Broadcasting Standards Commission

7 The Sanctuary, London SW1P 3JS

Bishop Seán Manchester’s principal complaints against Talksport Radio and 101.4 Angel FM upheld by the Broadcasting Standards Commission.

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The Broadcasting Standards Commission findings on complaints made by Bishop Seán Manchester against James Whale, Talksport, 19 February 2002 (live interview transmitted from 12.00am – 1.00am, 20 February 2002); and Hidden Depths: The Occult, 101.4 Angel FM (transmitted on 19 March 2002, but recorded several weeks earlier).

Summary of Adjudication (relevant to the principal complaint made by Bishop Seán Manchester in each instance):

James Whale, Talksport, 19 February 2002

The Commission notes from the pre-transmission correspondence that Talksport invited Bishop Manchester “to set out any conditions” as to his contribution to the programme. It also notes that Talksport have not denied that they assured Bishop Manchester that he would at all times be addressed as either “Bishop” or “Bishop Manchester.”

In the Commission’s view, the presenter breached this condition from the start of the programme when Bishop Manchester was introduced as “Seán Manchester” and in his back announcement, in which he again referred to Bishop Manchester as “Seán.” In reaching this view, the Commission has taken into account the fact that the presenter did apologise to Bishop Manchester in the programme for the manner in which he had been treated. It finds unfairness to Bishop Manchester in this regard.

Hidden Depths: The Occult, 101.4 Angel FM, 19 March 2002

The Commission notes that the intention of 101.4 Angel FM had been to clarify Bishop Manchester’s position and that they had not intended to suggest that he was not a real bishop. The Commission further notes that the announcement was prepared only during the live transmission [of an interview recorded some weeks earlier] and the broadcaster’s admission that “confusion” as to his status could have been avoided had wider research been conducted. In the Commission’s view, the back announcement was unfair in that it did not reflect Bishop Manchester’s status as a properly consecrated bishop of the Old Catholic Church, unjustifiably raising doubts in listeners’ minds as to his standing. In this, the Commission finds unfairness to Bishop Manchester.

Signed 1 October 2002

Ms Maggie Redfern

Ms Kath Worral

The Right Rev’d Richard Holloway

A full adjudication appeared at www.bsc.org.uk and was published in the Commission’s bulletin on 31 October 2002.

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The Broadcasting Standards Commission is the statutory body for both standards and fairness in broadcasting.

The Right Reverend Seán Manchester, Bishop of Glastonbury, is the Superior General for Ordo Sancti Graal,

founder of the Sacerdotal Society of the Precious Blood, and was episcopally consecrated on 4 October 1991.