Thread by @petermbenglish

1/ I'm not sure I want the BBC to be "impartial".

I'm in favour of partiality, in particular -

*In favour of truth
*In favour of decency
*In favour of kindness
*In favour of humanity

#IStandWithGaryLineker

2/ People working in the news should have a positive duty to point out lies; but where the lies come from ministers or other government representatives, the BBC has an extremely poor record at calling them out.

3/ I want people to be able to discuss important issues without being told to get back in their box, or keep their opinions to themselves.

4/ I do not see why intelligent and thoughtful people should be prohibited - outside the workplace - from expressing views that differ from their employer's line.

That's particularly important when discussing news and current affairs.

5/ Of course, when BBC employees are at work, expressing views on air, they should say only what their contract permits.

6/ But why should BBC employees - even if they work in news and current affairs (let alone in other areas) - not be able to express their personal views on their personal (not official BBC) twitter feeds?

7/ And - just as importantly - why should experts not be permitted to express their expert views in public?

I worked in public health, for example.

8/ Those of us employed by Public Health England were banned from discussing things like NHS Health Checks in public - other than to support them, as they were (politically imposed) policy.

But within the profession they are highly controversial.

9/ My twitter circle included other professions with relevant expertise, including GPs and other experts in primary care, and public health experts employed in other organisations, who could contribute to constructive debate.

10/ When PHE was formed and took over responsibility for them, I asked about the evidence base for NHS health checks, and linked to a recent Cochrane review which said they were not cost-effective.

I was told I had crossed a line…

11/ If experts employed in public service are only permitted to debate important matters in secret, that does us all a disservice.

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