Undiplomatic reporting from the BBC's Mark Lowen

 

The BBC News website's report on the historic meeting in Iraq yesterday between Pope Francis and Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has so far undergone 15 revisions.

The most dramatic changes came from BBC's Rome correspondent Mark Lowen, whose 'Analysis' got him into trouble. 

Here are three chronological snapshots (courtesy of Newssniffer):

I

Profoundly symbolic

Analysis

by Mark Lowen, Rome correspondent

Today's meeting has been years, even decades, in the making: an encounter between the leader of the Catholic Church and one of the most powerful figures in Shia Islam.

Previous popes have tried to meet him, given his influence across the Middle East.

Today Pope Francis, in this first papal visit to Iraq, is achieving it: a hugely significant encounter for two religious leaders. Their talks were likely to focus on inter-faith dialogue and Iraq's Christian minority, long terrorised by Shia armed groups.

It's a day of profound symbolism - and perhaps the one that will leave this trip's lasting impact.

II 

Profoundly symbolic

Analysis

by Mark Lowen, Rome correspondent

This has been a meeting years in the making: an encounter between the leader of the Catholic Church and one of the most powerful figures in Shia Islam: Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. For a pope passionate about reaching out to other faiths, the meeting is arguably the most symbolic moment of his visit to Iraq.

The dwindling Christian community here has suffered violence at the hands of armed Shia groups - and the cleric is seen as a voice of moderation.

The Pope now comes to Ur - the ancient birthplace of the prophet Abraham, hoping that the biblical figure revered by Christians, Muslims and Jews, can spur reconciliation today.

 

III 

Profoundly symbolic

Analysis

by Mark Lowen, Rome correspondent

This has been a meeting years in the making: an encounter between the leader of the Catholic Church and one of the most powerful figures in Shia Islam: Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

For a pope passionate about reaching out to other faiths, the meeting is arguably the most symbolic moment of his visit to Iraq.

The dwindling Christian community here has suffered violence at the hands of Sunni extremists but some also fear the presence of Shia armed groups - and the cleric is seen as a voice of moderation.

The Pope visited Ur, the ancient birthplace of the Prophet Abraham, hoping that the biblical figure revered by Christians, Muslims and Jews, can spur reconciliation today.

As you can probably imagine, Shia people (inside and outside Iraq) didn't take too kindly to Mark Lowen's characterisation of who it is who has terrorised and inflicted violence on Iraq's Christian community. His tweet along the same lines of his earliest 'analysis'...

...had to be deleted. And people still aren't happy, demanding an apology from him:

Mark Lowen hasn't apologised to anyone yet, so far as I can see. He just amended his contribution to the BBC online article, deleted that tweet, posted another tweet along the lines of his latest 'analysis' and then took issue with someone who questioned that far more defendable post. 

Here's Laura!

For anyone not watching the Theresa May-Donald Trump press conference, here's a flavour of what you've been missing...

Theresa May: Laura? 

Laura Kuenssberg: Thank you very much, Prime Minister. Laura Kuenssberg, BBC News. Prime Minister, you have talked about where you agree, but you have also said you would be frank where you disagree with the President. Can you tell us where in our talks you did disagree, and do you think the President listened to what you have to say? And Mr President, you have said before that torture works. You have praised Russia. You have said you want to ban some Muslims from coming to America. You have suggested there should be punishment for abortion. For many people in Britain, those sound like alarming beliefs. What do you say to our viewers at home who are worried about some of your views and worried about you becoming the leader of the free world? 

Donald Trump (turning to Theresa May): This was your choice of a question? (Audience laughs). There goes that relationship!

******

This provoked a short Twitter exchange between a Breitbart journalist and a BBC journalist:

Raheem Kassam, Breitbart London: Horrible question by BBC claiming to speak for the British public. You speak for no one but the liberal elite!

Daniel Sandford, BBC Home Affairs correspondent: Breitbart, the future of journalism? 

Raheem Kassam, Breitbart London: Hey "Home Affairs" editor... how about reporting some actual news, like how Rotherham style gangs still persist?

******

Update: It's turning into a tag-wrestling match over on Twitter:

Raheem Kassam, Breitbart London: Horrible question by BBC claiming to speak for the British public. You speak for no one but the liberal elite! 

Mark Lowen, BBC Turkey correspondent: The response by @BreitbartNews to @bbclaurak's utterly legitimate and probing question to @POTUS 

Raheem Kassam, Breitbart London: Your "news" outlet flubbed the biggest chance of the year to get more trade deal details. R u gonna ask Erdogan his fave dessert? 

Mark Lowen, BBC Turkey correspondent: Solidarity among journalists is a great thing. (Independent journalists). 

Raheem Kassam, Breitbart London: I agree. Which is why we as a private company have more legitimacy than you as an arm of the British establishment funded by threats. 

Mark Lowen, BBC Turkey correspondent: The standard-bearers of legitimate journalism. 

Play it down again, Sam

One of the most regular charges over the Romania-Bulgaria story is that it has tried to underplay the likely number of immigrants from those two countries.

There was a definite case of it doing just that back in April when the BBC attempted to spin a Newsnight survey into the likely numbers with the headline Few planning to migrate to UK - poll when their survey results actually implied that some 350,000 Romanians and Bulgarians might eventually come to our shores (which isn't 'few' in anyone's book).

This is still the message BBC reporters are sending out.

Here's the BBC's Mark Lowen on Twitter (having, pace the previous post, another dig at the UK media in the process):

Mark Lowen ‏@marklowen 

Preparing to see in NY in #Romania. There is some interest here in leaving for EU countries but no feeling of mass exodus as some media say 

And here's the BBC's Phil Mackie again, full of reassurance on PM:

But 2014 is very different to 2004 and the relative economies are quite different to the situation then. For instance, Romania has low unemployment, it has a high rate of economic growth and people here are confident about the future of Romania now. That might change in the future, but the impression I get at the moment is there will not be a flood in the next weeks. But over the months and perhaps years there might be a more gradual move from this country to the UK.

Well, we'll see who's right - the BBC or Migration Watch. Last time round it was Migration Watch. 

By the way, the predictions being made by the Labour government that some 13,000 people per years would migrate from the EU accession countries after 2004 were, as we all now know, wrong by a margin of error that still beggars belief. Some 1.5 million actually came, and some 6.5 million remained in the country (including half a million or so Poles). 

The BBC helped talk it down then, and seem to be still doing so. BBC reporter Jim Taylor referred to the 13,000 figure on last night's The World Tonight and said that "many times that number arrived". He wasn't going to be any more precise than that apparently. (He also asked Romanians if the UK press coverage has been "exaggerated". As I say, 'relentless').

Still, at least that was marginally better than Eddie Mair on PM who said:

It turned out that many tens of thousands more people arrived than had been predicted.

No, Eddie. It turned out that many hundreds of thousands more people arrived than had been predicted - out by an order of magnitude.

Incidentally, I heard very little about the Roma on yesterday's Radio 4 coverage. One mention came from a Conservative councillor, accusing them of causing a huge surge of petty crime and anti-social behaviour in her part of London) - which prompted some very loud paper shuffling from Shaun Ley, followed by the immediate end of the interview.

************

Update: On the subject of that Shaun Ley interview with the Conservative councillor, I note that the BBC website has provided a brief, bowdlerised account of it.

Mrs Roe, leader of Westminister Council, had told the World at One that Roma were "defecating" on residents' doorsteps.

That part of the interview, however, went missing when the BBC came to write it up (unlike ITV's account). Presumably the BBC didn't want to spread 'Romaphobia' by actually reporting what Councillor Roe said, even if what she said is completely true. (How typical of the BBC that would be!)