Blair "criticises" BBC's Katrina coverage

Rupert Murdoch has claimed that the Prime Minister accused the BBC's coverage of Hurricane Katrina of being full of hatred for America.

The NewsCorp CEO, who met Tony Blair last Thursday, told executives at a seminar in New York: “Tony Blair - perhaps I shouldn’t repeat this conversation - told me yesterday that he was in Delhi last week and he turned on the BBC World Service to see what was happening in New Orleans. And he said it was just full of hate for America and gloating about our troubles.???

According to The Times, Downing Street has refused to comment on the story but the BBC "expressed surprise" that the PM would not raise his concerns with them.

Jeremy Dear, general secretary of the NUJ, reacted: “Tony Blair’s criticism of the BBC for exposing the divide between rich and poor in the US and the slowness of the emergency services to provide relief to the poor of New Orleans is beyond contempt.

“Tony Blair has deregulated broadcasting to serve the interests of Rupert Murdoch. His latest attack on the BBC shows he is still doing Murdoch’s bidding.???