BBC commissions thematic review of migration output

A thematic review of the BBC's output around migration has been commissioned by the corporation's board.

It forms part of its responsibility for setting and monitoring editorial standards across the BBC .

The review will assess the BBC's coverage of major migration topics affecting the UK, including boats crossing the English Channel.

It will also look at coverage of the UK government's policy on sending some asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Coverage of refugees fleeing war-torn Ukraine following Russia's invasion will also be examined.

The study is one of several thematic reviews being conducted by the BBC as part of the corporation's 10-point impartiality plan.

In January, the corporation published its review of taxation, public spending, government borrowing and debt output.

The migration review, which will begin work in the coming days, will consider whether due impartiality is being delivered and a breadth of voices and viewpoints are being reflected, the BBC said on Friday.

It will be jointly chaired and authored by Madeleine Sumption, director of the migration observatory at Oxford University, and Samir Shah, chief executive of TV and radio production company Juniper.

BBC Chairman Richard Sharp said Sumption and Shah were "well-known for their expert understanding of the issues involved in delivering impartial coverage of migration, which is an important and often intensely contested subject."

"Their combination of evidence-based academic research and working knowledge of impartiality in broadcasting make them highly qualified to lead the thematic review into BBC migration output," he said in a statement.

"Their findings will ensure the BBC continues to have the correct approach to producing coverage that audiences can trust."

The board will publish the review's findings and any recommendations that it makes.

Mr Sharp announced his resignation as BBC chairman last month, after failing to disclose dealings with Boris Johnson ahead of his appointment. He will stand down from his position at the end of June.