BBC bias row erupts as presenter refers to Nicola Sturgeon as 'our leader' in interview

A BBC bias row has erupted after a presenter called Nicola Sturgeon “our leader” during an interview with Rishi Sunak.

The Prime Minister appeared on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland last week during his visit to the country to open two green freeports.

Presenter Laura Maciver asked Sunak: “Are you pursuing a different relationship with our leader and with Holyrood from your predecessors?”

The PM replied: “Look well my view is of course Nicola Sturgeon and I are not going to agree on everything.

"But what I want to do as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is work constructively with the Scottish Government to make a difference to people in Scotland.”

The initial question and the use of the phrase “our leader” infuriated listeners who called the BBC out for their lack of impartiality.

A Scottish Conservative Party spokesman told the Scottish Daily Mail: “Many listeners will have stopped in their tracks when they heard this jarring comment.

"Scotland has two governments and Rishi Sunak is just as much ‘our leader’ as Nicola Sturgeon is.”

Defending the presenter’s comments, BBC Scotland said they appeared during what they call an “unscripted” interview and that Maciver should have referred to Sturgeon as “First Minister”.

They added: “Throughout the programme, we made it clear that Scotland has two governments.”

Just last week the BBC was slammed for its lack of impartiality after a minister accused the broadcaster of allowing a “culture” of bias to fester in the corporation.

Last month, the BBC chairman Richard Sharp said the corporation “does have a liberal bias” but that “the institution is fighting against it”.

In January, it was accused of giving Shamima Begum a platform in her bid to restore her UK citizenship.