Channel migrants who recently appeared on the BBC's Question Time confronted Reform UK's then-policy chief Zia Yusuf on the show. An investigation has revealed they were placed on the show with the help of charity Imix, an organisation that aims to change the perception of immigration amongst the British public. The episode was filmed in Dover back in December and featured two channel migrants, including one Iranian man who read out a prepared statement about the value of international law protecting refugees.
Yusuf then said he was 'ambushed' on the show, and the episode received moret han 1,00 complaints from viewers. The two asylum seekers' appearance on Question Time was overseen by Jenni Regan, Imix’s chief executive, as revealed in an investigation by The Telegraph. Regan was also selected to ask a question during the show. One of the men, Ashraf, who has been granted refugee status, said he fled his native Afghanistan as it was "not safe".
The BBC said Imix was one of a number of organisations approached before the episode was filmed. It said that producers sought to "find audience members that could give different perspectives on the debate about immigration in the UK".
It said that the episode aimed to encourage debate between opposing viewpoints and that the migrants were challenged during the show.
A spokesman for Imix said: "For the BBC’s Question Time immigration special, the programme approached local charities working in the sector, including Imix, to help include people with lived experience of seeking asylum in the audience.
"Helping journalists and productions connect with people who have relevant experience is a normal part of what a charity press office does. Journalists from across the political spectrum, including Telegraph journalists, have made similar requests to us, and we help where we can.
"We helped identify two people who wished to take part, and supported them beforehand so they felt informed and prepared. Both have legal refugee status and are settled in the UK with families and jobs, and both chose to take part of their own accord. The decisions about the programme and its audience were the BBC’s."
A spokesman for Reform UK said: “It is no surprise that the Question Time: Immigration Special sparked so many complaints. The programme represented a clear failure of impartiality, editorial judgment and audience selection by the BBC.
"We are seeing an increasingly blatant pattern of bias and prejudice from the taxpayer-funded broadcaster.
"The question remains as to why did the BBC think it was appropriate to give a national platform to men who entered Britain illegally, allowing them to lecture the British public and attempt to manipulate opinion on the immigration crisis?"
