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The BBC is set to reject Labour’s complaint about a Panorama documentary which alleged widespread antisemitism in Jeremy Corbyn’s party, according to individuals with knowledge of the case.

The decision is likely to set up a clash between the public broadcaster and the opposition that will run during the forthcoming general election campaign.

The episode of Panorama entitled “Is Labour Anti-Semitic?” was broadcast this summer and made a number of claims about Labour’s attitude towards the issue in recent years. It interviewed party activists and officials who said they were undermined by senior Labour bosses in their attempts to tackle antisemitism.

Labour strongly rejected the programme’s conclusions, which included suggestions from a group of whistleblowers including the former general secretary Iain McNicol that Jeremy Corbyn’s director of strategy and communications, Seumas Milne, and the current general secretary, Jennie Formby, interfered with investigations into antisemitism.

However, the Guardian has learned that the BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit, the top level of the broadcaster’s internal complaints process, has finished investigating the concerns raised by Labour and decided to back the programme-makers. A BBC spokesperson declined to comment.