Image copyright BBC/Getty Image caption PM Boris Johnson, pictured in 2016 and again on Sunday, at separate Remembrance Day services

The BBC has apologised for mistakenly running an out-of-date clip of Boris Johnson laying a wreath.

It said a production error led to BBC Breakfast showing images purporting to be the prime minister attending a Remembrance Day service on Sunday, when in fact the clip was from 2016.

"This was a production mistake and we apologise for the error," the corporation said in a statement.

Some members of the public questioned the BBC's impartiality on social media.

Skip Twitter post by @BBCBreakfast This morning on the programme we incorrectly used footage from a Remembrance Day service that was not filmed yesterday.



This was a production mistake and we apologise for the error. — BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) November 11, 2019 Report

The clip showed a younger Johnson when he was Foreign Secretary, as well as former Prime Minister David Cameron and ex-Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron.

One Twitter user responded: "That begs the question, why was the production team looking into archive rather than the footage released yesterday? Was it a damage limitation expertise? Shame on you BBC, I have always defended you, loved you, am so disappointed."

But BBC Breakfast editor Richard Frediani explained that the 2016 footage from the archive had been restored in the system early yesterday morning in order to preview the Remembrance Sunday service.

Skip Twitter post by @BBCFrediani To explain the production error on @BBCBreakfast, the footage of Remembrance Sunday 2016 was among archive restored at 0403am on Sunday to preview the service. It was used in error today. Claims it was combined with 2019 footage this morning are wholly incorrect. — Richard Frediani (@BBCFrediani) November 11, 2019 Report

LBC and former BBC presenter Shelagh Fogarty also leapt to the BBC's defence, replying that there was nothing sinister about the mistake, which she suggested can happen in the cut and thrust of a busy news programme.

On Sunday, some online newspapers pointed out that Johnson placed the wreath with the note facing the wrong way up at the Cenotaph, while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also came under criticism from some who felt he did not bow deeply enough.

A spokesman for the British Legion told the BBC: "As far as we're concerned, there is no right or wrong way to lay a wreath."

Some Twitter users have asked BBC Breakfast for an on-air apology on Tuesday's programme.

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