A former chief executive of BBC News has said that most journalists in the British Broadcasting Corporation newsroom are opposed to Reform UK, describing the party as an 'extreme conservative movement'. Deborah Turness told a media conference in Washington that staff views did not reflect the broader electorate and that this required extra effort to maintain impartiality.

Turness revealed that she personally overruled internal editorial policy to secure more primetime airtime for Reform UK leader Nigel Farage ahead of the 2024 general election. She said she pushed for his appearances on Question Time and for a major Panorama interview, arguing that polling support meant the broadcaster risked being 'out of step with the British public' if it did not adjust.

Her remarks follow her resignation, alongside director general Tim Davie, after a controversy involving the editing of a Panorama programme about President Donald Trump. The broadcaster admitted that clips from a January 6 2021 speech had been spliced together in a misleading way, later apologising and withdrawing the report. President Trump has since filed a multibillion dollar lawsuit in the United States, while criticising the broadcaster and welcoming the departures of its senior leadership.