BBC's Laura Kuenssberg sparks backlash as viewers catch her in huge blunder

BBC presenter Laura Kuenssberg has come under fire after she referenced an outdated document as an "official government policy" on her Sunday morning politics show.

During the latest instalment of her morning show (October 13), the broadcaster was joined by Scotland's first minister John Swinney, the business secretary Jonathan Reynolds, the CEO of Lloyds Banking Group and Conservative leadership candidate Robert Jenrick.

The 48-year-old broadcaster discussed some of the biggest stories hitting the headlines today, including the death of former Scotish First Minister Alex Salmond.

But the programme took an unexpected turn when the newsreader broached the topic the P&O Ferries 'fire and rehire' scandal with the business secretary.

She began the discussion with an interview from transport secretary Louise Haige who offended DP World by saying she would "boycott" their company P&O Ferries and warned that they were a "rogue operator."

Back in 2022, P&O Ferries - owned by DP World - fired 800 crew members without warning after stopping all its sailing. The company then substantially undercut competitors' staffing costs by rehiring their absent crew members using agency workers on low wages.

During a tense interview with the business secretary, the journalist asked him whether the government believes P&O Ferries are a "rogue operator". The politician replied: "No, that's not the government's position.

"But I think we've got to make clear that we do not support fire and rehire. What we believe and are showing is that we can improve the market, we can improve people's employment rights at the same time as attracting the same kind of investments which we need as a country."

It was at this point that Laura revealed a "government press release" which appeared to contradict this statement. The statement from the transport secretary back in 2022 read: "Rogue employers must not be given the green light to trample over the laws of our country, compromise safety standards, and harm our economy."

The reporter asked the politician again about the governement's stand on the topic, to which he replied: "We will always make clear: What happened was wrong, that's why we're changing the law to make sure that it can't happen again."

Pointing out the confusion, Laura explained: "This is really important because one thing that you have said lots of times in this studio, that Kier Starmer has said many times is that Labour will bring clarity and competence and they will give a clear message at all times, particularly to business.

"And yet here we have in a matter of days, the transport secretary giving one position, the business secretary then saying that's not the position, an official piece of government communication going out to the public saying another position. It doesn't look very good, does it? It looks messy."

Jonathan Reynolds explained: "I'm pleased to be able to give what the government's position is. I'm pleased to be able to tell you that we are stopping fire and rehire. DP World aren't coming to the summit and the investment will go ahead. They will spend a £1billion pounds in this country even though Louise Haigh offended them."

Towards the end of the interview, Laura clarified her error on air. She apologised: "And just to clarify, the press release that we showed was a press release from when you were in opposition - so just to be clear about that."

It didn't take long before viewers flooded to social media to point out that the quote referenced on the show was more than two years old.

Taking to X - formerly known as Twitter - one user penned: "#bbclaurak (Laura Kuenssberg) promoting a @LouHaigh quote from 2022 as a 'government press release'. If she did her homework properly she would have known that Labour were NOT in government in 2022. The BBC is meant to be impartial, not partizan [annoyed emoji]."

Another asked: "Is Laura Kuenssberg going to apologise for trying to claim that an opposition statement from years ago is 'official government policy' rather than just an 'oh btw that document is actually from 2022'?!? Disgraceful journalism #BBCLauraK."

A third fumed: "It was clearly labelled as March 2022, so they all knew it wasn't government policy - either she 'forgot' or just blustered through it trying to get a gotcha moment from Reynolds."

A fourth chimed in with: "I was almost screaming at the TV 'It says March 2022!!!!' So how could that possible be a government statement?? A very poor correction garbled at the end which hardly addressed the incorrect 'statement of fact' made earlier [angry emojis]."

Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg airs every Sunday on BBC One from 9.30am or catch up on BBC iPlayer.