The BBC had to remove an episode of Have I Got News for You from its iPlayer service, with the broadcaster subsequently issuing an apology following an "unintentional editorial oversight".
The long-running panel show returned on Friday (3 October) with its 70th season as regular captains Ian Hislop and Paul Merton were joined by Sheila Hancock and Miles Jupp respectively, with Victoria Coren Mitchell presiding over the action as the host.
One section saw the group discuss the UK government's plan to introduce ID cards, with Coren Mitchell asking the contestants to list individuals or corporations who could benefit from the mandate.
"I was thinking of the company Multiverse, who has been chosen to run the digital ID cards scheme," she said (via Metro), though this claim has since been debunked by fact-checking organisation FullFact.
"This isn’t true, according to both the government and Multiverse, which is an 'upskilling company', not a software developer," FullFact wrote. "The government has not announced any partner for the project."
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Following the error, the episode was removed from BBC iPlayer to allow the segment in question to be cut, though the 28-minute instalment has since been restored to the streaming service.
"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," said a spokesperson for the BBC.
"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."
Coren Mitchell has since addressed the incident via her social media channels, writing 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."
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"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," continued the presenter.
She also alluded to the blunder in a subsequent post, writing: "Only Connect is on tonight! And, *as far as I know*, all the facts I read out will be correct. But I guess we’ll soon find out. 8pm @BBCTwo."
Have I Got News for You airs on BBC One and streams on BBC iPlayer.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
