Steerpike Steerpike

Laura Kuenssberg gets Corbynistas in a spin over reshuffle scoop

In recent months brains at the BBC have undertaken a number of steps to tackle ‘anti-Corbyn bias’ head on at the corporation. After the Beeb’s former political editor Nick Robinson wrote to colleagues warning them against anti-Corbyn bias in the political coverage, the message was then picked up by the comedy department. Barry Humphries revealed this week that he was told he could not do a planned Corbyn joke on a BBC comedy show — unless he also did one about David Cameron.

Alas for all their efforts, it just isn’t enough to keep the angry Corbynistas at bay. Laura Kuenssberg, the BBC’s political editor, has found herself in the firing line this morning after a blog — which has now been deleted — on the BBC Academy site went through the mechanics of how she had arranged her reshuffle scoop in which Stephen Doughty resigned from Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet live on Daily Politics just before PMQs. Although the post was meant as a lesson in how to secure a political scoop, Corbynistas think that the information in the blog — written by a show producer — suggests she crossed the line and was conspiring to make Jeremy Corbyn look bad:

‘Considering it a long shot we carried on the usual work of building the show, and continued speaking to Labour MPs who were confirming reports of a string of shadow ministers considering their positions. Within the hour we heard that Laura had sealed the deal: the shadow foreign minister Stephen Doughty would resign live in the studio.’

While one could argue that it is part of Kuenssberg’s job to get guests with topical news lines on the show, a number of Corbyn supporters have now accused her of being a Tory stooge:

https://twitter.com/ChrisBulow/status/685383383925559296

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