Politicians from all parties have called for the editing of TV programmes – the
process in which the original footage is cut up into small bits and joined
together to create a programme – to be banned.
The call comes in the light of the controversy over a trailer for a forthcoming
BBC documantary about the Queen which seemed to give the impression
that the monarch stormed out of a photo shoot.
“In the interests of truth an integrity, programmes shouldn’t have any editing
done to them,” said Conservative culture minister Jeremy Hunt.
Deputy Prime Minister Harriet Harman agreed. She told reporters: “This
may mean that programmes will last a lot longer. Several days, in some
cases. But at least viewers will be able to trust what they are seeing.”
In the trailer, Leibovitz is heard offscreen to ask the Queen to remove her
crown because “it makes you look fat.” The Queen, in a series of rapid cuts,
is then seen to apparently give Leibovitz the finger.
The next shot in the trailer shows the Queen walking down a corridor, with her
back to camera. An apparently dubbed voice is then heard to say, “No b**ch
tells the Queen what to wear!” to which her companion is appanrently heard
agreeing.
BBC bosses have defended the clip, saying that such editing was standard
practice in television and that they were simply trying to be cool.
