The BBC has in recent years promoted its “Verify” service in which a special unit acts speedily to support or debunk claims made by guests, often political, on live TV and radio.
However, The Spectator magazine reports on an awkward moment recently when it was required to verify… itself, during a heated discussion on the current affairs panel show Question Time.
Thursday evening saw Reform party chairman Zia Yusuf attack the number of asylum seekers arriving into Britain after it emerged that the Foreign Office has spent more than £4 billion on support for refugees and asylum seekers.
The Spectator reports that Yusuf noted that the UK takes in more asylum seekers per capita than France, before BBC host Fiona Bruce corrected him, saying: “France takes more per capita, we are quite far down the list.”
A few moments later, Bruce, having evidently received word in her ear, was forced to correct herself, saying: “Actually before we move on, I just want to say, Zia, you are right in fact, that France takes fewer asylum seekers per capita than the United Kingdom. We take more than that and it’s important to get that right.”