The BBC has upheld a complaint against the newsreader Martine Croxall after she changed the term “pregnant people” to “women” and raised her eyebrows during a news channel broadcast in the summer.
The corporation said its executive complaints unit (ECU) had upheld 20 complaints about the broadcast. It said Croxall’s facial expression “laid it open to the interpretation that it indicated a particular viewpoint in the controversies currently surrounding trans identity”.
Under the BBC’s impartiality rules, news presenters are not permitted to express views on controversial topics. Croxall and the editorial team involved have been spoken to about the item.
Croxall received praise and criticism over the incident when when a clip of it went viral online. JK Rowling, who has made her gender critical beliefs clear, said Croxall was her “new favourite BBC presenter”.
Croxall had been introducing a news story about research on the groups most at risk during heatwaves. It was based on a study and news release by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
“Malcolm Mistry, who was involved in the research, says that the aged, pregnant people … women … and those with pre-existing health conditions need to take precautions,” she said.