Piers Morgan calls hypocrisy over scandal-hit BBC's reporting on rival ITV
Former Good Morning Britain star Piers Morgan has shared his disbelief that the BBC was reporting on ITV's Phillip Schofield while its own scandal was unfolding
Piers Morgan has accused the BBC of hypocrisy over its handling of the current presenter scandal, while reporting on ITV's Phillip Schofield revelations.
The former Good Morning Britain anchor pointed out that the BBC's news teams had been covering the problems at rival broadcaster ITV while bosses knew that complaints had been made against one of their own stars — but had not questioned the accused presenter about it.
Read more: BBC presenter scandal: I haven’t spoken to unnamed TV star, says boss Tim Davie
Retweeting a story in The Sun where BBC boss Tim Davie admitted the unnamed star at the centre of the allegations had not been spoken to for seven weeks after complaints were received about the presenter's behaviour, Morgan shared his own views.
And this was all while the same BBC was reporting extensively on the Schofield scandal at ITV… https://t.co/kVu0tpAOAW
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 11, 2023
He tweeted: "And this was all while the same BBC was reporting extensively on the Schofield scandal at ITV…"
According to The Sun, the presenter allegedly paid £35,000 to a young person they had been in contact with - from the age of 17 - for sexual images
Read more:
BBC presenter scandal: What we know and the unanswered questions
Piers Morgan says Phillip Schofield is 'struggling' but that he'll 'be back'
Phillip Schofield will 'never recover' from scandal says Seann Walsh
Meanwhile, at ITV Schofield stood down after 21 years as host of This Morning in May following his secret relationship with a much younger member of production crew being revealed.
Morgan also shared a link to another story about Davie still not having spoken to the unnamed presenter and wrote: "Incredible. Why not? The BBC’s reputation is being trashed and the presenter is a very senior employee."
Nicky Campbell, Jeremy Vine and Rylan Clark are amongst BBC stars who have been forced to deny any involvement in the scandal, but while one Twitter user asked how Morgan knew it was a "very senior employee", Morgan claimed their identity was an open secret in media circles.
He tweeted: "Everyone in UK media knows who it is, including everyone working at the BBC - many of whose other male presenters continue to be wrongly targeted/tarnished on social media as being the person involved. It’s an untenable situation. The presenter should name & defend himself."
Earlier in the week, Morgan had pointed out how strange the BBC's reporting of its own scandal seemed.
Ridiculous. https://t.co/4lid1Jp3Ac
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 9, 2023
He retweeted a post that read: "BBC host asks BBC reporter standing outside the BBC about allegations against unnamed BBC star. BBC reporter says they "haven't been able to confirm" whether the BBC presenter has been suspended by the BBC."
Morgan agreed: "Ridiculous."
However, according to Metro the BBC has clarified the way in which it is covering the story.
A statement said: "With stories like this one, BBC News journalists treat the BBC in the same way as any other organisation the news service reports on.
"And like with any other organisation, BBC News has to ask BBC management or BBC services for responses and contact the BBC press office for official statements."
The statement continued that sometimes, BBC reporters would doorstep their own bosses or be offered interviews with management figures.
It explained: "And when this happens, they know they’ll be scrutinised within and outside the BBC over how well they hold their boss to account."