Sir Michael Lyons

Chairman, BBC Trust

BBC Trust Unit

180 Great Portland Street

London

W1W 5QZ

12 March 2010

Dear Sir Michael

Now that the BBC Executive have signed a written agreement of the rules for a televised debate involving the leaders of three political parties during the election period, I write to formalise our complaint that the BBC Executive has through its actions brought into question the impartiality of the BBC in advance of the General Election.

As we have had no involvement in the process, we believe it is appropriate for the Trust to now investigate and comment on the editorial and creative direction of the BBC in these matters. By holding extensive discussions and by signing an agreement with three political parties on programme format, we believe the BBC Executive has caused reputational damage to the BBC as an impartial purveyor of news and programming.

Beyond our wider concerns about this process, the 76-point published agreement indicates that the BBC Executive has allowed three political parties to specifically dictate:

· The programme audience will be recruited within a 30 mile radius of the host city

(point 4) and therefore excludes direct participation of licence fee payers from

nations, regions and communities of the UK.

· The programme audience will be subdivided into ratios of 7 Labour, 7 Conservative , 5

LibDem (point 7) rather than ratios based on the views of the general public or indeed

those more specifically of licence fee payers.

· That political ratios take precedence over demographic in the final selection of the

audience by ICM (point 7).

· An arrangement which does not provide an audience ratio for political parties other

than Labour, Conservative and LibDem (point 8).

· The programme audience will be prohibited from applauding during the debate (point

40).

· That the role of David Dimbleby be diluted from respected journalist and manager of

debate to a timekeeper (point 63).

· The theme of the programme (point 65).

· The creative direction of the programme by restricting cameras shots of the audience

reaction (points 69, 71 and 73).

· The removal of breaking news lines from the debates from the news straps on the BBC

News channel (point 75).

I would at this point refer you to 6.1 of the BBC Charter which states “The BBC shall be independent in all matters concerning the content of its output, the times and manner in which it is supplied, and in the management of its affairs.” How does the agreement signed by the BBC Executive and three political parties sit with the purposes of the BBC as set out in clauses 3 to 6 of the BBC Charter?

Clause 22 (b) of the BBC Charter, states that the Trust’s responsibility is “upholding the public interest within the BBC, particularly the interests of licence fee payers”. There is certainly no reference in the Charter to upholding the interests of political parties.

I would stress again that the SNP have throughout these matters been excluded from discussions with BBC Executives on the televised debate and as at the time of writing have yet to have a first meeting with BBC Executives on the disproportionate imbalance and partiality that such a programme will create in the election. We have previously set out our concerns that the programme effectively disenfranchises the people of Scotland and cannot do anything other than mislead viewers in Scotland due to the number of topics which will not be applicable to the situation here. Beyond this however we believe the agreement signed by the BBC Executive last week strikes at the heart of the independence of the BBC and is a betrayal of the principles upon which the editorial integrity of the BBC is built.

I trust you will feel able to investigate this complaint.

Yours sincerely,

ALEX SALMOND

Leader of the Scottish National Party