TV Dr Failed To Tell BBC Execs About £22,500 AstraZeneca Advert Before Jabs Feature

BBC Morning Live’s Dr Ranj is caught up in a row with the broadcaster over his financial links to Big Pharma giant AstraZeneca

The TV doctor, who quit This Morning in 2022 after 10 years, was paid £22,500 by the company in 2022 for an educational children’s flu advertising campaign.

But he failed to disclose this information to BBC executives when he led a feature on the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Morning Live earlier this month.

The Daily Mail reports: BBC bosses are said to be ‘unhappy’ he had not raised the information, revealed The Mirror.

The BBC have strict conflict of interest rules and have expressed their ‘sense of displeasure’ at Dr Ranj’s actions.

Guidelines state that ‘significant financial interests’ should be declared ‘if they are in any way connected with the area in which they work or the subject matter they cover.’

Dr Ranj spoke about the AstraZeneca vaccine on the show on May 8 and the ‘serious but rare’ complications associated with it.

While credited with saving more than 6million lives, the jab — known as Vaxzevria — has come under intense scrutiny in recent months over a rare but fatal side effect.

In February, the pharmaceutical titan admitted in documents lodged with the High Court that it ‘can, in very rare cases, cause thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS)’ (when you have a low blood platelet count).

The Mirror approached the BBC for comment earlier this week but Morning Live instead chose to address the issue first on the show on Thursday.

Presenter Gethin Jones said: ‘Ranj worked with the company on an educational children’s flu campaign along with a number of other medics, something he has spoken about and been clear about on his social media. 

‘He has never been paid by AstraZeneca to talk about the Covid jab and hasn’t worked with them since. Hopefully that clears up any questions on that.’

A BBC spokeswoman told MailOnline: ‘The segment on the AstraZeneca covid vaccine was balanced and covered reported risks and benefits. 

‘We became aware of Dr’s 2021 work around children’s flu vaccinations for the manufacturer after this segment aired and have now addressed this within the show.’