The first televised debate of the general election period, between Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer and Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak, will not come with British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation – ITV has confirmed.
The programme was announced by the channel on Wednesday, and will be broadcast next Tuesday with veteran broadcaster Julie Etchingham as moderator.
Michael Jermey, ITV’s Director of News and Current Affairs said of the debate: “Millions of viewers value the election debates. They provide a chance to see and hear the party leaders set out their pitch to the country, debate directly with each other and take questions from voters.
“ITV is pleased to be broadcasting the first debate in this year’s election campaign.”
However, in a follow-up statement issued to this website, an ITV spokesperson said: “Subtitles will be available on the live broadcast of the leaders’ debate.
“As guidance, we do not have the operational or technical capability to offer live BSL for the programming on this occasion.”
The comments echo prior remarks made by the broadcaster to Ofcom, when the regulator consulted on changes to its access code and guidelines, in which it said it “does not currently have a permanent capability for live BSL translation” in response to proposals around making “occasions of national importance” accessible.
While subtitles are used by deaf people, Deaf academic Dr Kate Rowley is quoted in a 2021 court ruling (which found the Cabinet Office in breach of the Equality Act for inaccessible coronavirus data briefings) as stating “information broadcast with subtitles rather than BSL interpretation is problematic for Deaf BSL users” – with the average deaf 16-year-old having a reading age of between eight to 11 years.
Meanwhile, other political parties have criticised their being snubbed from the debate, with Scottish National Party (SNP) leader John Swinney saying it is “ridiculous” the SNP has been excluded.
“We’re making strenuous representations to the broadcasters about that point and we’ll continue to do so,” he added.
Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, told The Telegraph: “I think voters want a better choice.
“I don’t think they’re impressed by the choice offered by Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer.”
Other broadcasters were also approached by Liam O’Dell about their planned election programming and accessibility, with both BBC News and GB News not responding to multiple requests for comment.
Sky News confirmed it was “still in the early stages of planning” its debate programme, while a Channel 4 spokesperson confirmed receipt of this website’s enquiry and said a full response is “forthcoming”.
‘Sunak v Starmer: The ITV Debate’ will be available on ITV1, STV, ITVX and STV Player from 9pm on 4 June.
Images: Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak/Twitter.
Liam O'Dell 