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The BBC has announced that it will temporarily halt the secondment of government statisticians to its fact-checking division, BBC Verify, and conduct a review of their roles. Since 2018, the corporation has allowed up to two civil servant statisticians to be seconded for six-month periods to work under the head of statistics at BBC News.
A spokesperson for the BBC emphasized that editorial decisions are made exclusively by its journalists and editors, in accordance with the organisation’s editorial guidelines, ensuring that statisticians do not have a hand in those decisions. During the review, those currently seconded will refrain from contributing to the publication of news or content, and recruitment for new secondees has been paused.
This move comes after a report by The Telegraph raised concerns about embedded civil servants performing editorial functions, prompting questions about whether impartiality rules might have been compromised. The BBC stated that it takes independence and transparency very seriously and is committed to upholding the highest standards in its journalism.
Responding to claims that statisticians involved in the secondments had contributed to writing news copy, the BBC clarified that while statisticians may provide explanations of statistics that are incorporated into coverage, they do not author journalistic copy. The organisation has also requested the correction of a blog post by a civil servant that inaccurately suggested otherwise. Furthermore, the BBC noted that secondees follow the Civil Service Code of Practice for Statistics, which mandates objective presentation and use of data, without political or commercial bias
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