BBC slammed for bias and ‘producing anti-British propaganda’ in Brexit programme for children

A popular children’s programme on the BBC has been slammed as ‘anti-British’ with the broadcaster condemned for ‘producing propaganda of its highest order.’

Presented by comedian Nish Kumar, in the synopsis for the ‘Horrible Histories Brexit’ special, it states that the CBBC wanted to give a glimpse into “what our European friends have given us over the course of history” to mark the day that the United Kingdom officially left the European Union.

Publicised on the CBBC Twitter account with the words: “British things… turns out there’s hardly any”, the video gives a snapshot of past events in British history, including that the “Germans gave Britain a royal family” and that the “country’s favourite beverage, tea, is from India.”

"British things… turns out there’s hardly any.”@MrNishKumar and @HHTV_ are spilling the tea on British stuff in #HorribleHistories #Brexit special ☕️ Streaming now on @BBCiPlayer 👉 https://t.co/2S40YIQuTG @RealMatBaynton pic.twitter.com/jn1EvbYZLX

— CBBC (@cbbc) January 31, 2020

Since it was posted, the clip has come heavily under fire with many users claiming that it was biased. The BBC’s very own high-profile political presenter Andrew Neil also stated that he was unimpressed by the satire. He said:

“This is anti-British drivel of a high order. Was any of the licence fee used to produce something purely designed to demean us?”

This is anti-British drivel of a high order. Was any of the licence fee used to produce something purely designed to demean us? https://t.co/sZmreYMRHi

— Andrew Neil (@afneil) January 31, 2020

Conservative MP Ben Bradley also condemned the clip, accusing the BBC of producing propaganda for children as the programme has been produced with a target audience of youngsters between the ages of 6- to 16-year-olds. Responding on his Twitter account he said:

“Remain propaganda talking down Britain’s role in the world, emphasizing the bad and ignoring the good, because God forbid people might love their country. Now being produced for child audiences across the BBC and CBBC.”

This is not the first time that the BBC has been accused of bias in recent months as the broadcaster was heavily criticised during the lead up to the British General Election.

Last year, Neil also complained that the corporation’s comedy output was too left wing, calling The Mash Report, BBC Two’s late night comedy panel show presented by Kumar, as “self satisfied, self adulatory, unchallenged Left-wing propaganda.”

Neil also came under fire himself in December of last year when he mocked Prime Minister Boris Johnson after he refused to be interviewed on his BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

Lord Grade, the former chairman of the BBC and a Conservative peer slammed this incident in particular and for the BBC’s impartiality, stating:

“The issue here is impartiality, and broadcasters have a statutory duty to respect that.

 “It is not their job to use the airwaves to cajole and try to coerce politicians into interviews or to shame them publicly if they exercise their right to refuse.”