Commons media committee chair denies writing article accusing BBC of bias

Article sparks controversy

The chair of the UK House of Commons culture, media and sport committee, Conservative MP Caroline Dinenage, has found herself at the center of a dispute over an article published on the ConservativeHome website last November. The article, which appeared shortly after former BBC external adviser Michael Prescott accused the corporation of bias, echoed those claims, alleging 'institutional bias' and 'deep anti-Israel bias' within BBC News. Dinenage was quoted as saying the bias was embedded in the BBC's culture and editorial mindset.

Authorship questioned

However, when BeebWatch podcast host Roger Bolton raised the article in an interview with Dinenage, her office contacted him after the recording to say that neither Dinenage nor her team had written the piece and that she did not hold some of the views attributed to her. Bolton noted that during the interview, Dinenage did not question the article's authenticity, but after the office's intervention, the relevant section was edited out of the podcast.

ConservativeHome's stance

ConservativeHome stated it could not find a record of exactly who submitted the article, but it was received through normal channels and published in good faith. The article remains on the website. Bolton called the situation 'a rum affair' and suggested only two possibilities: either Dinenage or her office wrote it, or someone impersonating her did.