Paxman: 'BBC fawns over the Royals'

Presenter Jeremy Paxman has claimed that the BBC has a confused relationship with the Royals.

The Newsnight journalist said the corporation is unsure of its role when reporting on royal matters and is prone to "fawning", according to The Press Association.

He gave the example of its coverage of the death of the Queen Mother. "It was unclear whether the BBC was announcing this as a piece of news or in its capacity as mourner-in-chief, really, and it got into a terrible muddle," he said.

Paxman was speaking on a programme for Radio 4 entitled The Palace And The Beeb, to be broadcast later this week.

"While the BBC does report royal matters pretty straightforwardly, as it should, there is still a fawning taste, a fawning sense to the tone of voice it adopts when dealing with the heir to throne and his family," he said.

"They do not treat them in the way they would treat other members of the public, to which it might equally reply that they are not other members of the public."

Results from a poll taken earlier this year revealed that Paxman is the male newsreader Britons would most like to have a drink with.