Watch: Does this Tory minister think Art Attack is biased?

Is the BBC biased? Some Tories, including transport minister Huw Merriman, think so. But while there is plenty of evidence to suggest Merriman is correct, he might want to use a different example to the one he used when quizzed on the subject of BBC bias this morning.

Sky News’ Kay Burley asked Merriman for proof that BBC News gave the Tories a hard time. In response, Merriman appeared to name the former Art Attack presenter Neil Buchanan:

‘So when I worked at the Department of Work and Pensions doing work on Universal Credit there was an individual there who would report on it, Neil Buchanan, who I always felt gave one side of the story and not the other side, which was the government side.’

Is the #BBC biased?

Govt minister @HuwMerriman says it is

We ask for some examples#KayBurley PO pic.twitter.com/4ETcYgYnxB

— Kay Burley (@KayBurley) January 23, 2024

Perhaps Neil Buchanan does have a namesake at the BBC. Or was Merriman getting the kids’ TV show host muddled up with with BBC social affairs correspondent Michael Buchanan? The latter Buchanan has, at least, reported on the rollout of Universal Credit – unlike Art Attack which tended to steer clear of politics when it was broadcast….on ITV.