Complaint
In an interview about a march to the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police in protest at the killing by a firearms officer of a black musician Chris Kaba, the Bishop of Croydon, Dr Rosemarie Mallett referred to “the murder of Mark Duggan”. A listener complained this “grossly misrepresented” the findings of the inquest into Mr Duggan’s death which concluded that his killing by a Metropolitan Police officer was lawful. The ECU considered whether the interview met the ѿý’s editorial standards for accuracy.
Outcome
The ECU noted that what contributors say on programmes is their responsibility. The ѿý’s responsibility in this instance was limited to making clear to listeners that the idea that Mr Duggan had been murdered was, at the least, contested, the inquest having concluded that there had been no unlawful killing. In this instance the ECU understood that the Bishop misspoke and would have said “death” rather than “murder” if it had been queried at the time. The failure by the ѿý to do this left listeners with an impression which was not consistent with the ѿý’s standards of accuracy, and on that basis the complaint was upheld.
UPHELD
Further action
The finding was discussed with the programme team.