BBC Scotland has been accused of making “excuses” for Liz Truss after suggesting that only independence supporters had been angered by her insistence that Nicola Sturgeon should be “ignored”.
Pacific Quay’s lunchtime news broadcast saw the Tory leadership contender’s swipe against the First Minister lead the headlines, after it sparked backlash across the political spectrum.
Opening the programme, presenter Alexandra Mackenzie said: “Independence supporters have reacted with outrage after Liz Truss, one of the Conservative contenders to be prime minister, said the best thing to do would be to ignore Nicola Sturgeon as she’s an ‘attention seeker’”.
Andrew Kerr, BBC Scotland political correspondent, added that there’s “real fury amongst independence supporters”.
While the pro-independence SNP and Greens had been vocal against Truss – who described Sturgeon as an “attention seeker” during her leadership hustings – other voices outside of the Yes movement also expressed their frustration.
Former Tory MSP Mary Scanlon, who is yet to vote in the party contest, said Truss had lost her vote because of the choice of language.
“I think what Liz Truss said was inappropriate and it didn’t belong to this debate,” she told BBC Radio Scotland after calling for someone with “more maturity” to replace Boris Johnson.
Former Better Together campaigner Alastair Campbell was also outraged, responding: “Her comment that she will ‘ignore’ @NicolaSturgeon and her dismissal of a serially elected leader as ‘an attention seeker’ is both mindblowingly stupid as well as deeply offensive.”
LBC’s James O’Brien, another media commentator who is not in favour of independence, condemned Truss’s plan to ignore the First Minister as “gross”.
And Sinn Fein’s deputy general secretary Daire Hughes added that Sturgeon is the “democratically elected First Minister”, as politicos in Northern Ireland got involved.
SNP president Michael Russell criticised the BBC’s framing and its focus on “independence supporters” being upset with Truss, given the varying backgrounds of those condemning the Foreign Secretary.
“[The BBC] should actually be vigorous in its condemnation of a stance that goes against all democratic and constitutional proprieties,” the former government minister told The National.
“Truss was not attacking one individual, but the entire present constitutional settlement with a threat to set aside even the provisions of the Treaty of Union.”
“The BBC should be making those points, not trying to find some mealy-mouthed excuses for her, nor desperately trying to diminish her, and her party’s anti-Scottish stance.”
The BBC has been contacted for comment.
