ITV and C4 less biased than the BBC, say viewers

VIEWERS believe ITV and Channel 4 are more politically neutral than the BBC, according to a poll.

Asked about their views on the UK’s broadcasters, 45 per cent – the biggest proportion – believed ITV was the most politically impartial, followed by Channel 4 (41 per cent).

Despite the BBC being funded by the taxpayer, only 37 per cent said they thought its coverage was politically neutral and balanced.

Controversial broadcaster RT, formerly Russia Today, was seen as the least balanced. Only 11 per cent said it was balanced. Market research company BMG polled more than 1,000 adults.

The BBC came second behind RT as the broadcaster most likely to be ‘strongly biased towards Left-wing views’ with 7 per cent saying they thought it was.

A further 15 per cent said they believed the corporation was ‘somewhat biased towards Leftwing views’, meaning that overall 22 per cent accused the BBC

‘The most trusted news outlet’

of having a Leftist slant. But it also came under fire for being too Right-wing, with 18 per cent believing it was skewed towards that agenda.

Asked about ITV and Channel 4, 14 per cent and 17 per cent respectively said they thought the channels leaned towards the Left. However, both were regarded as less likely to be Right-wing than the BBC.

The poll also found that if people had Right-wing views, they were likely to think the BBC tilted to the Left, and vice versa.

A BBC spokesman said: ‘Independent research has shown the BBC is by far the most trusted news outlet in the UK.’

The survey comes after the BBC has been attacked from all sides for its alleged political bias.

In May, following the General Election debate, former Ukip leader Nigel Farage tweeted: ‘The BBC audience was full of Left-wingers tonight and BBC executives should be sacked because of it.’

Labour peer Lord Adonis has reputedly branded the BBC the ‘Brexit Broadcasting Corporation’ – claiming its coverage was dominated by the voices of those who voted to leave the EU.