George Osborne accuses BBC of anti-business bias

George Osborne has claimed that the BBC helps fuel an anti-business culture that makes people feel they are being "ripped off by every company in Britain".

The chancellor made the accusation while speaking on BBC Radio 4's flagship Today programme, following a warning that the UK's credit rating could be downgraded by a key ratings agency.

While defending the pro-business stance of his government, Osborne compared the BBC to the women who gathered in the front row of executions during the French Revolution to watch the demise of aristocrats.

"The BBC is often in the front row of the tumbrils, doing its knitting," he said, referring to the two-wheeled carts used to carry condemned prisoners to their death in Revolutionary France. "We have got to celebrate business in this country."

Osborne claimed that the "only story" that was usually reported about business was the "relentless diet" of pieces about how "we are being ripped off by every company in Britain".

The cabinet minister added: "We are a pro-business government, we are cutting business taxes in order to make Britain an attractive place to start a business, run a business and employ people."

Following the row that resulted in Royal Bank Of Scotland chief executive Stephen Hester giving up his bonus, Osborne cautioned against the "relentless attack" on people who want to create successful businesses.

He accepted that there "shouldn't be rewards for failure", but said that the current "anti-business culture" was potentially damaging for Britain.

"We draw a distinction between sorting out the mess in the banking system and this relentless attack on anyone who makes any money out of a successful business and out of successfully employing people," he said.

"That is dangerous for Britain because it will mean people are put off coming here and setting up businesses."

Politicians have previously complained about an alleged left-wing 'bias' in the BBC's coverage of prominent political stories, but this is the first time that a high profile minister has directly taken the corporation to task.

The Daily Telegraph reports that some ministers are so concerned about the issue of bias that they have launched an unofficial boycott of Radio 4's Today programme.

> Labour slams BBC spending cuts coverage
> Jeremy Hunt: 'BBC often wrong on impartiality'