Editing Question Time (TV programme) (section)

==Famous editions==
{{see also|List of Question Time episodes}}
In early 1981, [[David Steel]] declared his support in principle for "a marriage" between the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] and any party which might be formed by the [[Social Democratic Party (UK)#Creation of the SDP|Gang of Four]]; [[David Owen]], who was also on the programme, said he could see advantages in an "electoral alliance" between them. This prefigured the period 1983–1987 when Owen and Steel were Leaders of the [[SDP–Liberal Alliance]] and tension grew over whether their deal was a prelude to a merger of the parties or merely a temporary electoral pact.

During the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 election campaign]], [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)|Foreign Secretary]] [[Francis Pym]] was asked by an A-level student named Andy Davis about the implications of the Conservatives winning the election with a landslide victory. He began by casting doubt on the likelihood of this happening and then observed "I think landslides on the whole don't produce successful governments". [[Margaret Thatcher]] later wrote that the remark "struck a wrong note": "people drew the inference that he did not want us to win a large majority".<ref>{{cite book |last=Thatcher |first=Margaret |title=The Downing Street Years |url=https://archive.org/details/downingstreetyea00that |url-access=registration |publisher=HarperCollins |year=1993 |page=[https://archive.org/details/downingstreetyea00that/page/n329 294] |isbn=0002550490}}</ref> Following  the election (won by the Conservatives on a landslide) she sacked him as [[Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)|Foreign Secretary]], partly because of his gaffe.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thatcher |first=Margaret |title=The Downing Street Years |url=https://archive.org/details/downingstreetyea00that |url-access=registration |publisher=HarperCollins |year=1993 |page=[https://archive.org/details/downingstreetyea00that/page/n341 306] |isbn=0002550490}}</ref>

In a 1984 edition, [[Alan Clark]], a junior government Minister at the time, was openly critical of a government decision to buy a foreign-made missile system, prompting guest host [[Sue Lawley]] to ask the audience, "Is there anyone here who wishes to defend the government on this, because its Minister doesn't?"

A 1994 edition was notable for a confrontation between [[Jeffrey Archer]] and the historian [[David Starkey]] over the age of homosexual consent. After arguing that 18 should be the age of consent, Archer was attacked by Starkey who told him: "Englishmen like you enjoy sitting on the fence so much because you enjoy the sensation." Archer replied "I enjoyed the very clever way you got a laugh ... I was not sitting on the fence and I was not compromising ... you don't have the right to doubt my beliefs and think just because you are an expert in this subject I don't have the right to say what I feel or get a cheap laugh out of it. I stand by 18 and I mean it."<ref>{{Citation | last = Havard | first = Ed | title = Question Time defined by 'epic' battles | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/question_time/9366830.stm | publisher = news.bbc.co.uk | date = 20 January 2011 | access-date = 16 August 2011}}</ref>

The programme broadcast on 13 September 2001, which was devoted to the political implications of the [[September 11 attacks]], featured many contributions from members of the audience who were anti-American, expressing the view that "the United States had it coming". The BBC received more than 2,000 complaints and later apologised to viewers for causing offence, stating that the edition should not have been broadcast live, but rather should have been recorded and edited.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/1544897.stm BBC chief apologises for terror debate], BBC News, 15 September 2001</ref>

In 2002, the editor of ''[[Private Eye]]'', [[Ian Hislop]], made an open attack on [[Jeffrey Archer]], who had been imprisoned for [[perjury]], when his wife [[Mary Archer]] was a fellow panellist. She was noticeably angry that the issue had been raised and criticised Hislop after the recording had finished.

In March 2007, an Iraq Special was broadcast, featuring [[Tony Benn]], [[Benazir Bhutto]], [[Des Browne]], [[Liam Fox]], [[Charles Kennedy]] and, via [[video link]] from [[Washington, D.C.]], [[John Bolton]]. The episode is particularly memorable for the clashes between Benn and Bolton.

On 11 October 2007, former editor of ''[[The Sun (United Kingdom)|The Sun]]'' newspaper [[Kelvin MacKenzie]] appeared on the programme in [[Cheltenham]] and launched an attack on Scotland. During a debate about tax, MacKenzie claimed that "Scotland believes not in entrepreneurialism like London and the south east... Scots enjoy spending it (money) but they don't enjoy creating it, which is the opposite to down south." The comments came as part of an attack on [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Gordon Brown]] who MacKenzie said could not be trusted to manage the British economy because he was "a Scot" and a "socialist", and insisting that this was relevant to the debate. Fellow panellist [[Chuka Umunna]] from the [[think tank]] Compass called his comments "absolutely disgraceful", and booing and jeering were heard from the Cheltenham studio audience. The BBC received 350 complaints and MacKenzie's comments drew widespread criticism in both Scotland and England. On 3 July 2008, it was reported that the BBC Trust's editorial complaints unit had cleared the programme of any wrongdoing. ''Question Time'' then proceeded to broadcast the following question from Nick Hartley as part of the programme on the same evening: "After the media coverage of [Andy] Murray's rise and fall, are we now to infer that the English resent the Scots more than the Scots resent the English?" MacKenzie reappeared on the programme in [[Cardiff]] on 17 May 2012.

After he was elected to the European Parliament, [[Nick Griffin]] the leader of the [[British National Party]] was invited onto ''Question Time'' for the first time, to appear on 22 October 2009. The decision led to [[Question Time British National Party controversy|controversy and political debate]]. Hundreds of people protested outside [[BBC Television Centre]] as the edition was filmed; six people were arrested after 25 protesters forced their way into the main reception.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/2009/oct/22/bnp-question-time-live-buildup "BNP on Question Time"], ''The Guardian'', 22 October 2009.</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8321157.stm | work=BBC News | title=Angry scenes face Griffin at BBC | date=22 October 2009 | access-date=22 May 2010}}</ref> The edition attracted eight million viewers,<ref name=BNPcontroversy>{{cite news|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8322322.stm|title= Griffin complaint over BBC 'mob'|publisher=BBC News|date= 23 October 2009|access-date= 23 October 2009}}</ref> and also drew a large number of complaints as a result of its content. Griffin himself said that he would make a formal complaint to the BBC for the way he believed he was treated by the show's other guests and the audience, who he described as a "lynch mob."<ref name=BNPcontroversy/>

An edition aired on 19 May 2011 was recorded at [[Wormwood Scrubs Prison]] in [[London]]. The episode was the first to feature prisoners as part of the audience, while panellists included [[Secretary of State for Justice|Justice Secretary]] [[Ken Clarke]] who attempted to defend controversial remarks he had made earlier in the week about rape sentencing.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/may/20/question-time-tv-ratings|title= Ken Clarke detains 3 million on Question Time|work= The Guardian|first= Ben|last= Dowell|date= 20 May 2011|access-date= 21 May 2011}}</ref>

A special edition of the programme was aired on 11 August 2011 following the [[2011 England riots|outbreak of rioting]] which had occurred during the previous weekend and earlier that week.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/aug/12/question-time-riots-special|title= Question Time riots special draws 3.6m viewers|work= The Guardian|first= Ben|last= Dowell|date= 12 August 2011|access-date= 16 August 2011}}</ref> ''Question Time'' had been off air for its annual summer break at the time and the edition was scheduled at short notice due to the English riots.

An [[Question Time George Galloway in Finchley controversy|appearance by George Galloway]] on the edition of 5 February 2015 recorded in Finchley gained much negative comment before the broadcast. Inviting Galloway, a politician who has been outspoken about Israel, onto the programme was thought to be provocative and insensitive because Finchley has a large Jewish minority.<ref name="Rashty">Sandy Rashty [http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/129151/galloway-question-time-appearance-chance-call-mp-account-says-board "Galloway Question Time appearance is chance to call MP to account, says Board"], ''The Jewish Chronicle'', 29 January 2015</ref> Galloway, who was heckled during a discussion about antisemitism, thought he had been defamed by a question posed to him, which insinuated that he should share some of the blame for a rise in antisemitic incidents during 2014.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/feb/06/george-galloway-accuses-bbc-over-question-time-set-up "George Galloway accuses BBC over Question Time 'set-up'"], ''The Guardian'', 6 February 2015</ref>

On 23 November 2017 the programme was shortened because an audience member became ill and could not be safely moved.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42104904|title=Question Time cut short as woman falls ill|website=BBC News}}</ref>

On 19 March 2020 the programme broadcast from [[Weston-super-Mare]] was the first without an audience, due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. On 26 March 2020 the programme moved to a semi-permanent home at the [[IMG (company)|IMG]] Studios at [[Stockley Park]] in London as a measure to prevent unnecessary travel during the Coronavirus outbreak, the show followed a different format with no audience, the number of panellists reduced to four and the removal of the desk table, with the panellists and host now sitting on chairs in a semi-circle, 2m apart from one another in order to observe social distancing rules. At the same time, the programme moved to a new, temporary timeslot of 8pm, so that it could be broadcast live and allow viewers to submit their own questions to be answered on the programme.

Four-time [[Formula One]] World Champion and [[Grand Prix Drivers' Association]], the trade union for F1, director [[Sebastian Vettel]] appeared on the 12 May 2022 edition, which was broadcast from [[Hackney, London|Hackney]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vettel: BBC Question Time appearance will be &quot;interesting opportunity&quot; |url=https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/vettel-bbc-question-time-appearance-will-be-interesting-opportunity/10300878/ |access-date=2022-05-08 |website=www.autosport.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Vettel questions racing in F1 amid climate change |language=en-GB |work=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/61428257 |access-date=2022-05-13}}</ref>