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Press TV – February 27, 2012

The BBC has twisted the migration figures for Britain in a clear example of false reporting in line with the coalition government’s policies.

In its reporting of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) data for migration in the first year of the coalition government, the BBC reported “net migration to Britain remained steady at 250,000 in the year to last June.”

While the figures were meant to measure the government’s commitment to its pledge to cut immigration numbers to “tens of thousands” by 2015, the BBC chose the September 2010 “peak” in immigration numbers to interpret the ONS data in a bid to excuse the government’s performance.

Net migration figures actually rose from 235,000, in the year to June 2010, to 250,000, in the year to June 2011.

However, the BBC argued that the numbers have plateaued as they showed “an increase from 235,000 in June 2010 but a fall from 255,000 in September 2010.”

In fact, the broadcaster chose a misleading lead line based on the argument that the figures did not change significantly since September net migration stood at 255,000 without ever mentioning that the September 2010 figure was a record high since 2008.

The BBC’s falsification becomes even obvious when one witnesses clear inconsistency between its interpretation of figures and that of the Mirror and the The Telegraph, among other sources.

The former’s report on the subject was especially revealing: “David Cameron’s immigration pledge in tatters as figures soar. In the 12 months to June last year, 250,000 more people came here than left – up from 235,000 in the previous year.

AMR/HE

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