Horribly biased

SIR – Michael Deacon (Comment, April 7) is spot on: “We know the BBC is biased – we can’t agree which way” .

Friends of mine, Mail and Express readers mostly, and some favouring the Telegraph, think the bias is horribly towards the Left, while my daughter’s mates at work think it is anti-labour, and anti-corbyn in particular. It was ever thus.

Once, when I was in charge of a Today programme during Margaret Thatcher’s time, I was berated at 9.05am by a member of the Cabinet and accused of running an anticonservative programme. Ten minutes later, an even more senior figure from the Opposition rang to suggest – in sorrowful tones – that the programme had favoured the Conservatives. The only difference was that he called me Alan.

On retirement, giving talks about the BBC, I would quote this story and suggest that it showed the BBC was probably getting the balance “about right”. That was probably wrong, too.

Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire