Sun's Kavanagh bashes Beeb over hacking coverage

The Sun has been quite muted in its reporting of the phone hacking affair at its sister title the News of the World, but today the paper's associate editor Trevor Kavanagh has unleashed a broadside against the BBC over its coverage of the scandal.

Kavanagh writes: "What is thoroughly contemptible, though, is the posturing, high-minded and politically prejudiced BBC. This media monster, which blows £2.3BILLION a year in public money, is bound by charter to be impartial and is anything but.

"Its gleeful, vengeful and downright spiteful coverage of events over recent days is a disgrace. Not for nothing is the BBC known as the Blatantly Biased Corporation.

"Don't get me wrong. Nobody can justify or condone the crimes committed by former News of the World staff. They deserve the coverage they have received. Indeed, we are warned by our chief executive Rebekah Brooks that worse is to come.

"I don't know what these revelations will turn out to be. Nor does the BBC. But judging by the Corporation's bloodcurdling reports and commentaries, they must surely involve mass murder, rape and torture.

"Nothing other than a declaration of war would justify its round-the-clock analysis, interviews and breaking news on every radio, TV and internet outlet.

"All other news - and there was a lot of it around last week - was relegated to "fillers" between breathless, screeching "updates" from correspondents.

"The feeding frenzy was led each morning by Radio 4's increasingly hysterical Today programme. John Humphrys introduced an eye-popping chat about 'media barons' in the scary voice pantomime villains use to frighten children."

Kavanagh adds: "The BBC's tone - driven by its fear of competition from Sky TV - is not so much "comment" as a giant raspberry in the face of impartiality."

He dismisses the Guardian as: "A small circulation paper whose readers mostly work in the taxpayer-funded public sector. But its Left-wing views are amplified out of all proportion by the BBC who, with breathtaking arrogance, portray themselves as the Voice of Britain."

• The Sun estimates the last issue of the News of the World sold more than 4 million copies.

• A journalist friend was amazed to find an ad for Sky Broadband tumbling out of his Guardian Weekend magazine on Saturday. Shows there's no hard feelings?