The Question Time audience is often derided for being out of touch with mainstream public opinion and clapping contradictory arguments, but sometimes they cross the line. Back in 2001, just four days after the attacks on the Pentagon and the Twin Towers, the BBC was hit by one mighty PR disaster when their carefully selected, and oh so balanced, audience almost reduced a former US Ambassador to tears by repeatedly blaming America for the attacks, while the ruins were still smouldering. Director General Greg Dyke said at the time:

“…despite the best efforts of David Dimbleby and the panel, there were times in the programme when the tone was not appropriate, given the terrible events of this week. I have today spoken to Phillip Lader, the former US Ambassador to the UK who was on the panel, and apologised for any distress the programme may have caused him.”

Well we are ten years on and Guido hears that the BBC’s paranoia around tonight’s anniversary episode is intense. Producers are said to be particularly worried about the audience reaction to Reagan and Bush defence advisor, and the spiritual godfather of neo-conservatism, Richard Perle. Insiders say the audience has been “softened”. The programme’s production-company Mentorn declined to comment when Guido put it to them that there had been a significant re-jigging of audience members today…

The BBC press office are looking into the matter…

UPDATE Friday 09:00: The BBC got in touch over night to say usual practice applied to audience selection last night.

Another interesting snippet from Wikileaks’ State Department cables proves that Andrew Marr’s reputation as a patsy is global. In preparation for Hilary Clinton’s UK visit in 2010, the US Embassy in London noted that the Secretary of State should take time out of her schedule to do a pre-record with Marr. The reasons why are hardly a ringing endorsement for the BBC’s flagship interviewer:

“On the public diplomacy side, I hope you can take some time out to tape an interview with leading British journalist Andrew Marr, to be broadcast on his Sunday morning BBC TV talk show. The program, which reaches 1.5 million live and millions more on the web, is essential weekend viewing for Britain, often setting the week’s news and political agenda for the nation. The program could be taped at your hotel, at my residence or at the BBC studios in West London. It would be a powerful way for you to set out our priorities for Afghanistan/Pakistan, and underline our premier partnership with the United Kingdom. Marr is a congenial and knowledgeable interviewer who will offer maximum impact for your investment of time.”

Congenial? In other words a walkover…

Via News UnSpun

So another good day for Labour Uncut, with a second round of leaked extracts from Darling’s “Back from the brink: 1000 days at No 11“ this morning. Guido’s literary eyes-and-ears, who have seen a copy of the book, reckon yesterday’s snippets were bang on the money and deserved the follow-up coverage that they got. While yesterday there was silence from the BBC, today they have leapt all over one line about bankers:

“My worry was that they (the bankers) were so arrogant and stupid that they might bring us all down”.

Search as he might, Guido’s man can’t find this quote anywhere in the book. There could well be some Beeboid red faces next week if it turns out to be nonsense. Guido isn’t sure how lifting a blog story fits in with their triple sourcing lock, but they wouldn’t want anything to get in the way of a good banker bashing now would they?

Their print cousins also seem to have got things a little wide on the mark. Compare their article from November with their one yesterday:

Don’t believe everything you read in the papers…

UPDATE: The BBC get in touch to point out they did run the Darling story yesterday. On the website…

They also say that they checked out yesterday’s quotes with the publisher. But are “attributing today’s to Labour Uncut”. Read into that what you will…

It is understood that David Dimbleby is yet to sign his Question Time contract. He was said to be upset at the programme’s move to Glasgow—
Sunday Times News (@ST_Newsroom) September 01, 2011

There are plenty of candidates willing to step into his half-moon glasses and whacky ties. Pop your suggestions below and Guido will do a round up at some point…

Given that a large chunk of the BBC staff are being sent to Manchester against their will as part of the Beeb’s politically correct, and spectacularly wasteful, relocation to “Media City”, jokes about the city from senior staff have not gone down well:

Incredible to hear rebel fighter in Tripoli with broad Mancunian accent talking to @WyreDavies on #WATO. What better place to train 4 #Libya—
Jon Williams (@WilliamsJon) August 25, 2011

Foreign Editor Jon Williams has apologised, but only to his Mancunian pals. Not the legions of staff forced to move there.

At the beginning of the Libyan uprising back in February, the BBC’s esteemed Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen was nowhere to be seen. He had snuck off to the slopes…

When he did finally get back to the action, his soft-stance on Gaddafi raised eyebrows, particularly back in June when he said:

“More questions now seem likely about what Nato is doing in Libya and what it is achieving – not least by Nato members who never agreed with the operation” 

Well it seems that the fearless and impartial Bowen hasn’t bothered to stick around to find answers to those questions. Guido’s Beeboid co-conspirators are strongly hinting that Bowen has jetted off for another holiday during the finale. Given that even Sky’s most vehement critics concede that they have thrashed the BBC in terms of Libya coverage, on a fraction of the budget, perhaps it’s time for a revolution on the Middle East desk…

Last night’s Pesto phone-hack flap was over the fact that Coulson had his severance pay “Compromise Agreement” strung out such that there was an overlap with when he started spinning for Dave. It looks bad to be still taking the Murdoch shilling when you work for the man who wants to be Prime Minister.

It was almost a vintage phone-hacking day. Pesto got the leak, Guardian got cross and finally Tom Watson wrote a letter to someone. Apparently there must be a full investigation into all of this, however it seems these sort of delays are nowadays not so uncommon. Despite what Brillo and Yelland are saying about their respective terminations:

My original NI editor contract said if I resigned I was entitled to nothing. #hacking—
Andrew Neil (@afneil) August 23, 2011

When I left NewsCorp I didn't sign or have any 'compromise agreement! I just left.—
David Yelland (@davidyelland) August 23, 2011

Brillo and Yello stopped taking the Murdoch shilling a decade or more ago. Guido can reveal that right now those journalists dismissed from the News of the World last month have similarly had their payments subject to a delay which means their own “Comprise Agreement” severance payments will not be settled until October 6. Certainly one way of keeping mouths shut until after Conservative Party conference…

Cynics might think that yesterday was a good day to bury a little bad news for News International. But that would be casting aspersions on Pesto’s independence from his mate Will Lewis, News International’s general manager. He surely would never leak anything to Pesto, his friend of two decades…

Incidentally, whilst we are on the subject, Coulson walked for the illegal activities which happened on his watch. Will the Guardian’s Rusbridger do the same if his journalists get nicked?

Guido hears that an order from the top brass over at High Street Ken has gone out demanding that Mail hacks wrap things up an hour early so they can all get back to the comforts of suburbia before nightfall. Canary Wharf is emptying too.

There is also a rumour doing that the rounds that Television Centre over at White City is shutting up shop early…

It is next to Westfield shopping centre to be fair…

Guido’s BBC sources neither denied or confirmed the rumour going around that Andrew Neil is set to move from BBC2′s weekday Daily Politics to front Sunday’s The Politics Show, as part of a bigger restructuring of the Beeb’s political programming. With co-host Anita Anand already going over to Radio 5, it’s certainly looking like the end of an era for political nerds and junkies. You read it here first…

Good news for the BBC’s Paul Lambert following the ridiculous decision by the Serjeant at Arms to ban him after he filmed her embarrassing failure to prevent the breach of security during the testimony of the Murdochs. Gobby’s pass has been restored after Louise Mensch raised a point of order regarding the banning of the BBC’s Gobby and a Twitter campaign to #SaveGobby took off. Why on earth was he banned in the first place? This is a public building, paid for at great expense by the public. You would have thought after the battle for opening up MPs’ expenses they would have learnt. Parliamentarians are our servants, they work for us and the Serjent at Arms would do well to remember who is the boss…