Emily Maitlis breached impartiality guidelines with Piers Morgan Covid retweet

Emily Maitlis failed to provide "surrounding context" when she shared broadcaster Piers Morgan's government criticism

BBC journalist Emily Maitlis has been reprimanded for sharing a "clearly controversial" post on social media, the broadcaster has said.

The Newsnight presenter retweeted Piers Morgan's criticism of the government's response to the pandemic in February.

The BBC's complaints unit said she breached editorial guidelines by failing to provide "surrounding context" to ensure impartiality.

Morgan described the decision as "utterly spineless".

The BBC said the complaint was lodged by a member of the public who thought Maitlis "gave an impression of partiality in a controversial matter".

Morgan's Twitter post, shared briefly by Maitlis during the third national lockdown earlier this year, read: "If failing to quarantine properly is punishable by 10yrs in prison, what is the punishment for failing to properly protect the country from a pandemic?"

It was removed by Maitlis 10 minutes after she posted it.

The BBC's Executive Complaints Unit found that the "retweeted material was clearly controversial, implying sharp criticism of the Government, and there was nothing in the surrounding context to make clear that Ms Maitlis was not endorsing it or to draw attention to alternative views".

It added that despite Maitlis removing the post after 10 minutes, she failed to publicly clarify that it had fallen short of editorial standards.

Social media warning

The ruling follows a move by BBC director general Tim Davie to ensure staff uphold impartiality guidelines when using social media.

Speaking after taking over the role last year, he said staff sharing their opinions online could harm the broadcaster's reputation for impartiality, which he described as a "number one priority" amid accusations of bias from figures across the political spectrum.

Last year the BBC deemed that an introduction to a Newsnight programme, in which Maitlis discussed the row over Dominic Cummings' trip to Durham, also breached impartiality rules.