# BBC News API: Read article > Reads the text and details of a BBC News article from its link or headline. Live coverage pages return the latest entries available. Unofficial. Not affiliated with or endorsed by BBC News. - Page: https://fous.com/methods/bbc.com/read-article - Method: `bbc.com/read_article`, version 1 - Website: bbc.com - Returns: headline, summary, authors, dates, section, tags, image, paragraphs, word count, URL - Effect: read (it gets data and changes nothing) - Sign-in: none needed - Cost: 1 credit per completed run (1ยข with pay as you go); failed runs are free - Verified: Nov 2, 2026 ## Inputs | Field | Type | Required | In the run below | Description | |---|---|---|---|---| | `article` | string | yes | `"Five men arrested in RAF Fairford incident released on police bail"` | BBC News article link or headline, for example "Five men arrested in RAF Fairford incident released on police bail". | ## Output From a run on Oct 23, 2026, shortened. Its input: ```json { "article": "Five men arrested in RAF Fairford incident released on police bail" } ``` Its output: ```json { "tags": [ "Fairford Royal Air Force Base", "Counter-terrorism" ], "authors": [ "Matt Spivey", "Tara Mewawalla" ], "section": "Gloucestershire", "summary": "Police are exploring whether proxies or individuals working on behalf of a foreign state are involved.", "headline": "Five men arrested in RAF Fairford incident released on police bail", "article_id": "c6e9elmpvglno", "paragraphs": [ "Five men who were arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences near RAF Fairford are being released on police bail, counter-terror police have said.", "A major incident was declared and dozens of homes were evacuated after police were alerted to three \"suspicious vehicles\" near the airbase in Gloucestershire in the early hours of Sunday morning.", "Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) said officers were exploring \"multiple lines of inquiry\", including whether proxies or individuals working on behalf of a foreign state were involved." ], "word_count": 780, "article_url": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6e9elmpvglno", "published_at": "2026-09-28T19:16:26.195+00:00", "main_image_url": "https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/b523/live/4b9ddb40-bb6a-11f1-9ecf-8dd029790cef.jpg", "last_updated_at": "2026-10-20T14:49:21.000+00:00", "main_image_caption": null, "full_text_available": true } ``` ## Run it From code, with a Fous API key in `FOUS_API_KEY`; the answer's `data` holds the output: ```bash curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"method":"bbc.com/read_article","input":{"article":"Five men arrested in RAF Fairford incident released on police bail"}}' ``` From an AI agent connected to the Fous MCP server: its `run` with the same method and input. To connect one, give it `set up https://fous.com/SKILL.md`. ## Ask your agent - Can you pull up the full text and byline of the BBC article titled "Five men arrested in RAF Fairford incident released on police bail"? - I need the headline, publication date, and tags for this BBC News story: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/example-fairford-arrests - Get me the paragraphs and word count from a recent BBC News report on the Fairford arrests. - What section does this BBC News piece sit in, and who wrote it? Here is the link: bbc.com/news/world-europe-fairford - Summarise the BBC article about men released on police bail after the RAF Fairford incident and list its image and dates. ## Input schema ```json { "type": "object", "required": [ "article" ], "properties": { "article": { "type": "string", "description": "BBC News article link or headline, for example \"Five men arrested in RAF Fairford incident released on police bail\"." } } } ``` ## Output schema ```json { "type": "object", "required": [ "headline", "authors", "tags", "paragraphs", "full_text_available", "word_count", "article_url" ], "properties": { "tags": { "type": "array", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "authors": { "type": "array", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "section": { "type": [ "string", "null" ] }, "summary": { "type": [ "string", "null" ] }, "headline": { "type": "string" }, "article_id": { "type": [ "string", "null" ] }, "paragraphs": { "type": "array", "items": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Full article text in plain-text paragraphs, or latest live entries." }, "word_count": { "type": "integer" }, "article_url": { "type": "string" }, "published_at": { "type": [ "string", "null" ], "description": "First publication date and time, ISO 8601 with offset." }, "main_image_url": { "type": [ "string", "null" ] }, "last_updated_at": { "type": [ "string", "null" ], "description": "Last update date and time, ISO 8601 with offset." }, "main_image_caption": { "type": [ "string", "null" ] }, "full_text_available": { "type": "boolean" } } } ``` ## See more - [BBC News API: List headlines](https://fous.com/methods/bbc.com/list-headlines.md): Lists the article headlines shown on a BBC News section page, in page order, with summary, publish time, authors, image and link. - [BBC News API: Search articles](https://fous.com/methods/bbc.com/search-news.md): Finds BBC News articles matching search words, newest first or by relevance, with publication time, authors, section and summary, optionally limited to a date range. Date filters and newest order apply to the first 180 search matches; older or less relevant matches may be missed. - [The Guardian API: Read article](https://fous.com/methods/theguardian.com/read-article.md): Reads one public Guardian article by link or headline and returns its details and available full-text paragraphs. Live blogs return the latest entries shown on the page; some older articles may be unavailable. - [NPR API: Read article](https://fous.com/methods/npr.org/read-article.md): Reads an NPR article by its link or headline and returns its text and publication details. For live blogs, returns the displayed updates. - [AP News API: Read article](https://fous.com/methods/apnews.com/read-article.md): Reads the full text and details of one public AP News article from its link or headline. - [CNN API: Read an article](https://fous.com/methods/cnn.com/read-article.md): Reads a CNN article by link or headline and returns its headline, summary, authors, dates, section, tags, main image and public paragraphs. Subscriber stories return only a brief public preview; live blogs include their entries. - [Yahoo API: Read article](https://fous.com/methods/yahoo.com/read-article.md): Reads a public Yahoo News article from its link or headline and returns its text and details. Headline matching uses Yahoo News search results. - [Daily Mail API: Read an article](https://fous.com/methods/dailymail.co.uk/read-article.md): Reads a public Daily Mail article from its link, or from a headline (the best-matching result of the site's search), and returns its text and details; live blogs give the latest entries shown on the page. - [All BBC News methods](https://fous.com/methods/bbc.com.md)