The BBC’s coverage of business repeatedly breaches the Corporation’s own standards on impartiality, according to an internal report.

Its interviews can be “sycophantic” or overly aggressive, while presenters are guilty of appearing to plug products.

The independent review, chaired by Sir Alan Budd, found no evidence of systematic bias against business and concluded that most of the BBC’s business output meets the required standards of impartiality.

Yet it pointed to “a number of individual lapses” and identified trends that led to “repeated breaches of the BBC’s standards”.

Radio Five Live presenters and reporters were singled out for airing their personal preferences about commercial products.

“We have learnt, among other things, that one is a fan of Majestic Wine, another is an enthusiastic subscriber to Sky and one likes shopping at JJB Sports,” the report said.

It accepted that presenters are encouraged to “express themselves as rounded individuals who have a life outside the studio”. But the behaviour on Five Live appeared to be “a departure from both the BBC’s editorial guidelines and the definition of impartiality as outlined by the Director of News”.

The presenters of BBC One’s Breakfast programme came under fire for “enthusiastically and uncritically” playing with Nintendo’s newly launched Wii games console.

A Ten O’Clock News interview with the Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates in January was singled out for being “sycophantic”, while a number of interviews with Stuart Rose, the Marks & Spencer chief executive, were “too uncritical”.

Conversely, a Radio 4 Today programme interview with Angela Knight, of the British Bankers’ Association, could be viewed as “hostile and aggressive”, while a Five Live interview with the managing director of British Gas at the time, which began “You’re taking the mickey . . .”, did not appear to be impartial.

The report, commissioned by the now-defunct BBC Board of Governors, concluded that the Corporation’s business coverage placed too much focus on the consumer angle.

It accused the BBC of failing to give sufficient coverage to the departure of Lord Browne of Madingley, the BP chief executive, because the story had no consumer angle.

In some cases, the preoccupation with the consumer angle led to items of no real consequence, it said. “For example, a series of pieces on Breakfast [January 17, 2007] amounted to the promotion of a £19 suit from Asda.” It was also noted: “If a company achieves large profits, the story is more likely to focus on at whose expense the profits have been made rather than examining the benefits to staff and society of a British company doing well.”

The report concluded: “We do not believe the BBC has a systematic bias against business, though at times the BBC can be unconsciously partial and unbalanced in its business coverage. This arises mainly from a lack of awareness of the commercial world – many BBC journalists have never worked in business – and from a preoccupation with taking the consumer perspective.”

Sir Michael Lyons, the BBC Trust Chairman, said: “The Trust shares the panel’s concern about the BBC’s predominant focus on the consumer perspective in business reporting if it results in the audience not receiving the full story.” Huw Edwards conducted the “sycophantic” interview with Bill Gates at the launch of Microsoft’s Vista operating system in January. The presenter asked how “the great innovator Bill Gates” planned to change our lives in 20 years.

Yet the unedited six-minute interview shows that Mr Edwards questioned the Microsoft chief over the higher prices paid by British Vista users, the slow roll-out of the company’s Zune music player and whether the company was losing its edge.

The panel criticised a Weekend Business interview with James Murdoch, the BSkyB chief executive, on Five Live. This also appeared “sycophantic” as Jeff Randall, the presenter, congratulated Mr Murdoch’s pronouncements about the future of his company as “the best sales pitch he had heard”. But Mr Randall told The Times: “I’m amazed. That was a sarcastic comment against an interviewee who didn’t answer a question properly.”

The report condemned Panorama for an investigation in which it “seemed to relish publicly humiliating RWE, the German owners of Thames Water” by hiring a water tanker and addressing RWE management through a megaphone, which “did not create an impression of balance and fairness”.

Under the spotlight

The Radio 4 interview with Angela Knight, was “hostile and agressive”, while the Corporation failed to give sufficient coverage when Lord Browne of Madingley, top right, left BP. Huw Edwards, left, was criticised for the “sycophantic” interview with Bill Gates at the launch of Microsoft’s Vista operating system. Jeff Randall was also criticised for for an interview with James Murdoch that appeared “sycophantic”

Talking points

Sycophantic? Judge for yourself online:

Watch Huw Edwards interview Bill Gates

Hear Jeff Randall interview James Murdoch

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