Jim Allister accuses UTV and BBC of 'creating an echo chamber' after he is excluded from TV debates

TUV leader Jim Allister has accused both BBC Northern Ireland and UTV of "bias" after he wasn't invited to take part in televised debates ahead of the UK General Election.

Representatives from the five main parties took part in a pre-recorded debate on UTV on Sunday evening and are set to go head-to-head again in a live debate on BBC One on Thursday.

During the campaign, Mr Allister, the party's sole MLA, has participated in party leader interviews on both BBC One's The View and Radio Ulster's Talkback programme.

Read more: UTV Election Debate: How each representative fared

Read more: Future of Union has never been more ‘perilous’, TUV leader Jim Allister claims

Back in 2022, when the party had also been excluded from the televised debates ahead of the Assembly Election, the party's then East Belfast candidate John Ross described the BBC and UTV as "Canute like, seeking to stop the tide." While the party's share of the vote did grow by 5 per cent in that election, it wasn't enough to see them pick up any additional seats.

“The decision of the BBC and UTV to exclude TUV from their leaders’ debates is but the latest example of bias by broadcasters during the election period," Mr Allister said of this latest exclusion.

“In the initial letter from the BBC it was suggested that TUV would receive a single party election broadcast and only after this was challenged did the BBC contact us to say we were actually receiving two.

“In the opening days of the campaign, TUV had to write to the director of BBC Northern Ireland to complain about a BBC journalist employing language straight from DUP campaign literature to characterise TUV candidates, a so-called commentator who characterised me as “a Lundy” without challenge and a TV debate from which we were excluded but repeatedly referred to without opportunity to respond."

Mr Allister said that his party have repeatedly pointed out to both the BBC and UTV that recent like-for-like polling over a protected period has shown the TUV either level with the SDLP or within the margin of error.

"Tellingly, no account appears to have been taken of the fact that in the last Assembly election, the difference between the SDLP and TUV was just 1.5 per cent," he continued.

“UTV took issue with us saying that TUV have been excluded from the leaders' debate because we have not been included and advise that at no time was that to be the case. How revealing that UTV, and indeed the BBC, were not prepared to consider the obvious points and did not give any credence to the compelling argument for including TUV in the debate. This shows an appalling lack of balance and inability or unwillingness to consider the facts.

“Thankfully the TUV message is cutting through regardless but the bias of the mainstream media is obvious.

“The practical outwork of BBC and UTV bias is that by only permitting Protocol implementers a platform they aren’t having real debates. They are merely echo chambers.”

A BBC spokesperson said: “All decisions about the BBC’s election-related coverage are based on published guidelines.”

A UTV spokesperson added: "As with all of our election coverage, the aim of the UTV Election Debate on Sunday was to be fair, balanced and duly impartial.

"The make-up of any programme is our editorial decision, and, in inviting the five larger parties to the debate on Sunday, aware of our obligations under our regulator Ofcom, we gave due weight to coverage of the parties.

"In addition, we made clear in the debate that there is a previously planned linked programme of interviews with other leaders, including the TUV, who will appear in ‘View from Stormont’ on Thursday."

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our politics newsletter here.