BBC “must not succumb” to pressure over Brexit coverage – McFadden and Labour MPs write to director general

This is the full text of the letter sent by backbencher Pat McFadden and several other Labour MPs to Tony Hall, director-general of the BBC.

Dear Lord Hall

The BBC is a world renowned and globally respected broadcaster. Its reputation is based on fearless fact based impartial reporting.

The BBC and our broadcasters (unlike newspapers) are required to be objective and impartial by law. The BBC rightly guards its independence and should resist attempts at political interference or pressure.

This is particularly important in today’s political environment where self-reinforcing social media bubbles and authoritarian attempts to force people to accept a single version of events are on the rise.

We expect the BBC to defend its independence and report impartially, robustly and fearlessly on all issues relating to Brexit and not succumb to any pressure to skew its coverage one way or the other.

Yours sincerely

Pat McFadden

Yvette Cooper

Graham Allen

Ian Murray

Yvette Cooper

Ben Bradshaw

Chris Leslie

Lord (Michael) Cashman

Heidi Alexander

Chuka Umunna

Emma Reynolds

Seema Malhotra

Stephen Timms

Nicky Morgan

Ken Clarke

Anna Soubry

Alistair Burt

Ed Vaizey

Tim Farron

Nick Clegg

Jeremy Lefroy

Alistair Carmichael

Mark Durkan