The BBC has admitted it made a 'mistake' following accusations that a Question Time clip was cut in a way which edited out laughter directed at the Prime Minister.
The broadcaster said it had cut a clip of Boris Johnson on the BBC's Question Time leaders' special on Friday November 22 for a shorter package to be shown on Saturday's lunchtime bulletin.
In a statement, the BBC accepted that the clip 'didn't reflect the full reaction to Boris Johnson's answer'.
The full clip, which includes audible laughter, was shown in full on the BBC's flagship News At 10 programme on the Friday evening.
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Boris Johnson was met with ridicule when he said that it was possible to find things in his articles that may seem offensive if you went through them carefully
However, thousands of people have shared a video of the shorter clip on social media, in which no laughter can be heard. The BBC said there was 'absolutely no intention to mislead'.
In a statement released on Monday afternoon, the BBC News press team said: 'This clip from the BBC's Question Time special, which was played in full on the News at Ten on Friday evening and on other outlets, was shortened for timing reasons on Saturday's lunchtime bulletin, to edit out a repetitious phrase from Boris Johnson.
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'However, in doing so we also edited out laughter from the audience. Although there was absolutely no intention to mislead, we accept that this was a mistake on our part, as it didn't reflect the full reaction to Boris Johnson's answer.
'We did not alter the soundtrack or image in any way apart from this edit, contrary to some claims on social media.'