Number 10 refused to put forward ministers for Friday morning’s broadcast and vowed to “withdraw engagement” from future editions while calling for an inquiry into allegations of political bias. The stand-off is the latest spat in an increasingly bitter row over the BBC’s impartiality in the run-up to the election.

There has been a failure by senior management and we expect them to launch a review of their performance

Downing Street source

A Downing Street source said: “The BBC speaks to a pro-Remain metropolitan bubble in Islington, not the real world represented by Wakefield and Workington.

“There has been a failure by senior management at the BBC, and we expect them to launch an internal review of their performance.”

Tory chiefs are enraged presenter Andrew Neil delivered an on-air monologue criticising Boris Johnson for failing to agree to be interviewed by him and are unhappy at the BBC’s coverage of the row over a four-year-old boy photographed asleep on the floor at Leeds General Infirmary.

More than 12,000 viewers complained about the December 1 Andrew Marr show which saw the presenter and Mr Johnson frequently clash in an ill-tempered encounter.

Senior BBC bosses have rejected the claims as “trumped up” and part of an “agenda to use the new Tory majority to break the Corporation’s independence”.

Director general Tony Hall said critics were often seeing bias in what were genuine human errors.

He said: “In a frenetic campaign where we’ve produced hundreds of hours of output, of course we’ve made the odd mistake and we’ve held up our hands to them.

“Editors are making tough calls every minute of the day.

“But I don’t accept the view of those critics who jump on a handful of examples to suggest we’re somehow biased one way or the other.”

He also suggested social media platforms should find ways to reduce the level of public criticism aimed at journalists, such as BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg.

He said: “Elections always put the BBC’s impartiality in the spotlight. Social media offers a megaphone to those who want to attack us and makes this pressure greater than ever.

“The conspiracy theories that abound are frustrating. And let’s be clear – some of the abuse which is directed at our journalists who are doing their best for audiences day in, day out is sickening.

“It shouldn’t happen. And I think it’s something social media platforms really need to do more about.”

The corporation’s latest complaints bulletin showed a record-breaking 12,172 people felt the encounter on Mr Marr’s BBC One show on December 1 was biased against Mr Johnson.

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The BBC said in a statement: “These are clearly all important to our audience, and Andrew sought to challenge Mr Johnson with facts and alternative arguments.

“It is not uncommon for politicians, from all parties, to attempt to steer the interview onto their own agenda and when this happens, the presenter may intervene to get the interview back on track, as Andrew did at times here.

“This is a part of the cut and thrust of political interviewing which viewers understand and which would be the case whoever Andrew was facing.”

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