The BBC has responded to complaints of 'political bias' during the televised Scottish Leaders' debate.
The debate which took place on March 30 on BBC Scotland, saw political leaders in Scotland lock horns over the hot topics ahead of the May 6 election.
In front of a "virtual" audience, the SNP's Nicola Sturgeon, the Conservatives' Douglas Ross, Labour's Anas Sarwar, Willie Rennie of the Liberal Democrats and Lorna Slater, co-leader of the Greens, set out their policies and clashed over a number of issues.
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The leaders debated issues such as Scottish independence, the environment, poverty and more.
However, following the broadcast, the BBC faced accusations that their selected audience and the host of the debate, Sarah Smith, showed political bias.
Responding to the complaints, the corporation said: "We select audiences for our debates which reflect widespread political views in accordance with BBC Election Guidelines.
"They are invited to ask questions which are relevant to the current affairs agenda. It is, of course, entirely possible members of the audience were swayed during the debate by the arguments put forward.
"The format - including how the audience would be selected - was clearly set out in advance and was agreed by all the participants.
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"Sarah Smith ensured that each of the party leaders was given a fair and appropriate amount of time to make their arguments and all parties were content with this following the programme.
"We completely reject any suggestion that Sarah was biased during the debate.
"To be clear, at no point did she display or verbalise any bias towards any individual or political party."
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The second Scottish Leaders' Debate will take place on April 13 on STV.
Viewers can watch the debate on STV from April 13 with the debate taking place from 7.30pm to 9pm.
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