BBC Response to My Complaint Awaited

As you know, I complained to the BBC about their Brexit reporting on 14 February.  This is what they responded:



YOUR COMPLAINT:
Complaint Summary: Inaccurate EU export figures. Selective statistics
Full Complaint: Kamal Ahmed claimed “nearly 50% of our exports go to the EU” on the BBC News on 14 Feb 18. According to the House of commons Library, in 2016, UK exports to the EU were £236 billion or 43% of total exports. The EU may, overall, be “our largest trading partner,” but that statement does not mean that the majority of our exports go there – the majority of our exports go to trading partners outside the EU (and this trend is increasing). I believe you should have made this clear. Ahmed then went on to lard up his message displaying a graph to show a comparison of GDP growth between UK and the EU from about 2007 to the present. The pattern displayed correctly showed the rate of growth diverging in favour of the EU over the last couple of years. This apparently reinforced the BBC’s consistent editorial line that leaving the EU will be an economic disaster. However, had he shown a growth comparison over a more statistically significant period, the graphic would have portrayed exactly the opposite to his preferred interpretation. In fact, between 1980 and 2007, just before the crash, the average annual growth rate was 2.1% for France, 1.6% for Germany, 2.4% for the Netherlands, and 1.8% for Italy. Meantime, growth in the UK averaged 2.4%. If you extend the period to 2012, the six original signatories of the Treaty of Rome grew at only 1.6% compared to the UK at 2.0%. Finally, as the graph did show, by the end of 2013 the UK was recovering strongly from the crash whilst the EU continued to languish behind. The source for these figures is “The Trouble with Europe” by Roger Bootle. Sadly, and to the detriment of the education of their audience, these statistical inconveniences appear to have been overlooked by Ahmed and the rest of the BBC editorial staff. In the interests of impartiality and balance, I expect the BBC to publicly acknowledge and correct the misleading impression they have given.
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Thank you again for contacting us,
BBC Complaints Team

Today is 23 February and the BBC promise a reply within 10 days so their time  is nearly up.  Doubtless they will begin their response by earnestly assuring me that they take all complaints from customers seriously.  That they have taken nearly 10 days to reply reassures me that they have, indeed, been taking my complaint seriously (unless it has been lost in their administrative system, of course).  I will report back to followers in due course.