BBC 'OKs Lloyd Webber Tory backing'

The BBC has said that Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's public endorsement for the Conservative Party at the general election was inadvisable, but that he is entitled to discuss his opinion.

Lloyd Webber, who is currently appearing on BBC One talent show Over The Rainbow, recently urged people to vote Tory as the best solution to sort out the public finances.

"We have to vote Tory," he said. "They do represent our only hope when times get rough."

However, his comments were judged an embarrassment to the BBC, which urges its high-profile figures to remain impartial during election campaigns.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, a BBC spokesman said: "We advise prominent figures working with us to avoid intervening in the political debate at times like this.

"However, Lord Lloyd Webber is at liberty to express his opinions, which he has made no secret of in the past."

Last year, the BBC moved to postpone the new series of The Apprentice, which was due to air in the spring, due to Alan Sugar's role as the government's enterprise tsar.

However, BBC management have now decided that Lord Sugar's role does not conflict with the corporation's need to maintain impartiality.

"The BBC is satisfied that his new role as an enterprise champion to the government will not compromise the BBC's impartiality or his ability to present The Apprentice," said the corporation.

"Sir Alan is not going to be making policy for the government nor does he have a duty to endorse government policy."

Lord Sugar will return to BBC One next Wednesday to host new series Junior Apprentice, in which ten contestants aged between 16 and 17 compete for a prize worth £25,000.