BBC Apologises For Airing Fake Claim About Digital ID Scheme
4 min read
The BBC has apologised for airing a false claim about Tony Blair's son's company being awarded a government contract to produce the new mandatory digital ID scheme.
The episode of comedy quiz show Have I Got News For You was taken down from BBC iPlayer on Saturday morning, before being put up again with the false claim edited out.
Last week, the government announced a new digital ID scheme, which it said would help combat illegal working and make it easier for the public to use vital government services. It will be mandatory for Right to Work checks by the end of this Parliament.
On Friday evening, the BBC's Have I Got News For You host Victoria Coren Mitchell incorrectly said that Multiverse – owned by Euan Blair, former prime minister Tony Blair's son – was producing the digital ID scheme, which she described as a "happy coincidence".
This claim is untrue and was fact-checked by the independent organisation Full Fact earlier this week. Blair's company, Multiverse, does not develop its own software, but offers apprenticeship programmes and training on AI and tech.
Both Multiverse and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology have confirmed there is "no truth" to the claims that the company is involved in any way. PoliticsHome understands that no decisions have been made regarding which third-party companies will be awarded contracts associated with the scheme, which is still in the early stages of development and will be subject to a public consultation later this year.
Multiverse told Full Fact there's “no truth” in the claims, while DSIT also said the claims are false. It’s understood the government expects digital ID to be designed, built and run by an in-house team, not outsourced to external suppliers, although there has been some media speculation about whether the scheme may create opportunities for other tech firms.
A BBC spokesperson told PoliticsHome: “This week’s Have I Got News for You contained an inaccurate story about Euan Blair’s company, Multiverse, being chosen to develop the government’s contract to produce digital ID cards.
"Multiverse is not a software developer and there is no evidence of any involvement in the proposed digital ID scheme, therefore we have taken the episode off BBC iPlayer while we edit the relevant section out. We apologise for this unintentional editorial oversight.”
Later on Saturday, Coren Mitchell posted on X: "Meanwhile, if you see a clip of me saying the ID card contract has gone to Tony Blair’s son: it hasn’t. That was something I was given to ask about last night, but turns out to be incorrect. Which is bad news for the fact checkers but good news for social mobility."
The false claim had spread widely on social media before it was aired on the BBC. PoliticsHome spoke to multiple attendees at Labour Party conference in Liverpool earlier this week who had seen the claim online and believed it to be true.
Multiple attendees have told PoliticsHome they have had the claim repeated to them by family, friends, and taxi drivers.
PoliticsHome understands that DSIT is looking to ramp up its communication around the scheme to combat misinformation, after criticisms that the rollout of the ID scheme had not been communicated effectively.
A DSIT spokesperson said: "Claims that Multiverse has been chosen to develop the Government’s digital ID app are false. No decisions have been made on its delivery, but we expect it to be designed, built, and run by in-house government teams – not outsourced to external suppliers.
“As we said last week, we will launch a public consultation to ensure we get the best possible input on the delivery and design of the scheme."
Some MPs have previously called on the government to go further in strengthening online safety legislation to cover the spread of misinformation and hate speech.
There is also widespread concern among technology experts that UK regulators are struggling to keep pace with adapting technologies and the spread of misinformation through social media content and deepfake AI imagery.
Correction: Victoria Coren’s name was misspelled in an earlier version of this post
