UK - BBC:A question of trust

The BBC have long thought themselves invincible, they could lie, spin and be as biased as they choose with impunity - and make us pay for it to boot. Talk about rubbing salt into the wound.

But as is the case with those that feel invincible, they finally go to far. The BBC sought to show that an American photographer could even piss off the Queen but the plan backfired.

"John Whittingdale, the chairman of the all-party Culture, Media and Sport Committee, pronounced: 'Undoubtedly this has been a very serious blow to the honesty, integrity and the reputation of the BBC. One of its greatest assets is its reputation for truth and honesty and that has been damaged.'"

How odd. Despite the BBC's own admission that it is institutionally biased, an admission that prompted the BBC to commission a report that found, surprise, surprise yes, the BBC is institutionally biased and despite all undeniable evidence proving bias at the BBC, Whittingdale still thinks the BBC has a reputation for truth and honesty.

How odd. The BBC can lie, fabricate stories, be anti-American, anti-Western, pro-Islamists, endanger the British public and the world at large, in short do as it damn well pleases, but make up a story about the Queen and suddenly people are concerned about the BBC's reputation. People, the emperor has no clothes.

This is hysterical.

"At the heart of the matter is trust. The publicly funded broadcaster is held to a higher standard than any commercial rival or newspaper. Now it faces its biggest crisis of confidence since a slip of the tongue by Andrew Gilligan on the Today programme led to a bitter battle with the government and brought down the BBC's director-general and chairman. Questions about its output are now being asked more urgently than ever. What are the dark secrets of the cutting room? Can audiences believe what they see?"

In fact, the BBC is not being held to any standard and are a law unto themselves. They'll grovel, apologize, maybe even fire someone but make no mistake this will blow over and the BBC will continue as before. It admits and its own report backs up the fact that the BBC is institutionally biased. The only way to fix that is to rebuild the institution or at least cut it loose to sink or swim so we don't have to pay for their garbage.