Media minister warns BBC over ‘anti-Tory bias’

CULTURE and Media Secretary Sajid Javid has complained of ‘bias’ in the BBC’s election coverage and threatened a review of how the Corporation is governed.

Senior Tories have been increasingly frustrated by what they claim is a Left-leaning slant to much of the BBC’s coverage, which Mr Javid said sometimes left him thinking: ‘What was that? I’m sure they could have done a more balanced job.’

He cited a debate on BBC Radio 4’s flagship news show, saying: ‘Last week, listening to the Today programme, there was a debate…they were all anti-Tory. It came across as very, very anti-Tory.’

The show’s three guests all savaged David Cameron and his party with Scottish comedienne Rhona Cameron calling the Tories a ‘cancer’. On Sunday, BBC presenter Andrew Marr was forced apologise after falsely accusing the Prime Minister of saying fox hunting is his favourite sport, admitting: ‘We should have checked harder.’

Mr Javid suggested that a review of the BBC’s charter, due to start this summer, would have to consider the issue of balance in coverage, required by law in election campaigns. He said: ‘The BBC Trust has a role and there’s a role for Ofcom. During elections in broadcasting there’s a requirement to give a fair share to all of the main parties.’

The Culture Secretary also said the Tories would take no further steps to seek to impose a system of state- sponsored supervision of regulation of the Press that critics warn would end 300 years of freedom.

Labour’s manifesto said it would implement the recommendations of the Leveson report into media standards through the controversial Royal Charter, as well as introducing new rules on media plurality.

Publishers that refuse to join a regulator approved under the Royal Charter will be hit with ‘exemplary’ damages in libel and privacy cases. The charter appears dead in the water, as publishers refused to sign up.

Instead, a powerful new regulator, the Independent Press Standards Organisation, has been set up with the backing of most newspaper groups. It is chaired by the judge who presided over the Soham murder trial, Sir Alan Moses. Contracts have bound publishers to IPSO, which has tough powers of investigation, enforcement and sanction, including fines of up to £1million for serious and systemic wrongdoing.

Asked if the Tories would try to force the Press to abide by a Leveson-approved system, Mr Javid said: ‘No, we won’t. But Labour will. It interferes with the freedom of the Press. It goes fundamentally against one of the Leveson principles, which is independent self-regulation. I think we have achieved what we set out to do. Everyone accepted the old system, the Press Complaints Commission, didn’t work. Our job is done as a government. It’s up to the Press.’

A BBC spokesman said it believed it had ‘reported fairly and impartially on the policies of all parties’.

‘Forced to apologise’