The BBC has said that it “should have challenged” claims made by politician Lord Nigel Lawson contesting evidence about climate change.
The former Chancellor of the Exchequer spoke on the broadcaster’s Today programme in August and referred to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as he claimed that there had been “no increase in extreme weather events” and that “mean global temperature has slightly declined” in the last years.
The statements were followed by complaints from some viewers.
Nigel Lawson's claims on planet Earth cooling "simply not true", says Met Office @StottPeter on climate change #r4today pic.twitter.com/OIYrwzK8YQ
— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) August 11, 2017
According to the Guardian newspaper, a letter has now been issued by the BBC’s executive complaints unit that “now accepts the interview breached its guidelines on accuracy and impartiality”.
The publication quoted the letter stating that Lord Lawson’s statements “were, at the least, contestable and should have been challenged”.
A spokeswoman for the broadcaster said that the latter comment referred to the content of Lord Lawson’s claims and added that there were other guests present on the programme that offered “different views”.
1/5 It has been brought to our attention that a temperature chart prepared by US meteorologist Ryan Maue & published by Joe Bastardi…
— GWPF (@thegwpfcom) August 13, 2017
2/5 & which was referred to in the Today programme appearance of Lord Lawson is erroneous.
— GWPF (@thegwpfcom) August 13, 2017
The Global Warming Policy Forum, a London-based campaign group chaired by Lord Lawson, later said on Twitter that his information was “erroneous”.