BBC under fire again for coverage of Maxwell case after brother interviewed

The BBC is facing renewed criticism for running an interview with Ghislaine Maxwell’s brother Ian in which he claimed her sex-trafficking trial had been “unfair”.

- BEVAN HURLEY

Ian Maxwell told BBC Radio 4 his sister’s appeal to overturn five child sex-trafficking charges would claim the harsh conditions she faced in jail made it impossible to mount a proper defence.

He said the appeal would also follow arguments made in court by Maxwell’s defence team, who portrayed the four victims who took the stand as being motivated by money, and misremembering the events they described. Critics claimed the BBC had again given a platform to the Maxwell family and supporters that allowed them to attack the credibility of the four victims who testified.

It came days after the network controversially interviewed lawyer Alan Dershowitz about the conviction without mentioning he had previously represented Maxwell’s “partner in crime” Jeffrey Epstein. Soon after the verdicts were reached on 29 December, Mr Dershowitz appeared on the BBC News Channel where he was introduced as a “constitutional lawyer”, but no reference was made to his links to Maxwell and Epstein.