By PAUL REVOIR 17th June 2011 The BBC could be forced to hand back a prestigious award it won for the controversial Primark Panorama expose, after footage in the show of child labour in India was revealed to be fake. The corporation won the Current Affairs Home Prize at the Royal Television Society awards for its show Primark: On The Rack, which was broadcast in June 2008. However there is speculation that they could lose the award, following the findings of the BBC Trust's investigation into the show, highlighting 'serious editorial failings' and saying footage used of three young boys in a workshop in Bangalore was 'not authentic'. Claims: The programme seemed to show children working on the clothing A BBC spokesman said: 'We formally sent a copy of the BBC Trust report to the Royal Television Society. 'The BBC Executive will be considering what further action needs to be taken.”' A spokeswoman for the Royal Television Society confirmed that no decision had yet been made either way. The BBC will apologise after it showed footage that was 'more likely than not' to have been faked 'We note the decision of the BBC Trust and will consider what action, if any, is appropriate,' she said in a statement. The Trust's report centred on scenes in the programme which were said to have shown the youngsters inspecting vest-tops and making sure ‘sequins don’t end up falling off in the hands of customers back in Britain’. But on closer inspection the BBC Trust claimed there were inconsistencies and improbabilities. The programme, broadcast in June 2008, had sought to investigate whether Primark could make ‘cheap, fast fashion without breaking ethical guidelines’. Primark on the rack included footage said to show three boys in a Bangalore workshop testing stitching in the shop's clothes However the report said: ‘Having carefully scrutinised all of the relevant evidence, the committee concluded that, on the balance of probabilities, it was more likely than not that the Bangalore footage was not authentic.’ As well as apologising on BBC1, the corporation will also have to display an apology on the Panorama website for a week and was told the footage can never be repeated or sold abroad. The BBC trust said it wanted to apologise for a 'rare lapse in quality' The BBC will make an on-screen apology to Primark for the footage that was likely faked The BBC could still be hit with a fine for breaching broadcasting as media regulator Ofcom said it would consider any complaint made to it by Primark. The trust’s Editorial Standards Committee examined evidence such as the unedited ‘rushes’ of the programme and emails to the production team from the freelance journalist Dan McDougall, who obtained the footage. Yesterday’s ruling noted six points that indicated the footage might not be genuine in the 45-second clip. This included the size of needles used, which it was claimed would have been ‘inappropriate’ for ‘delicate’ work they were doing. Primark described the apology as extraordinary The BBC Trust also found it odd that in the Bangalore scene there appeared to be no other garments visible in shot – which would be unusual if it was a ‘quality control process’. It added that the way it had been filmed – with a tight focus on the boys and less on their surrounding environment – added to concerns. There were also said to be ‘inconsistencies’ in the evidence such as the email trail. The report also found the corporation had broken its ‘accountability’ guidelines over how it handled the complaints process, which went on for three years. Primark described the finding as ‘extraordinary’, claiming shoppers had been ‘fed a lie’. It even suggested the BBC had been in possession of enough evidence to prove the scenes were not real before it broadcast them. However, defenders of the programme pointed out the BBC Trust agreed that overall the programme had obtained ‘clear evidence’ work was being outsourced from other factories in India which contravened Pri-mark’s ethical trading principles. David Thomson of international aid agency World Vision stressed the ‘key concern’ should be that ‘Panorama proved Primark was breaking its own policies’. Helen Boaden, BBC director of news, said: ‘This is a very, very serious ruling and extremely chastening, and we need to learn from it.’ Mr McDougall ‘vigorously’ rejected the ruling. He said: ‘I have rarely seen a finding so unjust in outcome, flawed in process, and deeply damaging to independent investigative journalism.’ In 2007 Blue Peter, Comic Relief and Children in Need were found guilty of faking competition winners. And in 2009 a Sun, Sea and Bargain Spotting cameraman posed as a customer.Shamed BBC could lose prestigious TV award over ‘faked footage of child labour’ in Primark Panorama expose
Explore more:
Saturday, 18 June 2011
Posts
