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Chamber and committees

Urging the BBC not to Censor Saving Our Wild Isles

  • Submitted by: Kenneth Gibson, Cunninghame North, Scottish National Party.
  • Date lodged: Friday, 17 March 2023
  • Motion reference: S6M-08208

That the Parliament notes with concern reports that the BBC has chosen not to air a companion episode of David Attenborough’s Wild Isles series on television for fear of prompting a "right wing backlash" against its content, which, it believes, amounts to censorship; understands that the episode, entitled Saving Our Wild Isles, which explores nature loss and the risks posed to UK wildlife through climate change and the failure to protect ecosystems and natural habitats, will only be shown on BBC iPlayer; is alarmed at reported claims by sources within the BBC that the episode would only be shown online due to the uncomfortable and inconvenient nature of its content and the response this would provoke from conservative newspapers, news channels and industry lobbying groups; acknowledges the involvement of WWF-UK and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in the production of Saving Our Wild Isles, which, it understands, were able to offer evidence and expert opinion on the conservation of British wildlife; recognises what it sees as unacceptable media attacks on WWF-UK and the RSPB for seeking to influence policy and public debate on this issue and considers this to be part of a wider attack on charities and voluntary organisations with a campaigning mission; laments the fact that the UK is in the bottom 10% of countries, globally, for protecting nature, according to the Biodiversity Intactness Index produced by the Natural History Museum; is encouraged by polling data from Rewilding Britain, which shows that 81% of Britons support rewilding, and considers that wider access to and promotion of programmes like Saving Our Wild Isles will enhance public support for nature conservation and offer practical information as to how each individual can play a part in supporting this.


Supported by: Karen Adam, Colin Beattie, Stephanie Callaghan, Maggie Chapman, Graeme Dey, Jackie Dunbar, Annabelle Ewing, Emma Harper, Bill Kidd, Ruth Maguire, John Mason, Stuart McMillan, Jenni Minto, Audrey Nicoll, Emma Roddick, Mark Ruskell, Paul Sweeney, Michelle Thomson