THE SNP has been accused of a “transparent campaign to undermine the BBC” after it insisted the broadcaster had failed to address a loss of trust among Scots.
The party told the regulator Ofcom that it was “cautiously optimistic” about the creation of a new BBC Scotland channel, due to start broadcasting next year.
But it went on to raise a number of concerns about the BBC’s output, including claims it was more critical of Scottish ministers than the UK Government.
READ MORE: Launch of BBC's new channel for Scotland pushed back to 2019
In its response to Ofcom's consultation on the new station, the SNP said: “The BBC's own audience council surveys demonstrate that trust in the BBC is lowest in Scotland.
“The BBC itself has admitted that its coverage on the 2014 referendum lead to a loss of trust among a significant number of Scots.
“In effect many people in Scotland do not feel the public purpose to deliver impartial news and information is always being met in Scotland.
“Since the referendum nearly four years ago we have seen no evidence of BBC Scotland delivering on its promise to increase the ‘trust’ that it lost. Its own audience surveys two years after the referendum reflect this failure.”
It comes just days after former first minister Alex Salmond insisted Nicola Sturgeon will not underestimate the alleged bias of the BBC when the next independence referendum is called.
He has repeatedly claimed the BBC was his “blind spot” during 2014’s campaign, arguing it failed to cover the event fairly.
The SNP said the new Scottish channel’s hour long news output must “deliver a product which helps to regain ‘trust’ to the public service broadcaster”.
READ MORE: Alex Salmond: Nicola Sturgeon will not underestimate 'biased' BBC during next referendum
It said there was currently a gap in coverage, with more criticism directed towards Scottish ministers than the UK Government.
The party added: “Despite significant BBC Scotland resource at Westminster, not enough effort is made to scrutinize the UK government, its policies and their impact on the people of Scotland.”
Meanwhile, it insisted there had been a “historical underspend on programming by the BBC in Scotland”, and raised concerns the new channel was not receiving enough investment.
It also hit out at “poor practise”, such as shifting productions to Scotland to meet quotas and the “London-centric” nature of commissioning.
The BBC’s new channel is due to start broadcasting in February next year, and will have an annual programming budget of £32 million.
Scottish Conservative shadow culture secretary Rachael Hamilton insisted the SNP's submission was “self-absorbed” and not in the best interest of the country.
She said: “The BBC is an internationally respected public service broadcaster, with decades of experience, expertise and impartiality. It is the envy of the world.
“This transparent campaign to undermine the BBC is simply further evidence of the SNP’s war on dissenting opinion or informed critique of Scottish nationalism.
“Most importantly this demonstrates the sinister way in which the SNP is undermining trust in our impartial news media, for its own gain.”
READ MORE: Launch of BBC's new channel for Scotland pushed back to 2019
Scottish Labour’s culture spokeswoman Claire Baker described it as a “greatest hits of nationalist grievance towards the BBC”.
She added: “After 10 years in government rather than fixing our schools, NHS and public services, we instead have a governing party trying to put undue pressure on a public service broadcaster to deliver news in exactly the way they want to.”
A BBC spokesman said it considers all feedback carefully. He added: “Since the 2014 referendum, which we reported fairly and accurately, in line with our editorial policies, we have continued to provide an in-depth and high quality news service.”
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