MARTINE Croxall has returned to presenting BBC News after 12 days off-air.
The 53-year-old broadcaster was taken off-air following an episode of The Papers on October 23 amid claims she had shown bias after Boris Johnson pulled out of the Conservative leadership contest.
The BBC has since ruled the programme failed to meet its impartiality standards as “several remarks and reactions” were made by the presenter which caused a “significant risk” that the audience could believe “opinions were being expressed”.
Opening the programme on Friday, Croxall failed to acknowledge her absence during her return to the programme.
The accusations of bias came during her introduction to the Sunday night edition of The Papers, in which members of the press and experts look at how the main stories of the day were covered, where Croxall said: “Well this is all very exciting, isn’t it?” adding: “Am I allowed to be this gleeful? Well, I am.”
The programme started around 90 minutes after Johnson pulled out of the Tory leadership race.
In her first question to her guests, Croxall also remarked: “Can we even show you the front pages just yet, have they arrived? No they haven’t arrived.
“It’s all a little bit, you know, lastminute.com isn’t it? Because all the front pages were probably out of date by the time we received them.”
The episode also saw Croxall suggest that her comments could have breached BBC guidelines.
Responding to a guest’s joke aimed at Johnson, she said: “I shouldn’t probably (laugh). I’m probably breaking some terrible due impartiality rule by giggling.”
Some viewers, including several Tory MPs, reacting to a clip on social media, complained it displayed bias.
Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries said on Twitter: “This lack of impartiality demonstrates how deep-seated the bias is.”
