BBC Scotland’s news department has issued what must be one of the strangest clarifications in the Corporation’s history. It’s not a correction of a factual error or a retraction of an inaccurate or misleading item. It’s a statement justifying their journalists’ decision to report a major news story to the public, accurately and with all relevant parties given a right of reply. The statement reads:
That is, BBC Scotland felt the need to explain itself for doing journalism.
The story was about a sensitive document BBC journalists had got their hands on. These were the draft minutes of a meeting of Scotland’s top NHS executives in September. The news value is obvious from the contents. Among the matters discussed were reviewing the ‘cost of long-term prescribing where there are alternative options’, ‘paus[ing] funding of new development/drugs’ and ending care services entirely.
Then there was the nuclear option: since some patients ‘are already making the choice to pay privately’, it was suggested that health chiefs ‘design in a two-tier system where the people who can afford to go private’.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in