The BBC says one of its news presenters, Martine Croxall, violated its rules with her “exasperated” expression on live TV when she corrected the phrase “pregnant people” to “pregnant women.”

In June, a video clip of Ms. Croxall introducing an interview focused on research about groups of people at high risk due to heatwaves went viral on social media. During the video, Ms. Croxall read from her script, “Malcolm Mistry, who was involved in the research, says that the aged, pregnant people…”

She paused, raised an eyebrow, then said, “Women … and those with pre-existing health conditions need to take precautions.”

Ms. Croxall’s correction received praise from conservatives, and she was initially supported by her bosses. However, the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit, or ECU, said on Thursday that her expression conveyed a “controversial view about trans people.”

The unit upheld 20 impartiality complaints over her reaction and said that her response “indicated a particular viewpoint in the controversies currently surrounding trans ideology.”

Several people who filed complaints said that the expression conveyed “disgust, ridicule, contempt or exasperation.”

The ECU added that the wave of support Ms. Croxall received online, including from the author of “Harry Potter,” J.K. Rowling, “tended to confirm that the impression of her having expressed a personal view was widely shared across the spectrum of opinion on the issue.”

“Ms. Croxall was reacting to scripting, which somewhat clumsily incorporated phrases from the press release accompanying the research, including ‘the aged’, which is not the BBC style, and ‘pregnant people’, which did not match what Dr. Mistry said in the clip which followed,” the ECU said. “Giving the strong impression of expressing a personal view on a controversial matter, even if inadvertently, falls short of the BBC’s expectations of its presenters and journalists in relation to impartiality, the ECU upheld the complaints.”

The BBC says that the ECU’s determination was reported to the network’s management and discussed with Ms. Croxall. 

Ms. Croxall did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication. 

The ECU’s finding comes a day after a leaked dossier accused BBC reporters who focus on LGBT issues of engaging in “censorship” by refusing to cover stories critical of transgender matters.

The dossier says that the LGBT desk has been “captured by a small group of people” who promote positive transgender stories and keep “other perspectives off air.”