This isnt the first time the BBC have come out with nonsense regarding helmets. I made a complaint about the "helmets really do save lives" comment on Look East last month and asked for them to provide me with the unrefutable evidence they have obviously been privy to to back up these claims.
I got an email back from their team basically saying its Government guidence that all cyclists should wear helmet and iirc mentioning Headway's discredited nonsense. I put the reply on the CTC website.
Now if I said "carrying a stick of beechwood in your pocket cures cancer" you'd say: "you're ****ing mad mate! Whats wrong with you?"
I think the BBC should start to be a bit more consciencious, I used to trust them, now I'm not so sure. They overcompete with other news channels too, and that doesnt help.