A BBC News presenter called Martine Croxall is under fire after being accused of peddling pro-EU myths.
While hosting a newspaper review last night at 11.30 on the BBC News channel, Croxall challenged pro-Brexit supporter and former Tory MP Esther McVey over the number of laws imposed on the UK from Brussels.
McVey was trying to make the point that the EU has become dominant when it comes to legislation in the UK.
She said: “…Fifty per cent of the laws are now coming from Europe…”
But Croxall interrupted her, and lectured: “That’s not true, though, is it? That’s not true. Something like 2 per cent of our laws in this country are from the EU.”
Not only was Croxall standing uncomfortably near the impartiality line which BBC broadcasters must never cross, but she was also wrong.
According to the House of Commons library anywhere between 15 per cent and 55 per cent of UK laws are made in the EU, depending on how you count them.
Tory MP Philip Davies, who is in favour of Brexit, said: “This is one of the worst cases of EU bias I have ever seen from a BBC presenter. This is a prime example of the Biased Broadcasting Corporation.”
A BBC spokesman said: “During our newspaper review on Sunday night, the presenter cited an incorrect figure on the proportion of UK law emanating from the EU. We apologise for this mistake and will be clarifying this on air in tonight’s paper review. There is a detailed article on the question of how much UK law comes from the EU on the BBC’s Reality Check website.”