BBC’s ‘Appalling and Sloppy’ Reporting Led to Trial Collapse
A judge criticized the BBC for its reporting, which caused a trial to collapse involving a woman accused of illegal abortion.
Cirencester, Gloucestershire, BBC, Sophie Harvey, Elliot Benham, Trial
Cirencester: So, there was this big trial that just fell apart because of some really bad reporting by the BBC. A judge called it “appalling and sloppy.” The case was about a woman named Sophie Harvey, who was accused of illegally aborting her baby.
She was only 19 when she allegedly took some pills after finding out she was way past the legal limit for an abortion in England. The law says you can’t get one after 24 weeks, and she was at 28 weeks and five days.
Harvey and her boyfriend, Elliot Benham, admitted they bought the abortion pills online. But here’s the twist: she claimed she never took them and instead gave birth to a stillborn baby at home.
When the trial started, the jury was sent home because of the BBC’s inaccurate reports. They aired some old footage and made it sound like the baby’s remains were found in the garden, which was totally wrong.
Harvey’s lawyer argued that this kind of reporting could really hurt her credibility. He said it was a huge mistake for the BBC to say she took the pill when she insisted she didn’t.
The judge agreed that the reporting was misleading and decided to dismiss the jury. He said it was a serious issue that couldn’t just be fixed with a simple correction.
After the judge made his decision, the BBC apologized in court for the errors. They’re going to have a new trial set for February 2025, but in the meantime, Harvey and Benham pleaded guilty to a different charge related to the case.
In the end, they got community service, and the judge made sure they had some mental health support too. It’s a pretty wild situation, and it all started with some sloppy reporting.