Victoria Coren Mitchell, the host of Have I Got News For You, has apologized for the unanticipated removal of the most recent panel show from BBC iPlayer.
Television presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell has spoken out following the removal of the latest Have I Got News For You episode from BBC iPlayer after she made a blunder concerning Labour’s digital ID card proposals.
Panelists Sheila Hancock, Miles Jupp, Ian Hislop, and Paul Merton were in charge of the satirical program on Friday night (October 3).
Before addressing the teams, Victoria asked them in one section who would benefit from Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to launch the ID system: “I was considering choosing the company Multiverse to manage the digital ID cards scheme.
She continued, mentioning that Tony Blair’s son Euan was the founding partner, and that this was a “happy coincidence”?
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FullFact, a fact-checking organization, refutes claims that Multiverse will run the government initiative, which is an “upskilling company” rather than a software developer.
The organization continued, “The government hasn’t announced any partners for the project. Although there has been some media speculating about whether the scheme may open up opportunities for other tech firms, it is understood that the government expects digital ID to be created, constructed, and managed by an internal team rather than external suppliers.
Today (October 4), Victoria has tackled the mortifying mistake with a brief statement online. Posting on X – formerly known as Twitter – she wrote: “Meanwhile, if you see a clip of me saying the ID card contract has gone to Tony Blair’s son: it hasn’t.
That was something I was asked last night, but it turns out to be incorrect. Which is good for social mobility but bad for fact-checkers.
Despite Tony Blair’s earlier public support for the idea, FullFact confirms that there is “no evidence” of Blair’s son or the company being linked to the scheme.
One social media user wrote, “Part of the script, not just a throwaway quip,” leaving viewers furious. This is receiving a lot of negative feedback from some. (It’s possible that the iPlayer edit will also be removed.)
Another said, “Oh my god. Has I Got News For You only made a fact out of this utterly false claim? Absolutely amazed that Multiverse will manage the government’s digital ID system. “whilst someone else raged:.” An utterly fundamental error in fact-checking.
After that, a BBC spokesperson told Express. a fictitious article appeared in this week’s Have I Got News For You about Euan Blair’s business, Multiverse, being chosen to develop the government’s contract to produce digital ID cards.
Because “Multipverse is not a software developer and there is no evidence of any involvement in the proposed digital ID scheme,” we have deleted the episode from BBC iPlayer while removing the relevant section. This unintentional editorial error is our regret.
In addition, a representative from the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology clarified: “Claims that Multiverse has been chosen to develop the Government’s digital ID app are false. No decisions have been made on its delivery, but we expect it to be designed, built, and run by in-house Government teams – not outsourced to external suppliers.
We will launch a public consultation to ensure we get the best possible input on the scheme’s design and delivery, as we previously stated last week.
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Source: Mirror
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