An embarrassing gaffe happened during BBC's News at Six, in which the anchor's remarks about UK Prime Minister Theresa May flying to Brussels were accompanied by footage of World War II bombers.
"Theresa May says she intends to go back to Brussels to negotiate her Brexit deal but EU leaders say the deal is done and they will not reopen talks", newsreader Sophie Raworth said at the end of the news section.
Her comment was accompanied by grainy black and white footage showing Royal Air Force bombers, which some perceived as a humorous hint that PM May had gone to Brussels in a fleet of Hurricanes and Spitfires.
It was later revealed that the message was supposed to be accompanied by footage of Prime Minister May.
According to the Daily Mirror, the old footage depicted RAF bombers flying over Biggin Hill air base, an important command base during the UK's fight against Nazi Germany. Today, Biggin Hill is an operational general aviation airport.
Paul Royall, the editor of BBC's News at Six and News at Ten later explained on Twitter that the footage was intended to tease the upcoming story about Biggin Hill.
"For those wondering — simple human error at end of #BBCNewsSix", he wrote in a tweet.
He explained that a "production mistake meant pictures used earlier to tease story about Biggin Hill ended up in top story recap at close of show".
"If and when it happens pretty certain PM not travelling to Brussels like this", he added.
It was brilliant. Perfect. Beyond hilarious. Be thankful it wasn't pictures of of a Spitfire going down into the drink, over the words of Theresa May travelling to Brussels — can you imagine the charges of BBC bias???? https://t.co/rwG3xmC9S7
— Jon Sopel (@BBCJonSopel) 30 января 2019 г.
Following a parliamentary vote on Brexit Tuesday, Theresa May was tasked by lawmakers to substitute the Irish Backstop clause in UK-EU withdrawal deal with an alternative solution. However, EU representatives have said the Backstop is not open for renegotiation.
