Sir Michael Lyons, chairman of the BBC Trust, said today that he was "open-minded" about introducing a dedicated BBC Six O’Clock News bulletin for Scotland following longstanding demands from pro-independence campaigners.

Sir Michael's remarks follow criticism from the BBC Trust, the corporation's governing body, that the broadcaster's journalism and news reporting does not adequately reflect events in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, or share news about the UK's four nations around the country.

It is unclear whether BBC managers will introduce the Scottish bulletin.

Sir Michael said that there was “clearly a deficiency that needs to be made up", following the publication of a series of reviews into the BBC's coverage of the nations and regions, but was careful not to demand specific changes.

That will be left to BBC managers, who immediately rejected a separate proposal made by Sir Anthony King, the trust’s adviser and professor of government at Essex University, to move the main BBC newsroom from London to better reflect regional interests.

However, Sir Michael said that introducing a Scottish Six O'Clock News would not solve the problems in Wales, Northern Ireland or the English regions. Recent research has shown that the popularity of the BBC fades the further people live from London.

Today's report highlighted programmes, such as Panorama, which did not address devolution issues in any of the 50 programmes it aired in 2007.

The "Scottish Six" has long been a target for pro-independence politicians and a campaign to introduce such a programme a decade ago ended in failure when it was rejected by John Birt, then Director General of the BBC.

But since the introduction of devolution and the subsequent divergance of health and education policies, including the waiving of university tuition fees, it has become increasingly challenging to report stories about English policies in a way that is relevant for the rest of the UK.

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