The BBC has upheld complaints from viewers over the controversy that surrounded newsreader Martine Croxall earlier this year.
Back in June, Martine was fronting a report about an expected heatwave in the UK, and read from her autocue: “London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has released research which says that nearly 600 heat-related deaths are expected in the UK.
“Malcolm Mistry, who was involved in the research, says the aged, pregnant people…”
At this, she paused, made a face, and said “women”, which raised eyebrows at the time, with some suggesting her choice to say “women” rather than “pregnant people” excluded transgender men and non-binary people who may also be affected by the heatwave if they were to be pregnant.
Others from the so-called “gender critical” movement heaped praise on Martine, which she reacted to on social media in the days that followed.
In a post on the BBC website on Thursday, the broadcaster confirmed it had received 20 complaints about Martine’s conduct “on the basis that it expressed a controversial view about trans people”.
The post explained: “The phrase ‘pregnant people’ was followed by a facial expression which has been variously interpreted by complainants as showing disgust, ridicule, contempt or exasperation.”
It continued: “The [BBC’s executive complaints unit] considered it was the last of these which accorded best with the explanation offered by the management of BBC News, that Ms Croxall was reacting to scripting which somewhat clumsily incorporated phrases from the press release accompanying the research, including ‘the aged’, which is not BBC style, and ‘pregnant people’, which did not match what Dr Mistry said in the clip which followed.
“Even accepting this explanation, however, the ECU considered the facial expression which accompanied the change of ‘people’ to ‘women’ laid it open to the interpretation that it indicated a particular viewpoint in the controversies currently surrounding trans identity, and the congratulatory messages Ms Croxall later received on social media, together with the critical views expressed in the complaints to the BBC and elsewhere, tended to confirm that the impression of her having expressed a personal view was widely shared across the spectrum of opinion on the issue.
“As giving the strong impression of expressing a personal view on a controversial matter, even if inadvertently, falls short of the BBC’s expectations of its presenters and journalists in relation to impartiality, the ECU upheld the complaints.”
In the post it was confirmed that this was then “reported to the management of BBC News and discussed with Ms Croxall and the editorial team concerned”.
Martine has not commented on the BBC’s ruling publicly, but has posted on X since the outcome to uphold the complaints about her was announced.
