BBC Question Time 'bias' row erupts as viewers blast Fiona Bruce: 'Disgraceful!'

Lydia Davies
Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:23:21 +0000

Huw Irranca-Davies was heckled by audience members during BBC Question Time’s Wales election special as tensions erupted over the Mandelson vetting row.

The Welsh Deputy First Minister faced repeated shouts after failing to give a direct answer on Sir Keir Starmer.

When host Fiona Bruce asked whether the Prime Minister should resign if he had misled Parliament, Mr Irranca-Davies avoided giving a clear response.

“The story is breaking as we've come on air so I haven't the full details of it,” he said, adding that “the focus also has to be on the victims of Epstein”.

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Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds pressed him further, asking: “Is it not a yes or a no?”

Audience members then began shouting, “Yes or no?” while one person yelled, “He's lied!”

The clash centred on reports that security officials initially refused to grant Lord Mandelson clearance for the Washington ambassadorship.

Despite this, Sir Keir Starmer had already announced him as Britain’s most senior diplomat in the United States.

The Foreign Office later overruled the recommendation, according to reports, in a move described as highly unusual.

Sir Keir has since said he was unaware of the vetting issue until earlier this week.

The Prime Minister, who had previously stated that due process was followed, has now said he is “furious” at not being informed.

He has pledged to “set out the relevant facts” when addressing Parliament on Monday.

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Viewers at home also reacted strongly, with many taking to social media to criticise the programme.

Some directed their anger at host Ms Bruce, accusing her of bias.

“Dreadful biased programme, dreadful biased woman,” one viewer wrote.

Another complained she was “continually butting in like a simple-minded horse, ruining any debate taking place”.

One user branded it “absolutely disgraceful” that the Mandelson issue was raised without prompting from the audience.

“Shameful and we know exactly what you are up to,” they added.

Others claimed the studio audience appeared politically skewed.

One viewer questioned whether it was “stacked full of lefty, pro immigration supporters as per usual”.

The row comes as opposition parties continue to pile pressure on the Prime Minister.

The Conservatives, Reform UK, Liberal Democrats and Greens have all called for Sir Keir to resign over the affair.

Lord Mandelson, a political appointee rather than a career diplomat, was removed from his Washington role last September after further details emerged about his links to Jeffrey Epstein.

The convicted sex offender’s connections to senior figures have remained a source of ongoing scrutiny.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office’s most senior civil servant, Sir Olly Robbins, was dismissed on Thursday following the latest revelations.

The programme was broadcast from Cardiff ahead of the Senedd elections on May 7.

Polls suggest Welsh Labour’s long-standing dominance could be under threat from Plaid Cymru or Reform UK.