Complaint
The bulletin included a report on the intention announced by Rachel Reeves to crack down on tax avoiders in order to fund Labour’s plans for schools and the NHS. Introducing an interview with the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½â€™s Political Correspondent, the presenter put it to him that “Rachel Reeves was forced into this announcement after the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt stole her idea†(of abolishing non-dom tax status). A viewer complained that the use of “s³Ù´Ç±ô±ð†was negative and potentially damaging to the Conservatives in the forthcoming general election. The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½â€™s editorial standards of impartiality.
Outcome
In the introduction to the item, the presenter referred to the Government as “a»å´Ç±è³Ù¾±²Ô²µâ€ Labour’s policy on non-dom tax status. The ECU noted that, when Labour announced this policy in April 2022, it had been opposed by Conservatives, including Mr Hunt. In that context the ECU regarded the use of “s³Ù´Ç±ô±ð†as an acceptable colloquial description of the Government’s adoption of an Opposition policy it had previously opposed, and unlikely to convey any negative impression beyond what the facts warranted.
Not upheld