The BBC has apologised after it temporarily withdrew Friday evening’s edition of Have I Got News For You from its streaming platform following an inaccurate claim about the government’s digital identity programme.

During the satirical quiz show, presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell stated that Multiverse, a company established by former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s son Euan, had secured the contract to operate the digital ID card system.

The presenter posed a question to panellists about who would profit from the ID card introduction before providing her own response.

She identified Multiverse as the selected contractor and remarked that this represented a “happy coincidence”.

The broadcaster has now acknowledged the mistake and temporarily removed the programme from BBC iPlayer whilst editing took place. It has since returned without the claim.

A BBC representative stated to Politics Home: “This week’s Have I Got News for You contained an inaccurate story about Euan Blair’s company, Multiverse, being chosen to develop the government’s contract to produce digital ID cards.”

The spokesperson confirmed that Multiverse operates as an apprenticeship and training provider rather than a software development firm.

They added: “There is no evidence of any involvement in the proposed digital ID scheme, therefore we have taken the episode off BBC iPlayer while we edit the relevant section out.

“We apologise for this unintentional editorial oversight,” the statement concluded.

Both the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Multiverse have categorically denied any connection to the digital identity project.

A government representative told the Express: “Claims that Multiverse has been chosen to develop the Government’s digital ID app are false.”

The independent fact-checking organisation Full Fact had previously investigated and disproved the allegation after it gained traction on social media platforms.

They confirmed that Multiverse functions as an “upskilling company” offering apprenticeships and artificial intelligence training, not as a software developer.

Sources indicate the government intends to develop the digital ID system internally rather than contracting external suppliers, though no formal announcements regarding partnerships have been made.

Social media users reacted with dismay to the broadcast error, which formed part of the programme’s scripted content rather than an off-the-cuff remark.

Politics Home reporter Zoë Crowther expressed shock on X, writing: “Oh my god. Have I Got News For You just referred to this completely false claim as a fact!!”

In response to Ms Crowther, several social media users responded with their astonished reactions to such an error.

“Deeply embarrassing,” one person described the slip-up, while a second echoed: “This is insane.”

Elsewhere, a third mocked the editorial standards of the corporation, typing: “@BBCverified doing its usual bang up job.”

“This is crazy,” a fourth echoed. “And such is the intellectual stature of the panel that nobody saw fit to correct her.”

And a fifth hit out: “The rot at the BBC continues. We’re already deep in the brown stuff, action can’t wait any longer.” (sic)