BBC chiefs today climbed down in a legal row with a pro-indy website following the intervention of Alex Salmond.

The Beeb said it would "not be taking any further action" against Wings Over Scotland while it carries out a review into its tactics of chasing up copyright infringements.

3 Salmond intervened with a letter Credit: PA:Press Association

The statement came after the ex First Minister slammed the BBC for “rotten” conduct amid a crackdown on Stuart Campbell's blog and a second pro-independence site.

The former First Minister blasted “strange goings on” at the Corporation and wrote to director-general Baron Hall demanding answers.

He said: “Something – well, something smells pretty rotten about the BBC behaviour.

“I want Tony Hall – I want ‘Baron Hall of Birkenhead’ – to tell me what on earth is going on.

3 Stuart Campbell says his site was closed without warning

“To explain to me why as a public service broadcaster they seem intent on punitive action against independence-supporting websites and channels, while for example The Spectator, and the political parties, use excerpts from BBC programmes virtually willy-nilly.”

The Wings YouTube channel was shut down for alleged breach of copyright last week after Beeb lawyers told the video-sharing giant it was using 13 clips from its archive.

Mr Campbell challenged the suspension and YouTube reinstated the channel this morning while a formal legal dispute process plays out.

But just before 2pm, the BBC revealed it has halted action against Mr Campbell.

In a statement, it said: "As we have said throughout, whenever we receive complaints about our material being posted or used without authorisation we look to take action to protect our copyright.

"This action is normally limited to asking for individual videos to be removed and the BBC did not ask or demand for these whole channels to be taken down - that was a decision for YouTube alone.

"We act irrespective of the political views of the infringing YouTube channels and have taken action against the use of our material by individuals or organisations from across the political spectrum.

"However, we are aware of the significant debate around our approach to removing content, and will be carrying out a review of our practice in relation to 'political' content to ensure it is appropriate for today's social media environment.

3 Tony Hall of the BBC Credit: AFP or licensors

"While we carry out our review, the BBC will not be taking any further action in relation to the Wings Over Scotland videos, which we understand should be re-instated by YouTube.

"We note that the rest of the channel has already been restored by YouTube.

"Until the review is complete, we will also not be seeking the removal of similar content from accounts unless it is used in a substantially misleading manner or we need to act to protect our commercial or brand interests."

Mr Campbell claimed this week he should be allowed to used the footage under a legal exemption for reporting current affairs.

Mr Salmond previously clashed with the BBC before the 2014 indy vote amid accusations of unfair reporting.

He said: “This is the first time I’ve corresponded with Tony Hall since the referendum of 2014.

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“And I just hope I have more joy this time round than I did back then.

“Although, the subject matter has a certain similarity – once again it’s about whether the BBC’s intrinsically biased as an organisation about independence for Scotland and those who support it.

“I’m going to ask Tony Hall: What on earth are the BBC playing at?”

Reacting to the decision, Mr Campbell said: "I hope the BBC's comments mean this ridiculous episode is over, and we can get back to doing what we do best - scrutinising Scottish politics and holding people to account."

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