Prescott v Taxpayers Alliance

Earlier today, Guido Fawkes blogged 'Prezza Loses BBC Battle' in relation to John Prescott's letter to the BBC's Helen Boaden in which he asked:

I would therefore be keen to hear your views on the Guardian’s revelations and whethertheTaxPayers’ Alliance’s should now be referred to on air as “a group with close links to the Conservative Party” or some similar on-air clarification.

Boaden replied with:

"..whilst it is clear to me that the TPA is a conservative (small "c") organisation I do not think it would be accurate or fair to describe it on air, as you suggest, as "a group with close links to the Conservative Party.

I do accept that the TPA's publicatons and policies come from a distinctive political position and think we should try to avoid our output giving the impression that it is an impartial body."

Now I don't know about you but this seems rather a tame battle, Guido ended with:

Prezza is Twittering that this means “we’ve had some real success”. How?

Well, he asked if there could be an on air clarification about the TPA, and he has got one, not the one he wanted but this was 'real success' because it is another step on the road to the TPA being exposed as what they are. Once there is enough evidence I'd hope

One of the reasons that the BBC may have been reluctant to call the TPA "“a group with close links to the Conservative Party” may be the amount of anti-BBCfeeling within the right wing, and this is the sort of story about BBC 'bias' that would be jumped straight on by right wing rags like the Mail. The fact that they are right wing is pretty incontrovertible and is a logical if not entirely satisfactory compromise by the corporation.