Fiona Bruce embroiled in BBC Question Time ‘bias’ row over ’embarrassing’ Zia Yusuf clash: ‘All out ATTACK on Reform!’
Fiona Bruce, Reform UK’s Zia Yusuf and Labour’s Darren Jones have found themselves at the centre of a rather fiery debate among Question Time viewers following Thursday’s episode.
The trio, who were joined by Liberal Democrat Sarah Olney and Conservative Simon Clarke, were at the centre of many of the most hotly fought debates of the evening, with the BBC’s Bruce attempting to mediate between the opposing parties’ representatives.
Inevitably, following the announcement by Chancellor Rachel Reeves that Labour aimed to have no asylum seekers in hotels by 2029, the topic of immigration and how to curb illegal channel crossings was high on the agenda.
However, how these debates unfolded left plenty to be desired among critics, with Bruce coming under particular scrutiny for a supposed “bias” against Reform UK’s Yusuf.
When Reeves’ precise pledge was put to Jones by Bruce, he passionately replied, uninterrupted: “When there are babies and children put into that position by human trafficking gangs, coming across the Channel with skin burns from the oil from those boats mixed with the salty seawater…
“I would ask any of you if you would look at those babies and children and say, ‘Go back where you came from’,” Jones animatedly said, prompting spatters of applause.
The Labour politician continued his impassioned rant: “It is right that we are a country that respects our human rights obligations, but it is also right that we have a border that is functioning and an immigration system that is functioning. It was left out of control by the last government-“
“You know they’re coming from France, right?” Yusuf interjected, only to be promptly shut down by Bruce and Jones.
Jones continued, again uninterrupted: “It is right that we take a humanitarian response towards those people who are put in that position and as the government policy states, dealing with those gangs who are exploiting vulnerable children to use that route and then tackling the people who should not be using it, and making sure they do not stay in this country.
“You can do both of those things without politicising it in the way that you do,” he added, referring to Yusuf.
Yusuf then chimed in: “Well, in a previous answer, I made the case that this government prioritises foreign citizens more than citizens of the United Kingdom and after that testimony, I can rest my case.”
As applause began among some in the audience, Jones urged Yusuf to clarify, to which the Reform UK representative said: “Number one… the vast majority of people making the journey from France in a small boat are fighting age military age males, not women and children.”
Applause again rippled from the crowd before Yusuf alluded to preferential treatment among the panel. “I don’t know if the BBC’s real-time fact-checkers are working this evening or not; they seem to be when I speak,” he quipped.
Yusuf then moved on: “That’s the first point. The second point I’ll make is we’re talking about asylum hotels and Rachel Reeves saying, ‘We’re going to shut down asylum hotels’…There was a report today that said this government is not only renting hotel spaces, they’re actually going to buy hotels on the taxpayers’ dime!”
Later, Bruce posed a different question to Yusuf: “One of the things your boss, Nigel Farage, has talked about is if people come over on a boat, turn them around and dump them back on a beach in France. Practically, how would that happen? How would you persuade the French to accept that?”
“Well, number one, you might ask them what they’re doing with the £400 million of taxpayers’ money that is being spent,” Yusuf began, once more earning applause from the audience.
But Bruce wasn’t impressed with the start to his answer. She interjected: “No, no! I’m asking a different question! I’m asking a different question. How would you persuade the French government to accept that?”
“Well, I just answered you. That would be the first point-” Yusuf replied before he found himself cut off again.
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“No, you haven’t. You haven’t answered. How would you persuade the French government?” Bruce asked again, to which Yusuf answered: “I would say, can we have our money back… So listen, there are a number of points here you have to deal with.
“You have to remove the incentive, that I agree with, you have to leave the ECHR, that I agree with – that’ll never happen under the Tories, and the reason that never happened -“
“Hang on, Zia,” Bruce interrupted once more. “I’ve asked you a question, can you please answer it. How would the essential part of your policy, as I understand it, you turn the boats around and you deposit the people back on the beach in France, and France would just have to swallow that. How would you persuade them to do that?”
Yusuf stated: “Listen, I will say this. If the prime minister of Britain is unwilling to have an extremely difficult conversation with the leader of France about the sovereignty of our territory, which is basically being overwhelmed and overrun as a result of the channel, I don’t know what the prime minister would be able to have a difficult conversation about.”
Bruce ended the discussion by claiming: “So you don’t know if you’d be able to persuade them or not, you can’t be sure.”
These debates, in particular, irked a number of Question Time viewers who felt Yusuf got an unfair grilling compared to his fellow panellists.
Reacting to a clip of the show on X, one social media user responded: “All out attack on Reform… handled brilliantly by Zia Yusuf. I can’t wait for the next election to see Nigel Farage become PM…”
“Fiona Bruce is so biased, it is embarrassing. She needs to be removed,” a second fumed before a third weighed in: “Strange how Bruce grills Yusuf over every answer, but has let Liebour and Libdems get away without answering questions.”
Meanwhile, a fourth raged: “C**p show, clearly main parties are c**pping their pants about the Reform threat. Fiona having a constant attack on Zia… No wonder BBC TV licences are falling… these biased opinions and questioning from the BBC.
“Also, it’s 4 years to a general election, Reform currently has 5 MPs, they don’t need to have everything in place now, and it’s good they don’t disclose all their plans now. Labour will only steal their ideas anyway,” they continued.
And the complaints kept coming in, with another critic simply sharing the hashtag: “#DefundTheBBC.”
However, Yusuf’s conduct during the debate also came under fire from other viewers who were left unconvinced by his response to Bruce’s line of questioning.
“They have no answers,” one X user hit out. “Just spout a load of rubbish with no substance on HOW they will deliver….I just can’t believe people swallow this c**p.”
And a second argued: “He can’t answer the question. He knows that Reform cannot just return them back to France without permission. He would have to get Leaving the ECHR through parliament and the Lords before the UK can leave ECHR.” (sic)