we believe and are proving is that we can improve the market, we can improve people’s labor rights while attracting the same kind of people. the investments that we need as a country.”

It was at this point that Laura revealed a “government press release” that appeared to contradict this claim. The transportation secretary’s statement in 2022 said, “Rogue businessmen should not be given the green light to flout our nation’s laws, compromise safety standards and hurt our economy.”

The journalist again asked the politician about the government’s position on the issue, to which he replied: “We will always make it clear: what happened was not right, so we are changing the law to make sure that it does not happen again “

Pointing out the confusion, Laura explained: “This is very important because one thing you’ve said many times in this study, which Kier Starmer has said many times is that Labor will bring clarity and competition and give a clear message to everything moment, especially in business.

“And yet here we are in a matter of days, the transport secretary gives a charge, the business secretary then says it’s not the charge, an official government communication going out to the public saying another position. It doesn’t sound like much well, right? It looks messy.”

Jonathan Reynolds explained: “I’m happy to be able to give what the government’s position is. I’m happy to be able to tell you that we’re ceasing fire and re-contracting. DP World will not be coming to the summit and the investment. 1 billion will be spent of pounds in this country even though Louise Haigh offended them.”

Towards the end of the interview, Laura cleared up her mistake on air. She apologized: “And just to clarify, the press release we showed was a press release from when you were in opposition, so just to be clear.”

It didn’t take long before viewers flooded social media to point out that the quote referenced on the show was over two years old.

Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, one user wrote: “#bbclaurak (Laura Kuenssberg) promoting a 2022 @LouHaigh quote as a ‘government press release’. If I had done my homework properly I would have known that Labor were NOT in government in 2022. The BBC is meant to be impartial, not partisan (angry emoji).”

Another asked: “Will Laura Kuenssberg apologize for trying to claim an opposition statement from years ago is ‘official government policy’ rather than just an ‘oh btw this document is actually from 2022 ‘?!? Shameful journalism #BBCLauraK”.

A third enthused: “It was clearly labeled as March 2022 so everyone knew it wasn’t government policy, either it was ‘forgotten’ or just burst trying to get a moment out of Reynolds’ hand “.

A fourth said: “I was almost shouting at the TV ‘It says March 2022!!!!’ So what might a government statement look like?

Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg airs every Sunday on BBC One from 9.30am or catch up on BBC iPlayer.