Where was Harold MacMillan?

YOUR COMPLAINT: 

Where was Harold MacMillan? 

Watching your fawning coverage of all the Prime Ministers the Queen has "advised" I noticed there was no footage at all of Harold MacMillan - one of the longest PM's of the 20th century (6 years) . Bit odd? Were you avoiding her appointment of Sir Alec?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/22/newsid_2784000/2784465.stm

Why was there no mention of the recent prorogation crisis when Boris Johnson clearly mislead or even lied to the Queen and here decision was overturned by the Supreme Court?

Why is it reported that the Queen's chat with the Prime Ministers is purely a source of benevolent wisdom? If it is so benign why are we not allowed to ever see minutes of such meetings? They are never recorded and never released and the Palace has an absolute exception from FOI. For all one can say about the activities of, for example, President Trump ... all his official correspondence and actions are recorded for future generations. Why are there no republican interviewees at all on the News? 

Of course one wouldn't expect the FA Cup Final to be narrated by someone who hates football but the BBC's coverage of the Jubilee has been even more sycophantic than in previous years? If the BBC was taking a broad historical view of Mrs Windsor's relationships with her Prime Ministers then it should surely apportion screen and commentary time according to how long those PMs were in office for. Instead 6 years have mysteriously gone missing. Much emphasis was given to Winston Churchill's post-war administration despite the fact that it in fact it was considerably shorter than MacMillan's at 3 years and 162 days....

Reference CAS-7194011-R9R1W7

Dear Mr Miller,

Thank you for contacting us regarding BBC News at Six, broadcast on 31 May.

The programme featured a report discussing the relationship between the Queen and those who have served as Prime Minister during her reign, where each individual role in the partnership was examined, contextualised by examples of different notable and momentous events that happened during certain premierships which impacted this relationship.

The special nature of the relationship between the Queen and those serving as Prime Minister was described, but the report also made mention of instances where it reportedly frayed with allegations of disagreement between Her Majesty and the PM, providing Margaret Thatcher and certain policies of her government as an example.

Unfortunately, whether due to time constraints or other editorial reasoning, we’re unable to include or go into full detail about every potentially relevant aspect of a report. This report aimed to discuss the story in a wider, more general capacity.

We do however appreciate your perspective on this, that you feel Harold Macmillan should have been mentioned, and your general feelings about the BBC’s reporting during the Platinum Jubilee.

All that being said your feedback is highly valued, and please be assured we have noted your concerns.

All complaints are sent to senior management and the relevant programme teams for review, and we’ve included your points in our daily overnight audience feedback report.

These reports are among the most widely read sources of feedback in the company and ensures that your concerns have been seen by the right people quickly. This helps inform their decisions about current and future content.

Thanks again for taking the time to get in touch.

Kind regards,

Abbie Crawford.

BBC Complaints Team 

www.bbc.co.uk/complaints

 

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