BBC governors have admitted that Newsnight was guilty of bias in the way it reported on the resignation of Peter Mandelson over the Hinduja passports affair. Ten viewers, including two Tory MPs, complained that the 45-minute programme that went out on the night of the resignation only had Labour supporters on its panel.

The governors recognised that "a broader range of speakers" would led to a more balanced discussion of the prime minister's handling of the affair.

The complaints unit at the BBC also concluded that Panorama wrongly accused of Peter Mandelson of giving misleading answers over the affair.