Boris’s blast at ‘arrogant’ Nick Robinson for claiming bias row is an anti-BBC plot… as MPs investigate claims Trump report was ‘doctored’, Today host tells listeners: ‘There’s a political campaign to destroy this organisation’

The row over BBC bias deepened tonight as two leading presenters claimed voicing concerns about the coverage was part of a political campaign to ‘destroy’ the Corporation.

Nick Robinson’s words, later confirmed as ‘absolutely true’ by veteran reporter John Simpson, were swiftly condemned as ‘ridiculous’ and ‘arrogant’ by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who vowed to cut the license fee over the impartiality issue, sparking yesterday’s outburst.

Writing in his weekly Daily Mail column, Mr Johnson said he would stop paying the tax until the BBC’s under-fire director general, Tim Davie, “explained” why Panorama had “completely misled” viewers by rigging Donald Trump’s speech.

On Radio 4’s flagship Today programme, Mr Robinson acknowledged the national broadcaster had ‘a real concern about editorial standards and errors’, but continued: ‘There is also a political campaign going on by people who want to destroy the organization you are listening to now. Both things are happening at the same time.’

Mr Johnson hit back, telling The Mail on Sunday: ‘There’s a difference between trying to destroy the BBC and trying to hold it to account.

‘This is just a distraction tactic from an organization too arrogant to consider that it could be wrong.’

Mr Robinson, who is the company’s fourth highest-earning presenter on £410,000 a year, returned to the topic later in the programme. Speaking to political commentator Tim Montgomerie, he raised the possibility that Right-wing politicians ‘could actually bring this organization down’.

The row comes as Mr Davie faces mounting pressure to respond to a wide-ranging dossier outlining various examples of the BBC’s biases on issues such as transgender issues and the war in Gaza. The report by former counsel to the company’s editorial watchdog, Michael Prescott, accuses the chief executive of ‘inaction’ on the Trump case. Critics say Mr Davie has gone ‘in hiding’ over the issue.

Boris Johnson responded to Robinson’s comments, telling The Mail on Sunday: ‘There’s a difference between trying to destroy the BBC and trying to hold it to account. “This is nothing more than a diversionary tactic by an organization too arrogant to consider that it could be wrong.”

The BBC said tonight that chairman Samir Shah will submit a full response to the dossier to Parliament’s culture, media and sport committee tomorrow, as its members have requested.

But his response tonight will reportedly include an apology for the misleading editing of Trump’s speech.

Mr Prescott will give evidence to the committee later this week.

The controversial Panorama segment was edited to show Mr. Trump openly inciting the mob ahead of the riots in Washington on January 6, 2021, as Congress was formalizing Joe Biden’s election victory.

Mr Trump was shown saying he would march to the Capitol with his supporters and urging them to ‘fight like hell’. But the report omitted a part of the speech in which Mr Trump urged the crowd to “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard”.

A source said tonight: ‘There are serious fears within the BBC that this could lead to them being banned from the White House. And Trump could launch a major lawsuit that would be very costly and difficult to defend.’

Mr Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt described the BBC as ‘100 per cent fake news’ and a ‘propaganda machine’ following the revelations.

He said: ‘This deliberately dishonest, selectively edited clip by the BBC is further proof that this is completely, 100 per cent fake news and should no longer be worth the time of the great public of the UK on their television screens.’

Mr Prescott’s report comes as BBC staff revolted after the company’s internal watchdogs reprimanded newsreader Martine Croxall for correcting “pregnant people” to “women” live on air

Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt (pictured) also entered the fray, describing the BBC as “100 per cent fake news” and a “propaganda machine”

Mr Prescott’s report comes as BBC staff revolted after the corporation’s internal watchdogs reprimanded newsreader Martine Croxall after she corrected the phrase “pregnant people” to “women” live on air. The Executive Complaints Unit ruled on Thursday that he had breached impartiality rules by raising his eyebrow while changing otocue text.

Sources say concerns about the Trump report, first raised on the BBC in May, were discussed at a board meeting ten days before the report was first announced last week.

A source told this newspaper: ‘This shows that there is clear knowledge at the highest level within the BBC about how serious an issue this is. This was not just left to individual program managers, but was discussed in detail by the board. But they chose to sit back and turn a deaf ear to everything. Basically it was a cover up.

‘There are some people within the company who fear this could signal the end of the BBC.

They were caught blatantly distorting the truth about an issue of great international importance.

‘This crisis has major diplomatic consequences. It’s impossible to overstate how damaging this is.’

Lord Grade, chairman of broadcasting regulator Ofcom, wrote to BBC chief Samir Shah urging him to take Mr Prescott’s concerns seriously.

Addressing Mr Robinson’s remarks, Danny Cohen, the BBC’s former director of television, said: ‘There is no political campaign to destroy the BBC. This is a conspiracy theory presented by the BBC to divert attention from the serious journalistic failures revealed by the Michael Prescott whistleblower report.

‘This should be a moment when BBC journalists look within themselves and do some serious soul-searching about the BBC’s decline in editorial standards.

‘Instead they focused on attacking those who wanted to hold the BBC to account.

‘Tim Davie and Samir Shah knew for at least six months that Panorama was producing a fake Trump speech but they kept quiet and did nothing about it.

‘This gives the impression of a shocking cover-up and I believe their position is now untenable.’

Conservative Party chairman Nigel Huddleston said: ‘The tsunami of allegations on various fronts that the BBC is biased shows that this is not just traditional political disagreement. This is not a Left-Right issue, but a much broader issue.

‘The BBC shows that it is out of touch with the moderate views of the majority of license payers (a much wider range).

‘I would warn the BBC not to fight with license payers. You don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

‘If the BBC fails to rebuild trust and comply with its own rules and broadcasting policies, then the entire justification for its charter and license fee disappears. The BBC must be impartial.’

Tory chairman Nigel Huddleston (pictured) said: ‘The tsunami of allegations on various fronts that the BBC is biased shows that this is not just traditional political disagreement. “This is not a Left-Right issue, but a much broader issue.”

Independent investigator Lord Austin said: ‘It doesn’t matter whether you support President Trump or not, this is a huge scandal because it shows BBC bosses cannot be trusted to uphold the values ​​of impartiality and integrity and are therefore publicly funded.

‘Tim Davie knew at least six months ago that Panorama’s Trump statements were fake. ‘This was a shocking failure of the most basic standards of journalistic integrity, but BBC bosses decided not to act on it.’

Boris Johnson added: ‘I love the BBC. I think they are trying to escape their obvious left bias without trying to explain or justify it.

‘We need to hear from the director general immediately.’

Mr Robinson declined to comment tonight.