The BBC has reprimanded the presenter of Radio 4’s Inside Science after he called on his Twitter followers to write to their local MPs about the reappointment of Graham Stringer, a climate change sceptic, to a parliamentary committee. The BBC will stand by Rutherford but said that he had been advised of his responsibilities when using social media. In the programme, Stringer said there was no scientific evidence linking winter floods in Britain to climate change. “However, any BBC presenter, freelance or otherwise, needs to consider how their outside comments might impact on the work they do for the BBC. “Furthermore, I acknowledge that as part of the Twitter stream Dr Rutherford invited the chair of the committee on to the programme, and this might have given the impression that Dr Rutherford was speaking on behalf of the BBC.”

Source: The Guardian September 18, 2017 17:28 UTC