BBC risks bias claim as TV chief who sailed on Bob Geldof’s pro-EU boat during the EU referendum is set to host Brexit show

A TOP BBC producer who campaigned on Bob Geldof’s pro-EU flotilla is to mastermind a flagship Brexit show.

Diehard Remainer Nick Pisani will edit a debate to be broadcast to a global audience.

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But last night the move sparked a furious row over bias at the Beeb.

It comes just a week after the BBC was awarded £85million of taxpayers’ money to extend its global reach.

Mr Pisani, 53, was among the crew when multi-millionaire Geldof, 65, stuck two fingers up at anti-EU fishermen during a protest on the Thames.

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The singer’s crude salute angered 30 fishermen campaigning for Leave and was a PR disaster for Remain.

Mr Pisani was proudly sporting a large “In” sticker at the demo days before the historic referendum.

Since then, he has filled his Twitter and Facebook with anti-Brexit material.

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Now he is editor of a 50-minute special that will be broadcast on the BBC World News channel next weekend.
But some MPs say his involvement breaches the corporation’s traditional vow of impartiality.

Tory Iain Duncan Smith said: “Like Bob Geldof, the BBC is sticking two fingers up to the British people. A man with such clearly entrenched views should never have been put in charge of a programme like this.”

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Mr Pisani, a former editor of BBC1’s Question Time, called the decision to hold a referendum “the most disastrous any government has made since World War Two”. He was so confident Britain would vote Remain that he had a bet with a pal and ended up paying for a no-limit meal at the posh Coq D’Argent restaurant in London.

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A BBC spokesman said: “As a debate show, the views expressed are those of a panel of people representing both sides of the argument, not the production team.

“Anyone working on behalf of the BBC is expected to leave their opinions at the door, plus the programme is overseen by a senior executive to ensure balance.”