BBC staff have been ridiculing a tabloid story that claimed overnight workers had been pictured falling asleep at their desks.
The Sun's front page story on Thursday said workers had been accused of "wasting licence payers' money" after a supposed whistleblower handed over photos of night-shift colleagues sleeping at New Broadcasting House.
However, many BBC workers pointed out that people working night shifts frequently stayed at their desks during unpaid breaks.
Rob Lawrence, assistant editor at BBC News, said the BBC News Channel was off-air after midnight, but workers in the basement newsroom where the pictures were taken often stayed after-hours to cover breaking news.
A sense of how we'll factchecked this "story" is: 1 BBC News Channel is off air by midnight 2 Its shifts finish the… https://t.co/RGxOKQuZ31
BBC journalists took the piss out of the Sun when the story first appeared.
I genuinely thought this was a spoof when I first saw it. Yes, the Sun has merged with the Onion https://t.co/7dV1nKRkVm
Lights lowered. Speakers off. Pillow plumped. Ready for work.
No comment. Other than to say Snoozenight would have been a better headline... https://t.co/BFAfJiizFd
Even the BBC press office got in on the act.
Even with our eyes closed, it’s good to know the public trusts BBC News more than the Sun.
Then the piss-taking escalated.
It’s true @TheSun we do sleep on the job. Our work is a bit taxing at times. @BBCNews doesn’t do lazy journalism. H… https://t.co/XQbGICHS9Q
@ruskin147 @BBCNews It's an epidemic.
Before being perfected.
Just starting my BBC News Channel shift like...
But this might yet not be the last we hear of this story...
Over in the Commons, Peter Bone's just asked for a government statement or debate on the Sun's front page.
Good night, and good luck.
