Laura Kuenssberg: Electoral Commission issues warning after BBC reporter reveals postal vote information Politics Live has been removed from BBC iPlayer since the programme was broadcast live

The elections watchdog has issued a warning that it may be an offence to share information obtained at postal vote opening sessions after the BBC’s political editor shared details on live television.

Laura Kuenssberg said she had been told that ballot papers which have already been counted painted a “grim” picture for Labour.

During the interview on Politics Live, she admitted that while parties are not supposed to look at voting papers when they are verified – but not counted – they do “get a hint” of how they are doing.

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The BBC hit back at the claims saying it did not believe an offence had been committed. However the programme has been removed from BBC iPlayer and is no longer available to watch.

‘Grim’ results

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Kuenssberg made the comments after being asked about voter turnout in Thursday’s election.

She said: “The forecast is that it’s going to be wet and cold tomorrow, the postal votes, of course, have already arrived.

“The parties – they’re not meant to look at it, but they do kind of get a hint – and on both sides people are telling me that the postal votes that are in are looking pretty grim for Labour in a lot of parts of the country.

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“Of course postal voters tend to skew to elderly voters and people who vote early… but the kind of younger generation who we know skew much more to the Labour Party you might expect to turn out to the polls tomorrow. But in this winter election, turnout is just another one of these factors that we just can’t predict.”

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BBC denial

The video of her remarks, broadcast on the eve of the general election, was widely shared on social media and provoked a response from the Electoral Commission.

In a statement on Twitter, the watchdog said: “It may be an offence to communicate any information obtained at postal vote opening sessions, including about votes cast, before a poll has closed. Anyone with information to suggest this has happened should report it immediately to the police.”

A BBC Spokesperson said: “The BBC does not believe it, or its political editor, has breached electoral law.” The spokesperson refused to comment on why the programme was no longer online.