Labour supporters angry at BBC footage showing Jeremy Corbyn playing with a Russian doll Fans of Jeremy Corbyn voiced their anger at the BBC after the broadcaster used footage of the Labour leader playing […]

Fans of Jeremy Corbyn voiced their anger at the BBC after the broadcaster used footage of the Labour leader playing with a Russian doll in a feature on the Salisbury spy poisoning.

Critics accused the producers of dragging up archive footage of the MP – despite the fact the footage was shot on Wednesday during Mr Corbyn’s trip to a nursery in Watford.

The Labour leader had made the trip to Watford to discuss the rising cost of childcare when he was pictured horsing around with the Matroyshka doll.

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‘Subliminal messages’

The feature soon riled the Labour party faithful on social media – with many calling the BBC footage “unacceptable”.

“They are not even subtle in their subliminal messages,” one person tweeted.

Max Bucknell said: “Having Corbyn playing with Russian dolls on @BBCNews isn’t really that subtle, is it? Christ.”

Nicholas Wilson wrote: “In the middle of their report on Novichok the BBC show Corbyn playing with a Russian doll. Journalism is dead in the UK.”

While @Bradyonthehill wrote: “Last night’s Newsnight was typical of the teasing games played by BBC new editors.

“The editors pathetically dug out a clip of JC with Russian dolls. Is this desperation or being sublime?”

Hat-gate

This latest controversy comes just weeks after Labour supporters attacked the BBC over their depiction of Jeremy Corbyn in a Soviet-style Photoshop.

The network was accused of “extreme bias” after it featured an image of the Labour leader against the Kremlin skyline during a segment about escalating tensions between the UK and Russia on Newsnight.

The show’s producers later dismissed complaints against the image – denying they had altered it to make it look “more Russian”.

A BBC spokesperson told i: “The footage was filmed that day during a visit Mr Corbyn made to a nursery in Watford where media were invited to attend.”