Since 2003 the BBC has aired an extended version of Have I Got News For You called Have I Got A Bit More News For You. That ended with the latest season, in which the BBC decided, without warning,  to scrap the extended version of the show.

This decision has removed the best version of the show and left many keen viewers disappointed. The extended version of the show was funnier and allowed more current affairs topics to be covered - the  epitome of the BBC's mission to 'Inform, Educate and Entertain'  - hugely important in this age of misinformation, disinformation and fake news. 

While the BBC may have been finding it difficult to fit the extended show into a broadcast timetable, the extended version could still have been made available on iPlayer. Alternatively, they could have cut the shorter version and kept the longer one. In its statement about the removal of the extended version, the BBC said "we will focus on bringing audiences the best version of the show" but in the opinion of many viewers, it is precisely the best version of the show which has been axed.

If you loved Have I Got A Bit More News For You, as I did, please sign this petition to urge the BBC to reinstate the longer version of the show.