The BBC presenter said she was ‘happy to clarify’ remarks about Labour’s position in the polls
Question Time host Fiona Bruce used Thursday night’s broadcast to “clarify” remarks from the previous week.
During that programme, Bruce had told Labour’s shadow home secretary Diane Abbott her party was “definitely behind” in the polls.
Abbott complained about how she was treated on the panel and Labour requested unaired footage of a joke allegedly made by Bruce about Abbott and Jeremy Corbyn.
BBC journalist Bruce said she was “really happy” to explain what she meant. She said: “I just wanted to pick up on something from last week’s programme.
“There was some discussion I think about opinion polls, you may be aware of this, I was talking about a poll that came out on the day of the programme that suggested the Conservatives were ahead, and the shadow home secretary mentioned some earlier polls that showed Labour were in the lead.
“We should have made that context clear and I’m really happy to do that now.”
Abbott described the way she was treated during the broadcast as “a disgrace” and the succinct response from Bruce is unlikely to satisfy Labour complaints.
Following the incident, Abbott wrote in The Independent that Bruce did “not appear to be well briefed” and was “not afraid to appear unfair as a presenter.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “We’re sorry to hear Diane Abbott’s concerns and have contacted her team to reassure them social media reports are inaccurate and misleading.
“Diane Abbott is a regular and important contributor. We firmly reject claims any of the panel were treated unfairly before or during the recording.”
