Tuesday, December 16, 2025

The infuriating thing about the Panorama programme broadcast the week before last year's US presidential election was that it gave Donald Trump a good reason to criticise the BBC. 

Trump has built his career on untruths and wild exaggerations. He launched his presidential ambitions on the back of "doubts" he expressed about Barack Obama's birth certificate 14 years ago. 

Yet by splicing together two bits of Trump's speech to make it look as if he incited his supporters to try to overturn an election by force more explicitly than he actually did, the BBC handed Trump the moral and legal stick with which to beat it. 

The BBC is a valuable if flawed institution that should be defended to the hilt, but it must be quicker to admit errors in future. 

"Jessica" by the Allman Brothers Band was the theme music for which TV show?

Answer at the bottom of today's email 

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This Christmas, we're asking for your help again as we launch our new campaign with the charity Missing People – the SafeCall appeal.

Every year, more than 70,000 children in the UK are reported missing. The misery that follows – for the child, for the family, for the community – is often hidden. Too many of these young people have nowhere to turn when they need help most. SafeCall will change that. Our goal is to raise £165,000 to help Missing People launch this new, free service – designed with the input of young people themselves – offering round-the-clock support, advice and a route to safety."

QUOTATION OF THE DAY

No, the prime minister should not intervene; the BBC is big enough to own this mess, and their board needs to get a grip

Nicky Morgan, former culture secretary

Quiz answer: Top Gear 

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