Sharron Davies left furious as BBC ‘held to ransom’ by trans activists: ‘They have too much power!’

The broadcaster revealed that they upheld 20 impartiality complaints over the way presenter Martine Croxall altered a script live on the channel earlier this year.

In June, Ms Croxall was introducing an interview about research on groups most at risk during heatwaves, based on a release from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

She changed her scripted wording from “pregnant people” to “women", and the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) said her facial expression while doing so gave the “strong impression of expressing a personal view on a controversial matter".

Speaking to the People's Channel, Ms Davies said: "We have to go back to just telling the truth. We can do that kindly, but we have to go back to telling the truth.

"And with regards to the history of the BBC, programmes like Panorama and Horizon that used to do so much incredible work, they just stopped doing it.

"Now they don't do really good investigative journalism. They don't turn around and stop atrocities that are happening."

She added: "I'm just so sad to see where the BBC is today.

"So if these activists have been given tremendous power and everyone above them is frightened of them, we've got to start putting people in positions who will do what the BBC is supposed to do.

"Sadly, I don't think (Culture Secretary) Lisa Nandy is going to hold their feet to the fire either.

"The problem is, you've got people that are holding the British Broadcasting Corporation to ransom.

"They are refusing to do what they should do, either as employees or what the law is telling them to do.”

Harry Potter author JK Rowling was among those who praised Ms Croxall for taking a stand at the time.

The ECU said management explained that "Ms Croxall was reacting to scripting, which somewhat clumsily incorporated phrases from the press release accompanying the research, including ‘the aged,’ which is not BBC style, and ‘pregnant people,’ which did not match what Dr Mistry said in the clip that followed".

It added that "giving the strong impression of expressing a personal view on a controversial matter, even if inadvertently, falls short of the BBC’s expectations of its presenters and journalists in relation to impartiality," and therefore upheld the complaints.

The finding was reported to BBC News management and discussed with Ms Croxall and the editorial team involved.

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