Attempts to defend BBC are a “disgrace” – Lavrov

The British media is waging an “unprofessional and harmful” information campaign, the Russian foreign minister has said

Attempts to deflect from the BBC’s obvious responsibility for the scandal that has enveloped the British state broadcaster are a “disgrace,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

Accusations that the BBC spliced footage of a speech by US President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021 to create the impression he was inciting supporters to riot at the Capitol building forced the director general and head of news to quit. Trump has reportedly threatened to sue the broadcaster for $1 billion.

Speaking to Russian journalists on Tuesday, Lavrov said he wanted to draw attention to what he described as “yet more instances of unprofessional and harmful coverage of certain events” by international media, primarily British outlets.

“What is happening with the BBC now is well known,” he said. “The fact that some ‘figures’ are trying to justify what happened and are talking about some kind of staged campaign is a disgrace.” 

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Details from a leaked internal BBC dossier, published by The Telegraph, suggested that the broadcaster had aired a doctored version of Trump’s address, combining remarks made nearly an hour apart and showing footage of protesters heading toward the Capitol building that was filmed before he began speaking.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt branded the British broadcaster a “leftist propaganda machine” and “100% fake news,” accusing it of being “purposefully dishonest” in its portrayal of the events.

The BBC has since apologized. Outgoing Director General Tim Davie told staff on Tuesday that the broadcaster had made “some mistakes that have cost us.” 

Lavrov also criticized British newspaper Financial Times for its coverage of a proposed Budapest meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying the story contained “many lies.”