Good Morning Britain

That may say something about GMB's current ratings...

She very much came through the ranks as a newsreader though rather than a journalist. She was poached by Meridian after the boss saw her presenting a short bulletin on Central, her first TV job where she'd been working barely two years.

I think a presenter should be entitled to trust the editorial staff on their own show. It sounds like something got misinterpreted and the journalists who prepared the briefing notes were aiming for a question in which Sturgeon would be invited to respond to the claim in the IFS report that Ben was waving around.

Yes in this case it was the briefing notes which were wrong. On a show like GMB, even BBC Breakfast, I doubt the presenter does their own prep on every single story they are covering, there just wouldn’t be enough time, and will rely on briefing notes.

I'd recommend anyone with an interest in the way Ofcom does it's business to read the whole account including the narrative of the discussion in question. Ben Shepard doesn't come out of this at all well, Kate Garraway tries leaping to his defence too at one point.

It's clear that ITV put their hands up on this case and admitted that the complaint was valid. They attempt in their discussion to mitigate the complaint, but then effectively dismiss this mitigation by authorising the broadcast of the heavily delayed apology.

The forensic detail is impressive as it always is in these fortnightly regulatory bulletins.

Indeed. It's a far cry from programmes such as Weekend World, where a large production team would
produce very detailed and accurate notes for Peter Jay/Brian Walden/Matthew Parris to refer to.

Neither breakfast programme has that resource, and as you say, there's multiple stories each morning.

Nor a whole week to do that kind of prep

*cringe*

As embarrassing as that is, that's one of the most sensible things ever said in an interview on ITV.

Indeed, though I’d expect the modern miracle of t’internet to speed up some of that process (accuracy of on-line sources notwithstanding !)

Perhaps the point is Breakfast telly is not the place for that sort of interview

I can't remember who it was but I heard someone say recently that one of the toughest politicians to interview is Sturgeon. She is always very well prepared and really knows her stuff, you don't get much past her.

EDIT: remembered, think it was Cathy Newman of. Channel 4 News

Andrew Neil has got her a cropper on a few occasions and she fell to pieces. Either that or she reverts back to 'Westminster bad, Toaries bad' if she doesn't have an answer.