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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Daniel Bird

BBC News star 'breaks impartiality rules' after Boris drops out of No 10 race

Boris Johnson's decision to pull out of the Conservatorship Party leadership race left BBC News anchor Martine Croxall happy – but viewers were furious at her reaction.

As part of the BBC's strict editorial guidelines, broadcasters are supposed to uphold due impartiality and keep their views personal in a bid to uphold the balance between opposing views.

Section 4.1 of the corporation's guidelines state: "The term 'due' means that the impartiality must be adequate and appropriate to the output, taking account of the subject and nature of the content, the likely audience expectation and any signposting that may influence that expectation"

However, viewers were left enraged after Maxine announced she was "gleeful" following the news.

Martine Coxall appears to have left viewers disgruntled after 'breaching BBC impartiality' (BBC)

Shortly after the disgraced Prime Minster announced he'd bowed out of the leadership race to enter Number 10, again, Martine said: "Well, this is all very exciting, isn't it, hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the papers will be bringing us tomorrow.

"Am I allowed to be this gleeful? Well, I am."

A clip of the broadcast has since gone viral on social media, with many calling for broadcasting watchdog Ofcom to investigate the matter.

One disgruntled viewer said: "Martine Croxall of BBC News shows her bias when surely a newsreader should be impartial. Unfit for the job."

Martine had been covering the news that Boris Johnson had withdrawn from the race to become PM, again (REUTERS)

"@Ofcom please moderate horribly biased @BBCNews woman Martine Croxall @MartineBBC shouting over @ScottBentonMP for daring to support the democratically elected @BorisJohnson It's unrepresentative and intolerable that have to pay her wages or go to jail," fumed another.

While a third commented: "Martine Croxall is rightly being pilloried for this partisan display of giddy excitement as News broke of Boris Johnson dropping out of the Leadership contest. This lapse of impartiality and professionalism illustrates why so many accuse the BBC of bias."

A fourth viewer raged that Martine was "unfit for the job" after allegedly showing her "bias".

However, Maxine never commented specifically on what she was "gleeful" about as she introduced the bulletin.

Earlier this year, Tories expressed their fury and claimed the BBC had aired "outrageous" bias during the apology Boris issued to the House of Commons after admitting to breaking lockdown laws with his parties.

A Whitehall source described the coverage as "unbearable", before adding: "It feels like the BBC isn't going to stop until he’s gone. Wednesday night's News at Ten was extraordinary but Today was even worse."

The Mirror has approached the BBC for comment.

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