This page includes apologies, significant corrections, statements and responses. It does not include routine corrections to news stories, minor on-air apologies and schedule changes.
Corrections and clarifications are published in the order that they were issued.
Alan Dershowitz Interview
News Channel and ±«Óătv World News, Wednesday 29 December 2021
The interview with Alan Dershowitz after the Ghislaine Maxwell verdict did not meet the ±«Óătvâs editorial standards, as Mr Dershowitz was not a suitable person to interview as an impartial analyst, and we did not make the relevant background clear to our audience. We will look into how this happened.
30/12/2021
Andrew Marr Show
±«Óătv One, Sunday 29 November 2020
In exchanges about the numbers of people who had died in the pandemic we referred to a University of Stirling report that said 47% of the deaths in Scotland were in care homes, âa lot, lot higher than for instance in England where it was 30%.â
However as the report also makes clear the preferred international measure for comparison is the number of excess deaths and Scotland had a lower proportion of excess deaths in care homes than in England or Wales at this time.
The study found care homes in England recorded a 79 percent increase in excess deaths, compared to 66 percent in Wales, 62 percent in Scotland and 46 percent in Northern Ireland.
23/12/2021
Today
±«Óătv Radio 4, Monday 13 December
In an item about the rise in infections caused by Omicron and its impact on the NHS we said: âNHS England says between 20 and 30 per cent of critical care beds are occupied by Covid patients.... three quarters of those haven't been vaccinated.â
We also said that the âvast majorityâ of those in critical care are unvaccinated.
In fact, the most recent figures from the Intensive Care and National Audit Research Centre (ICNARC) show that 51% of intensive care patients in England with Covid in November were vaccinated and 48% were not.
15/12/2021
Farming Today
±«Óătv Radio 4, 28 August 2021
This programme included personal opinions of listeners on Ragwort. In one comment, someone mentioned that Ragwort is ânot nativeâ.
We would like to clarify that the specific species discussed is actually considered a native.
20/10/2021
Look North: 6.30pm
±«Óătv One, 11 October 2021
In an introduction to an item covering the comments made by Greta Thunberg about the Drax power plant we said that the plant âburns trees to produce electricity and claims the CO2 emissions are absorbed by the new trees it plants.â This is incorrect. Drax say the plant burns biomass in the form of wood pellets. They say the source of their biomass is from established, responsibly managed forests and that they also do not plant trees themselves.
14/10/2021
Today
±«Óătv Radio 4, 31 December 2020
In an item about Covid-19 we said there were âmore than 23,000 people in hospital in England and Scotland, above the April peakâ.
This was incorrect and the two countries peaked at different times.
The latest figures available for England and Scotland at the time, for 29 December, showed 21,787 patients in England and 1,092 in Scotland, a total of 22,879.
The number of cases peaked in England on 12 April 2020 with 18,974 hospital cases, while Scotland peaked on 19 April with 1,520 hospital cases.
14/10/2021
The World at One
±«Óătv Radio 4, 27 July 2021
In an item about Portpatrick a contributor claimed that the Killantringan Lighthouse had the only working fog horn on the Scottish mainland and a recording was played. In fact the lighthouse is out of use and listeners heard a recording of the nearby Mull of Galloway lighthouse fog horn, which is operated by the Mull of Galloway Trust.
4/10/2021
Adrian Chiles Show
±«Óătv Radio 5 Live, 19 August 2021
In a discussion about Britainâs role in admitting refugees from Afghanistan a contributor said âWe, more than any other country in Europe, have taken in refugees from Syria.â
According to UNHCR figures for 2020, the UK hosted 10,919 Syrian refugees, up from 10,389 in 2019. However Germany took in more than 500,000 Syrian refugees in 2019, and Sweden, Austria, the Netherlands and France were among the European countries who accepted more Syrian refugees than the UK in the same period.
15/09/2021
±«Óătv London
±«Óătv One London, 2 September 2021
On ±«Óătv London on 2 September in both the lunchtime and evening news bulletins we stated that some residents in an area of Essex were protesting about plans for five thousand new homes to be built on green belt land. This figure was wrong.
Castle Point Borough Council has asked us to point out that the new submitted Local Plan is planning for 5,367 new homes of which 2,745 are outside the urban areas.
We are happy to make that clear and apologise for the error.
13/09/2021
Newsnight
±«Óătv Two, 20 April 2021
We conflated the vaccination rates for Israelâs Palestinian citizens and Palestinians in the occupied territories when we said the roll-out rate was half a percent.
In fact, within Israel it was then estimated to be around 67%.
We also said the âPalestinian population has not been inoculated at anywhere near the rate of the Israeli population.â
To be clear, this was because of vaccine hesitancy.
16/08/2021
Outside Source
News Channel and ±«Óătv World, 22 June 2021
In a report about developments in the case of Sheikha Latifa, we said a law firm claiming to act for her had released a statement. We should have said that a law firm had released a statement attributed to Sheikha Latifa.
We also said the UN has been very concerned about Sheikha Latifaâs case and has demanded proof of life, but that the UAE âdid not provide that immediately. What they have done is to release bit by bit these photographs.
âThe photographs referred to were taken in May and June this year and showed Sheikha Latifa in Dubai and Madrid with friends. We wish to make clear these photographs were posted on the social media accounts of the friends who appeared in the photographs with her.
An earlier photograph, showing Sheikha Latifa with the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson was released by the UAE authorities in December 2018. Mrs Robinson said later she had been âhorribly trickedâ over the photograph.
11/08/2021
One Oâclock News
±«Óătv One, 17 March 2021
In the introduction to a report about low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) we said they meant âlocal roads are closed to everyone except pedestrians or cyclists in an attempt to reduce emissions.â
While LTNs restrict access to through traffic, cars and other vehicles can still be used, though some journeys will be less direct and may take longer.
05/08/2021
Today
±«Óătv Radio 4, 20 July 2021
An interview with Lord Sumption about civil liberties contained statistics which were not challenged at the time.
He said that âthe virus has not killed over 100,000 peopleâ and that a large number have died with Covid but not of it.
In England and Wales more than 120,000 death certificates have recorded Covid-19 as an underlying cause of death according to figures collated by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Lord Sumption said that for older people, âat the age which they had reached, they would probably have died within a yearâ anyway.
Life expectancy before the pandemic for an 80 year old was 9 years for a man and 10 years for a woman.
Lord Sumption said that âitâs a matter of hundreds and not thousandsâ of deaths of people who were not in highly vulnerable groups with serious comorbidities on their death certificate.
By the end of March 2021 the ONS says almost 16,000 deaths in England & Wales had been caused by Covid in cases where there were no other underlying conditions recorded on the death certificate.
03/08/2021
Outside Source / ±«Óătv Breakfast
±«Óătv World News and ±«Óătv News Channel; ±«Óătv Online, Thursday 17 June 2021 / ±«Óătv One, Saturday 19 June 2021
In a report produced in London about the spread of the Delta variant we used a map of India which did not show Indian-administered Kashmir and the area separated by the line of control.
The map was not checked for accuracy when it was sourced from an incorrect file. We have now deleted the file from our systems.
We are sorry for the mistake.
12/07/2021
The Week in Westminster
±«Óătv Radio 4, Saturday 19 June 2021
In a discussion about tree planting a reference was made to rows of conifers being ânot that great for biodiversity.â
The Confederation of Forest Industries, which represents businesses in the forestry and wood-using industry, has contacted us since to point out that its 2020 report, âBiodiversity, forestry and woodâ, shows commercial tree planting can deliver biodiversity benefits as well as playing a role in tackling climate change.
08/07/2021
Newsnight
±«Óătv Two, Wednesday 27 January 2021
In a report about the impact of Covid-19 on care homes, we used a graph to show how the numbers dying in care homes with Covid had fluctuated over the course of the pandemic, with a sharp rise in January 2021. We said that in the last week 3615 people had died in care homes in England and Wales, up 32% on the week before, and 157% on the month before.
Regrettably, the graph was calculated using the wrong figures and we apologise for the mistake.
The most up to date figures available at the time show that there was a sudden rise in care home deaths involving Covid-19 in the first weeks of 2021 in England and Wales. 1348 died in the week ending 15 January, up 47% in a week and a 150% increase in the numbers who died in care homes with Covid-19 in the week ending 18 December, a month earlier.
07/07/2021
0800 News Bulletin
±«Óătv Radio 4, MOnday 14 June 2021
In a report about an employment tribunal between the Trust that runs Britainâs only Gender Identity Clinic, GIDS, and a member of staff, we said Sonia Appleby was the âserviceâs safeguarding lead.â
In fact Ms Appleby is the Childrenâs Safeguarding lead for The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, not the overall safeguarding lead for the Trust nor the safeguarding lead for GIDS.
05/07/2021
The Andrew Marr Show
±«Óătv One, Friday 24 January 2021
In the introduction to an interview about whether Israel bears responsibility for Palestinian vaccination during the coronavirus crisis we quoted from Article 56 of the 4th Geneva Convention without signalling where our paraphrase ended and direct quotation began. To be clear, the document refers to the responsibilities of the occupying power, not specifically Israel.
The suggestion from the United Nations, that we cited, that Israel has a legal obligation to make sure Palestinians under occupation have access to vaccinations, came on this occasion from two special rapporteurs working for the UN's Human Rights Council. They are independent experts, rather than UN staff.
24/06/2021
Newsround
C±«Óătv Channel, Tuesday 8 June 2021
In a segment about vaccine approval for 12 to 15 year olds, a contributor claimed that the Pfizer vaccine is "100% safe". This has been removed from the online article and video: /newsround/57435861
The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has said:
"We have carefully reviewed clinical trial data in children aged 12 to 15 years and have concluded that the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective in this age group and that the benefits of this vaccine outweigh any risk.
"We have in place a comprehensive safety surveillance strategy for monitoring the safety of all UK-approved COVID-19 vaccines and this surveillance will include the 12- to 15-year age group.
"No extension to an authorisation would be approved unless the expected standards of safety, quality and effectiveness have been met.
"It will now be for the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to advise on whether this age group will be vaccinated as part of the deployment programme."
22/06/2021
±«Óătv News at One
±«Óătv One and ±«Óătv News channel, Monday 22 March 2021
In a report on a âKill the Billâ protest a demonstrator said, "if I was to stand outside there with a sign, I could get up to 10 years in prison.â
In fact, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which applies to England and Wales, proposes a maximum sentence of 10 years for âintentionally or recklessly causing public nuisanceâ or for causing damage to statues or memorials.
Depending on the circumstances, a demonstrator might be fined: /news/uk-56400751
03/06/2021
Today
±«Óătv Radio 4, Friday 8 January 2021
We implied that 1,162 people had died from coronavirus in a single day in the UK, the second highest number since the pandemic began.
To be clear, the deaths would not have occurred on a single day but within 28 days of a positive test.
02/06/2021
±«Óătv Spotlight
±«Óătv One, Tuesday 18 May 2021
In an item about holiday and restaurant bookings and cancellations in the South West we included testimony from a tourist who claimed that his booking at the Mussel Box at Padstow had been cancelled without warning. In fact the customer had been sent an email by the restaurant alerting him to the cancellation.
We failed to bring that allegation to the attention of the owner of the restaurant who would have made the situation clear, and we apologise for that.
28/05/2021
±«Óătv Newscast
±«Óătv Sounds, Wednesday 27 January 2021
We reported that students in England pay university fees of up to ÂŁ9,250 a year. One student suggested the Open University only âcharges something around ÂŁ3,000.â We should have explained that this is the figure for part-time study. It currently costs ÂŁ6,336 for a full-time OU course.
21/05/2021
News at Six
±«Óătv One and ±«Óătv News channel, Wednesday 28 April 2021
In a report about the Covid-19 vaccination rollout we included comments from Professor Anthony Harnden, the Deputy Chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, who had given evidence to the Science and Technology Select Committee and said: "If we all go completely wild and just ignore everything that we have learnt over this past year in terms of social restrictions then there will be another wave and that wave will be much larger."
Professor Harnden clarified these remarks later in his evidence to make clear he was not comparing the second wave with a third wave, but saying that the modelling shows the size of the third wave varies depending on the publicâs behaviour as social restrictions ease.
18/05/2021
Today
±«Óătv Radio 4, Wednesday 24 March 2021
In an item about proposed Government changes to immigration rules we interviewed a Syrian teacher and filmmaker now living in the UK, Hassan Akkad. We should have made clear Mr Akkad is a member of the Labour Party as this might have helped the audience evaluate his contribution, without casting into doubt his personal knowledge of the issue.
18/05/2021
Sir James Dyson apology - Various outlets, Wednesday 21 April 2021
We accept that Sir James Dyson is not a prominent Conservative supporter as was stated in some of our coverage of his text messages with the Prime Minister. The James Dyson Foundation made a charitable gift to support the Wiltshire Engineering Festival for school children. We accept that this does not signal affiliation to any political party and we would like to put the record straight. Sir James also raised concerns about the accuracy of other aspects of our reporting. We wish to make clear that Sir James contacted Number 10 in response to the Prime Ministerâs direct request to him for assistance in relation to the urgent need for ventilators and incurred costs of ÂŁ20m which his company voluntarily absorbed in trying to assist in the national emergency. His text messages to the Prime Minister were also later sent to officials. We are sorry that these facts were not always reflected in our coverage, and we apologise for not doing so.
12/05/2021
bbc.co.uk, March-April 2021
Some business articles (The woman building HSBC's 3,000 roaming banker army; Philippines' fried chicken king eyes global empire; Trader gets painted stones instead of $36m of copper) were found to contain unattributed material from other news websites and have been removed.
11/05/2021
HARDtalk
±«Óătv News, ±«Óătv World News and ±«Óătv World Service, Tuesday 1 and Wednesday 2 December 2020
In exchanges about the Pakistani elections of July 2018 we referred to a report by EU election monitors. We said that while the monitors reported some grave concerns about abuses in specific places involving different parties âthe final and ultimate conclusion was that they believed the result was credible.â
We should have made clear that we were quoting comments made by the Chief Observer of the EU Monitors Michael Gahler at a press conference to launch a preliminary statement on the election in July 2018 and not the report itself. He said that âoverall the election results are credible.â
Mr Gahler also expressed concerns about the election process in Pakistan: âOur overall assessment of the election process is that it is not as good as in 2013⊠Candidates with large political appeal and financial means, the so-called âelectablesâ were reported to often dominate the campaign. Uneven rules on campaign spending further undermined candidatesâ equal opportunity.â
The final report by the EU Monitors, published in October 2018, described voting as âwell-conducted and transparent in most of the 446 polling stations observedâ but said âthe count, transmission and tabulation of results lacked transparency, leaving room for allegations of electoral malpractices.â It made a range of recommendations regarding future elections in Pakistan.
10/05/2021
Today
±«Óătv Radio 4, Friday 9 April 2021
In an interview we suggested âthere are former Labour ministers and former Labour Prime Ministers who are on the phone, texting their successors all the time on behalf of companies that they have an interest in."
Gordon Brown assures us he has never texted, phoned or written to any government department representing any private company, or lobbied on behalf of any commercial interest.
We are happy to make this clear and apologise for any impression to the contrary.
07/05/2021
Reporting Scotland
±«Óătv One Scotland, Friday 23 April 2021
We incorrectly represented the Scottish Conservativesâ position on the Scottish Child Payment in a story about child poverty. We would like to correct that and make it clear that the Conservatives would complete the rollout of the Scottish Child Payment and increase payments to ÂŁ20 a week by the end of the Parliament. We apologise for the mistake and any confusion caused by this.
30/04/2021
±«Óătv News at Six
±«Óătv One and ±«Óătv News, Friday 23 April 2021
In a report on the wrongful conviction of 39 postmasters for false accounting and theft we said we had contacted the former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells âa number of times over recent weeksâ but she hadn't responded to questions.
In fact, we were unaware of an email that laid out her response to the judgment.
It said: "I was deeply saddened by the sub-postmasters' accounts heard during the Court of Appeal proceedings. I am truly sorry for the suffering caused to them as a result of the convictions which the Court of Appeal has today overturned. I fully support and am committed to co-operating with the ongoing Government Inquiry, as I did with last year's Select Committee Inquiry. It would be inappropriate for me to comment further while the Inquiry is ongoing."
27/04/2021
Various outlets, Wednesday 21 April 2021
In our coverage of texts he had sent to the Prime Minister we referred in various outlets to Sir James Dyson as a prominent Conservative supporter or said he backed the Conservatives.
Sir James says this is factually incorrect.
We are happy to set the record straight.
26/04/2021
Politics Live
±«Óătv Two, Monday 1 March 2021
The programme discussed a tweet by Labourâs deputy leader Angela Rayner, congratulating Anas Sarwar on being âthe first ever ethnic minority leader of any political party anywhere in the UKâ.
As there have been a number of Jewish leaders of British political parties, it sought to explore why some official monitoring does not include Jews as an ethnic rather than a religious minority. To be clear, Jews are an ethnic minority recognised in law.
26/04/2021
Jeremy Vine
±«Óătv Radio 2, Tuesday 23 March 2021
During an item on the Alex Salmond inquiry, it was stated that a committee of MSPs found that Nicola Sturgeon âhad breached the ministerial codeâ. In fact, the Cross-Party Committee did not rule on any breach of conduct, but instead found that Ms Sturgeon had âmisled Parliamentâ. The Hamilton Report ruled she had not breached the ministerial code.
20/04/2021
Any Answers?
±«Óătv Radio 4, Saturday 20 March 2021
During an item on the right to protest, a listenerâs comment was included on the disruption caused by Extinction Rebellion protests. It claimed that âpeople died stuck in ambulancesâ and was left unchallenged. We accept this claim was unfounded and not an accurate statement to relay during the discussion.
20/04/2021
Mayday: The Canister on the Bed
±«Óătv Radio 4, Friday 20 November 2020
In a report on a chemical weapons investigation by the OPCW (Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons) in Douma, Syria, we said a whistleblower believed the attack had been staged. This was based on our interpretation of research and testimony from sources at the time of broadcast.
Since then, âAlexâ has told the ±«Óătv he challenged how the OPCW reached its conclusions because of his concerns over its methods and procedures. He says he has called for an open and transparent process to address these issues, but does not prejudge the outcome of any such âproper, independent and impartial investigation.â
14/04/2021
Today
±«Óătv Radio 4, Wednesday 31 March 2021
In a reference to the introduction by some councils of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) we said that âyou cannot use your carâ.
While LTNs do restrict access to stop through traffic, vehicles can still be used, though some journeys will be less direct and may take longer.
12/04/2021
5 Live Drive
±«Óătv Radio 5 Live, Monday 21 December 2020
During an item about Covid-19 admissions in Northern Ireland, we said hospitals are âadmitting four to five hundred Covid patients a day,â and when challenged we said this was correct because it was the figure given by the Northern Ireland Health Minister to a Covid-19 committee at Stormont.
In fact the challenge was correct. The Minister, Robin Swann, had told the committee that there were between 400 and 500 Covid patients being treated at that time.
30/03/2021
News at Six
±«Óătv One and ±«Óătv News Channel, Friday 26 February 2021
We reported Alex Salmond had said Nicola Sturgeon had broken the ministerial code and that he thought she should resign in his evidence to a Scottish Parliament Inquiry.
In fact Mr Salmond did not say that the First Minister should resign; he told the Inquiry âI've got no doubt that Nicola has broken the ministerial code but itâs not for me to suggest what the consequences should beâ.
03/03/2021
World at One
±«Óătv Radio 4, Tuesday 2 February 2021
We said Israel had vaccinated 5 million people with the Pfizer jab and that a million of these had had two doses.
In fact, more than 5 million doses of vaccine had been given to Israeli citizens. Over 3 million people had received the first dose of the vaccine at that point and over 2 million the second.
01/03/2021
Midday Bulletin
±«Óătv Radio 4, Saturday 6 February 2021
We reported that it was the 70th anniversary of the Queenâs accession to the throne. As the Queen acceded the throne in 1952, this was in fact the 69th anniversary.
01/03/2021
±«Óătv News Channel, Friday 23 July 2020
We referred to George Floydâs death as occurring during an encounter with white police officers. The officer who knelt on his neck is white, but two of the other three involved are not.
01/03/2021
Andrew Marr
±«Óătv One, 19 April 2020
We referred to the Black Death, which itâs estimated killed millions of people in medieval times, as a virus. In fact it was a bacterial infection.
01/03/2021
±«Óătv News Persian, 19 October 2018
In 2018 ±«Óătv News Persian published an article (in Persian) which used an inappropriate word to refer to homosexuality. This word should not have been used and the article has now been corrected. We apologise for the offence caused.
11/02/2021
Dateline London
±«Óătv News Channel, 16 January 2021
We suggested that under the Oslo Accords, Palestinian healthcare is ultimately the responsibility of the Israeli government.
Although there is a wider dispute over the issue, the Accords - which Israel signed with the Palestine Liberation Organisation - give the Palestinian Authority oversight of public health under the principles of self-determination.
09/02/2021
News bulletin
±«Óătv Radio 4, 13 January 2021
We said proposed reforms to the Mental Health Act in England and Wales would outlaw the practice of detaining people 'for simply having autism or another learning disability.'
We should have said 'autism or a learning disability.'
29/01/2021
±«Óătv News online, 25 January 2021
We used the term âIRA veteranâ to describe Eamon McCourtâs long involvement in Irish republicanism. We accept that this shorthand formulation could be misinterpreted and it has now been amended for clarity. Mr McCourt is now described as an âIRA manâ in our online news report. Related social media posts have also been updated.
We understand the sensitivities around Troublesâ issues and legacies, including in relation to terminology. Much of this can be contested. No offence was intended and we regret any misunderstanding or upset that may have been caused.
27/01/2021
Today
±«Óătv Radio 4, 20 January 2021
In a discussion about the impact Donald Trump has had on populist politics a contributor referred to the role played by the Tea Party, Conservative±«Óătv âand other similar movementsâ.
Conservative±«Óătv has been in touch to make clear the company is a media outlet, staffed by journalists who write about the Conservative Party and Conservative politics, that it is not a âmovementâ and it is not in any way equivalent to or similar to the Tea Party or any âother similar movementsâ.
20/01/2021
Talkback
±«Óătv Radio Ulster, 5 January 2021
During a discussion on 5 January about how different governments have responded to Covid-19 we made an inaccurate estimate of Israelâs population and the number of its citizens who have received a Covid-19 vaccine. For clarity, Israel has a population of around 9 million, not six million as we had suggested. And around one fifth of Israeli citizens have received a Covid-19 vaccine at this stage - which is lower than the one third total we had mentioned.
We note that whilst there has been some dispute about the Israeli governmentâs responsibility for vaccinating Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza, those Palestinians who live in East Jerusalem, or who hold Israeli citizenship, are covered by the roll-out of the governmentâs Covid-19 vaccination programme. This distinction was not made clear in the brief exchanges between contributors on this issue - all of which took place in the context of other media reports about the speed, extent and effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccinations in Israel, relative to elsewhere.
12/01/2021
Today
±«Óătv Radio 4, 31 December 2020
A contributor said in response to a question from a listener that people with allergies who carry an Epipen canât have the Pfizer vaccine.
However the MHRA had revised its guidance on the Pfizer jab which now says: "Anyone with a previous history of allergic reactions to the ingredients of the vaccine should not receive it, but those with any other allergies such as a food allergy can now have the vaccine."
07/01/2021
Bargain Hunt
±«Óătv One, 19 June 2020
In this episode contestants were required to buy a Victorian item. A ring bought by the red team was adjudged to have been made in 1951 and was disqualified from the competition. It was subsequently confirmed that the ring did in fact date from 1891, which likely affected the outcome of the contest.
06/01/2021
±«Óătv News channel, 14 December 2020
We said a train had nearly hit two cars on a Norfolk level crossing three weeks ago in our introduction to the official findings. We were a year out. It was on 24 November 2019 that the automatic barriers, near New Rackheath, went up by mistake.
05/01/2021