Veteran broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby has criticised the BBC's commitment to impartiality, suggesting it can sometimes obscure the truth. The 75-year-old former host of 'Any Questions?' made the remarks during filming for an ITV series retracing his father Richard Dimbleby's footsteps as a war correspondent.
Dimbleby said the corporation's dedication to balance and impartiality, which he described as 'totemic', could hinder truthful reporting 'especially when the facts are distressing or the arguments passionate'. His comments come amid ongoing pressure on the BBC to justify its £154.50 licence fee, with the government threatening to decriminalise non-payment.
The series, reported by Radio Times, sees Dimbleby reflect on his father's harrowing report from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945. He said listening to the broadcast still brings him to tears, noting it has a similar effect on many others. 'It is a vast, desolate space... and then you see the mounds that conceal the mass graves,' he added.
