A BBC local radio station demonstrated “systemic failure” in providing breaking news about violent anti-immigration disorder in August, the broadcaster’s complaints unit has found.
BBC Radio Devon’s coverage of violent clashes between right-wing protesters and police in Plymouth city centre on 5 August was found to have given listeners “little sense of what was happening and little evidence of the BBC having a presence on the scene”.
The disorder in Plymouth, which coincided with similar incidents in cities across the UK with anti-racism counter-protesters also on the streets, saw 150 police officers deployed and several injured, two members of the public taken to hospital, six people arrested, and disruption including bus diversions, businesses closing early and a theatre performance being cancelled.
The finding comes after the BBC implemented more programme sharing across many of its local radio stations, although it had made promises to continue prominently covering major breaking news stories.
David Lloyd, co-founder of commercial station Boom Radio, complained to the BBC that BBC Radio Devon did not respond adequately to the major breaking story, pointing out that in the 10pm bulletin that night it was covered in just 21 words.
There was a news report from Plymouth at 6pm but the story was not mentioned at 7pm or 9pm, while in the rest of the evening’s bulletins it was not the lead story and little information was provided.
A finding by the BBC’s executive complaints unit has now been provided to Lloyd. However the BBC said it had no plans to publish it, claiming it does not fall under any of the specific reasons it must do so, such as accuracy or impartiality complaints.
In the finding, complaints director Jonathan Greenwood, formerly programme editor of the BBC News at Six and Ten, said the prominent featuring of breaking news within the shared programme that aired on BBC Radio Devon that night “clearly did not happen”.
He cited Ofcom’s then-group director of the broadcasting and online content group Kevin Bakhurst, who said in a letter in 2023 that the BBC “has told us that it expects that major local incidents or breaking local news stories are likely to be of interest within a shared area and so would feature very prominently within shared programmes”.
Greenwood added that it “does not appear to me that the station delivered” on these assurances.
He also said: “In terms of the shared programming from 6pm there were some efforts at points during the evening to give information to listeners. This included an update on the situation regarding bus routes and shop closures, with reaction vox pops, at 6.30pm, and the repeat of a previously broadcast two-way with a reporter at 7.17pm.
“The programme presenter read out a police update at 9.10pm… However, Radio Devon listeners would have had no sense through the evening that the station had a reporter at or near where the trouble was taking place.”
Greenwood said he had spoken to station managers at BBC Radio Devon and was told there were “several logistical problems… including the availability of journalists who had the required riot training to deploy to the scene and concerns for their safety once on the ground. I’m also told there were technical issues with broadcasting kit as well as communication issues.”
He said they had also been concentrating on gathering material for the larger breakfast show audience. In addition the BBC’s operating licence puts emphasis on providing news and information during the breakfast peak time and does not dictate a prescribed amount in the evenings.
“However BBC Radio Devon’s management recognise that the story should have been covered better and there is an acknowledgement that the resources and response required on this occasion were underestimated.”
Greenwood concluded: “I have to infer from my investigations that there were elements of systemic failure on the night of 5 August because the staff on duty did not respond adequately to this significant breaking news either due to a lack of training or clear enough instruction.”
However he acknowledged that on other occasions BBC Radio Devon has offered more extensive breaking news coverage in the evenings, for example in February last year when thousands of people in Plymouth were evacuated from their homes due to the discovery of an unexploded World War Two bomb.
He also noted he has been assured “lessons have been learned”: “Should a similar story happen again, the relevant managers have told me they are confident a better service would be offered to listeners both in terms of radio and digital output,” pointing as an example to the coverage of Storm Darragh last month.
Lloyd had also criticised the BBC’s online coverage of the disorder in Plymouth but the ECU finding said it was “reasonable” for the team to contribute to a national liveblog page of the nationwide disorder “rather than attempt one of their own”.
Greenwood did agree there could have been more coverage on social media but said this had been affected by staff leave.
Lloyd told Press Gazette in response to the finding: “This is but one example of how the BBC is consistently not honouring the pledges it made to Ofcom when asking for licence changes to permit more local radio networking.
“Local radio audiences are falling away and the BBC is not spending £120m of public money wisely. The hard work by journalists in the field is being deprived of appropriate broadcast platforms by a flawed strategy being executed poorly.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “We accept the ECU’s findings on our coverage that evening and had in fact already made adjustments to our ways of working before their review.
“Over the summer, BBC Local Radio and online services provided significant additional coverage of the unrest across many parts of England that we know was deeply appreciated by our audiences. But we also accept that in this particular instance our response fell short.
“Our strong connection with audience across Devon is incredibly important and our news teams based in the county have a proven track record of delivery. This was evident – and acknowledged by the ECU – in our extensive coverage of the unexploded World War Two bomb in Plymouth and the subsequent evacuation of thousands of homes and businesses late last year, and when Storm Darragh hit the South West last month.”
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