Pressure still grows

 

The BBC's main story this morning remains its main story tonight. Here's the main headline on tonight's BBC One Late News bulletin:

A major revolt by teaching unions over Government plans to reopen primary schools in England on Monday. They say fears over the spread of the new variant of coronavirus means online learning is "the only sensible and credible option" ---- "We don't think it's safe. We think there should be a period of closure to get those cases down, to make sure that they've fallen well below where they were before Christmas."

The teaching unions' demands have led BBC news all day. Pressure growing for English schools to stay shut remains the main headline on the BBC News website even now. 

The BBC are still wanting to have their cake and eat it though, so as to damn the Government either way perhaps. 

Yes, the other BBC theme - the "U-turn" theme - continued too with BBC education correspondent Dan Johnson - yep, the Cliff Richard guy is now their education correspondent!! - citing it in connection with London's schools, and the newsreader later asking Chris Mason, "We've had reversals of policy in the pandemic on education before. Are we likely to see another U-turn in this regard?"

On which subject (h/t Guest Who) their former cash cow Jeremy Clarkson tweeted the following earlier - to which his ex-BBC colleagues will, I'm sure, pay not the slightest bit of attention:

BBC news. Reacting to events does not constitute a “U-turn”. Grow up.

These are present-day BBC journalists, Jeremy. What do you expect? 

Dan Johnson's report was a classic BBC cake mixture. 

It was launched by the words "Good evening. The government is coming under intense pressure, to scrap plans to reopen primary schools in England on Monday due to fears over the spread of the new variant of the coronavirus", and followed by Dan Johnson asking, after children and teachers were invited for tests at Charlton's football ground today, "One way to help keep the virus out of schools - but will it be enough? Some think things are out of control and they want schools to stay closed."

Then came the complaining families highly critical of the Government for not being decisive enough, etc. 

Besides the football, the only other story was a bizarrely-highlighted story about French police raiding an illegal New Year's Eve rave, as if anyone in the UK would consider this a major UK News story. As Cue Bono commented, it's curious but telling which French events, including protests, get reported and which don't.

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UPDATE 3 Jan 6.40am

But THIS is the headline on the BBC News website this Sunday morning. It's the other side of the argument:

But, interestingly, BBC Breakfast didn't make that its headline. They went for:

The row over schools intensifies. A growing number of councils urge the government to rethink its plan to open primary schools in England. City leaders in Liverpool go one step further and demand a national lockdown.