Laura Kuenssberg interviewed Deputy Leader of Reform Richard Tice on Sunday. Kuenssberg pushed Tice on the Reform UK councillor who suggested “melting down Nigerians to fill pot holes”. Kuenssberg also pushed Tice on the astonishing private £5 million personal donation to Farage.
It is telling that Tice tried to dodge the questions.
During the interview, Richard Tice deflected criticism of Reform politicians by referring to the “anti-semitic Green Party”. Laura Kuenssberg ignored this and did not challenge it. Surely, when such offensive statements are made, the interviewer has a duty to challenge them and present the other side of the argument. I have complained to the BBC about this.
The Green Party have been called anti-semitic because they oppose the genocide and war crimes in Palestine. There is nothing anti-semitic about this. The many marches that have taken place calling for a Free Palestine are not hate marches and always include big contingents of Jewish people. To call the only political party in the UK with a Jewish leader “anti-semitic” is beyond the pale.
Richard Tice again referred to ‘Net Stupid Zero’ and, as always, the BBC said nothing about the consequences of that Reform UK policy. Unless the rich nations step up their commitment to replace fossil fuel use as soon as possible, we face climate tipping points such as the collapse of AMOC, leading to the collapse of our society and the death of billions of people.
You can see the interview here.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/26342046342157231
I have also complained about BBC Radio 4’s coverage of the Local Election campaigns.
BBC Radio 4 (and no doubt other stations) has been negligent in its lack of questioning of politicians on the climate catastrophe and the imminent threat of tipping points, such as the collapse of AMOC.
In the week preceding the May 7 election, Today interviewers didn’t ask party spokespeople questions about climate change, in spite of the fact that in the months leading up to the election the London School of Economics had published several reports on the fact that climate change will ‘hammer incomes and government budgets’ and that ‘climate change impacts are intensifying, yet adaptation efforts are not keeping pace with the scale and urgency of emerging risks.’
We face a national security risk, as outlined in the National Emergency Briefing, yet this is not being talked about on your programmes.
No party spokespeople were questioned or asked to comment on the fact that seven Reform-led councils have ‘scrapped’ their climate targets, and climate change denial has been expressed by Reform UK councillors in five councils. Some councils have removed content about climate change from strategy documents.’ (London School of Economics report). The BBC must prioritise discussion and debate of the National Emergency Briefing and force politicians to respond to it. Failing to do this means the BBC is part of the problem. The BBC should screen the National Emergency Briefing film on prime-time television as soon as possible.
I will keep you updated when I get replies to these complaints. Please help put pressure on the BBC to tell the full truth about the climate and nature emergencies and what is happening in Palestine. When you see or hear a programme that talks about climate change but fails to mention the most dangerous aspects of it, like the collapse of AMOC or the death of rainforests, make sure to send a complaint in. Likewise, when people are accused of anti-semitism for simply opposing the Israeli Government and the Genocide they are committing, send in a complaint. https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/complaints
Meanwhile, Jonathon Fuller is making progress in the preparation for taking the BBC to Judicial Review.
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I had this reply from the BBC regarding the “anti-semitic Green Party” complaint.
Dear Audience Member
Thank you for contacting us about our interview with Reform UK’s Deputy Leader, Richard Tice, broadcast on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg on 10 May.
We’re sorry that you were unhappy Laura did not challenge Mr Tice’s reference to the Green Party as being antisemitic.
As you may recall, Mr Tice stated that the party had performed well despite significant scrutiny, which prompted Laura to raise concerns expressed by voters about some candidates’ views that have been widely regarded as offensive. For example, she referenced a councillor in Sunderland who made offensive comments about Nigerians.
Mr Tice appeared to deflect from this line of questioning by referring to Reform UK’s current work on antisemitism. However, Laura continued to press him on the original point, maintaining her line of questioning even after his comment about the Green Party.
We understand that you would have preferred her to challenge that remark directly, and we have shared your feedback with the programme team.
Thank you again for getting in touch.
If you’d like to understand how your complaint is handled at the BBC, you might find it helpful to watch the short film on the BBC Complaints website about how the BBC responds to your feedback. It explains the BBC’s process for responding to complaints, what to do if you aren’t happy with your response and how we share the feedback we receive.
Kind regards,
BBC Complaints Team
http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints
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I have had this response from the BBC regarding them consistently failing to report on the most horrific aspects of climate change.
Dear Graham,
Thank you for contacting us regarding our recent News coverage around the 2026 Elections and climate change.
The BBC has been reporting on both the effects of climate change and the changes that individuals and governments can make in order to reduce carbon emissions for many years. In recent years these reports have had increased prominence as the evidence grows about the speed and impact of climate change.
In light of the IPCC’s report regarding the future of our planet, we have dedicated a lot of our coverage to investigating the scientific evidence behind these findings and exploring the recommendations it has set out. We have made sure to dedicate some of our mainstream reporting to cover issues such as flooding, wildfires, and record breaking temperatures. We have also provided comprehensive coverage of key events.
We have also invited spokespersons from Extinction Rebellion, and other organisations that focus on climate change and scientists involved in the latest research, onto a wide range of our News and Current Affairs programming.
To read our latest News on the issue of climate change, and what you can do to help, you may be interested in the following link:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cmj34zmwm1zt/climate-change
We can assure you that the BBC is committed to providing fair and impartial coverage of the latest News stories to our audience, and climate change is an issue that the BBC takes very seriously, so we appricate you feel it’s an area political representatives should be questioned on more frequently.
We very much value your feedback. Complaints are sent to senior management and we’ve included your points in our overnight reports. These reports are among the most widely read sources of feedback in the BBC. This ensures that your concerns have been seen by the right people quickly, and helps to inform decisions about current and future content.
If you’d like to understand how your complaint is handled at the BBC, you might find it helpful to watch the short film on the BBC Complaints website about how the BBC responds to your feedback. It explains the BBC’s process for responding to complaints, what to do if you aren’t happy with your response and how we share the feedback we receive.
Kind regards,
BBC Complaints Team
http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints
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I have followed this up with a much more detailed complaint, sent by post (as the online form only allows a fairly small wordcount.)
13th May 2026
Dear Complaints Team,
BBC refusal to report appropriately on the unprecedented national security threat
BBC1 TV: Breakfast: 29 April 2026: 08.32
I am writing to complain about a long-standing failure by BBC TV News and current affairs – the refusal to report the most alarming news relating to climate breakdown. This is a threat to UK national security because the UK is not preparing for the extreme threats posed to food and water supplies, and the critical infrastructure that keeps people alive.
There is also a bias associated with BBC output because the coverage favours those political parties that don’t want action to decarbonise and disadvantages those political parties that want dynamic action on climate. The bias is also against all young people. The younger people are, the more they will suffer. The BBC is covering up the degree to which young people will suffer, and the grave risks to their lives. The lack of factual information prevents the young from attempting to stop the harm to be inflicted upon them and also prevents them from preparing for that harm.
The BBC Breakfast interview with Nigel Farage MP on 29 April 2026 at 08.32 perfectly reflects everything that has gone wrong at the BBC. BBC TV presenters are not posing appropriate questions around this unprecedented national security threat.
By way of background, I will add these facts (see references at the end of the letter).
All BBC news staff ought to know of this appalling scale of suffering and the wholly unprecedented risks our nation faces.
Any reasonable person will agree that it is unforgivable that BBC presenters on Breakfast, Kuenssberg, Politics Live, Newsnight, etc, will not put tough questions to politicians like Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch, associated with their policies to slow or stop efforts to decarbonise. Because this is the UK’s No.1 national security threat, BBC news staff should also push other politicians who support expanding polluting activities, like aviation.
The BBC never put challenging questions on behalf of the victims to business and political figures. For example, around 1,000 infants are being killed daily by increasing disease or 1 billion people would be killed by 2 °C of global heating. Over the last few months the BBC has rightly dedicated huge TV news and current affairs time to the killing of 3 people in Nottingham, the murder of 3 children in Southport, and the stabbing of two men in Golders Green (although they ignored the stabbing of a Muslim man by the same assailant). However, the BBC refuses to speak up about the strong possibility of killing 1 billion people and the risk that 4 billion could be killed.
The BBC’s interview with Nigel Farage is not an isolated incident. Whenever the issue of energy policy crops up, the BBC ought to mention at least one of the catastrophic impacts of climate breakdown, but it never does. When Richard Tice was interviewed on 26 March, and again on 10 May, Robert Jenrick on 1 April, Kemi Badenoch on 2 April, they either called for new drilling for oil/gas or attacked net-Zero, but all were spared questions on mass death caused by such policies (by driving climate breakdown).
That contradicts the BBC Charter obligations, the obligations set out in the Communications Act 2003 and other legal precedents.
I believe the BBC’s position is irresponsible and cannot be justified.
In the BBC interview on 29 April, Ben Thompson only challenged Nigel Farage on the implications of his policies for the supply and price of oil and gas. The BBC did not challenge politicians on the mass death, mass suffering, climate implications of policies that would either increase emissions or maintain them at high levels.
The BBC needs to put right the immense harm it has caused. I call upon you to broadcast within 1 month a prime-time TV documentary on AMOC collapse, in which the views of the leading scientists in this field are set out. That must include why Hanson’s team says collapse is likely within 30 years, and the effect this will have on our food supplies and society.
A weekly prime-time TV series should follow, in which other grave threats are explained to the public, with probing analysis of the ability of the UK to prepare for catastrophe. This series should include ‘The People’s Briefing’ or a detailed version of the ‘National Emergency Briefing’.
In light of the fact the heads of MI5, MI6 and the UK’s Chief Scientific Adviser warn we face unprecedented threats, BBC presenters must be instructed to ask frequent and probing questions of all politicians about policies that contribute to mass death caused by climate breakdown.
Will you take these steps or explain why the BBC refuses to play its part in protecting the UK population?
Yours
Graham Wroe
Tell the Truth Sheffield
References
1.Carbon Brief: AMOC is weakening
https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/amoc-explainer/index.html
2.James Hansen et al. AMOC shutdown within 30 years.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00139157.2025.2434494#abstract
3. National Preparedness Commission. Says of AMOC collapse that: “Colder, drier conditions would largely wipe out crop growing in the British Isles”.
https://nationalpreparednesscommission.uk/publications/blind-spots-on-climate-tipping-points-reveal-complacency-on-climate-change-security-threats/
4.The British Medical Journal on suppressed Joint Intelligence Chief’s report.
https://www.bmj.com/content/392/bmj.s165.full
5. Farmers Weekly. Warning of civil unrest.
https://www.fwi.co.uk/news/environment/climate-induced-food-shortages-could-cause-civil-unrest
6. National Emergency Briefing for Parliamentarians. Over 48,000 people signed an open letter for the event to be broadcast.
https://www.nebriefing.org/parliamentary-call
7. Parasol Lost report. Global heating is accelerating.
https://actuaries.org.uk/news-and-media-releases/news-articles/2026/jan/14-jan-26-parasol-lost-recovery-plan-needed/
8. Prof James Hansen et al. Around 8C of heating is locked in.
https://www.giss.nasa.gov/pubs/abs/ha09020b.html
9. 1 Billion people to be killed by 2C of global heating. Pearce and Parncutt:
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/16/6074
10. Risk 4 billion killed by 3C of global heating. Institute and Faculty of Actuaries:
https://vle.actuaries.org.uk/pluginfile.php/158810/mod_resource/content/1/Planetary%20Solvency%20%E2%80%93%20Sustainability%20Report%20Launch.pdf
11. The Lancet: Countdown report on health and climate change. Infant mortality.
https://www.thelancet.com/countdown-health-climate
12. DARA International for UN. Infant mortality.
https://daraint.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/CVM2-Low.pdf
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