Staff at Radio Television Española are calling for the network’ s president to be sacked over allegations of news reports favouring the conservative ruling Popular Party

Claims of conservative bias at the Spanish equivalent of the BBC have led presenters to dress in black to mourn the death of impartial news coverage.

Journalists said they would continue to dress in black, as if for a funeral, every Friday to protest against the alleged manipulation of news in favour of the ruling conservative Popular Party (PP) in Madrid on Radio Television Española (RTVE).

They claim that news bulletins are not free from political bias and have called for the sacking of José Antonio Sánchez, the RTVE president. The television network, which is financed by taxes, not a licence fee, commands the biggest audience share in Spain.

Examples cited by the journalists include an incident when protests against Manuela Carmena, the left-wing mayor