OK this is a thread for journalism students in the UK and the subject of impartiality.
Recently @BBCRosAtkins delivered a brilliant opener on the current situation of President Trump and US democracy. It has rightly received a lot of praise. https://twitter.com/BBCRosAtkins/status/1324451176331517953?s=20

The question is would @BBCRosAtkins have been able to deliver a similar opener about UK domestic politics and stay on the right side of impartiality guidelines? My concern is the answer to that question is "no". And here's why...

In May @maitlis delivered a damning attack on @BBCNewsnight on the government's handling of covid-19 and Cummings. It received a high level of complaints and the BBC apologised. But the reason it apologised is telling... https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/may/28/bbc-swamped-with-complaints-about-newsnight-intro-on-cummings

The BBC apologised in the Newsnight case NOT because it had got factually anything wrong but because, "it risked giving the perception that the BBC was taking sides". and this goes to the fundamental problem of how the BBC frames impartiality.

BBC impartiality is about ensuring that the corporation is not perceived as taking sides in "controversial" or "contested" issues. Trump's recent actions are so egregious that there is no mainstream political party in the UK that supports his actions. They are not "contested"...

While the actions of Cummings and the Johnson government were contested by a mainstream UK political party. Contested by who? The very Party in power the BBC is meant to hold to account. Tell me when you can see a problem :)

Which brings me to my next point. I don't think the BBC editorial guidelines explicitly state it but "controversial" & "contested" is implicitly defined within a UK context. This enables BBC to take a more robust position on international stories as they're usually less contested

I applaud both @maitlis and @BBCRosAtkins but until journalists can comment on issues without fear or favor because one political party the UK believes the issue to be controversial or contested it will limit the journalism they are able to produce.

These are not easy editorial decisions. They can make the BBC seem partial. The truth is @maitlis did seem to be taking a side just as @BBCRosAtkins seemed to be taking a side. But truth must be the arbiter of impartiality not political balance.